Tampa Bay Buccaneers Vincent Jackson a worthy Week 9 fantasy sleeper
Tampa Bay Buccaneers veteran wide receiver Vincent Jackson was unsurprisingly unable to play in Sunday’s 23-20 win over the Atlanta Falcons, as he and second-year tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins were both listed doubtful on the injury report with injuries. Head coach Lovie Smith gave Jackson a shot at suiting up despite his knee injury, but it was clear that V-Jax would be unable to contribute.
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Jameis Winston and the Bucs had no issues netting a victory, but it would be nice to have both Jackson and ASJ out there in Week 9 against the New York Giants. Since the Giants are coming off of a 52-49 loss to the New Orleans Saints in which they allowed Drew Brees to tie an NFL record with seven touchdown passes, the Buccaneers could have another successful day through the air with ASJ and Jackson out again.
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It seems like both players should be back for Week 9, and Jackson looks like an interesting fantasy sleeper. ASJ could also be a nice sleeper upon his return, but V-Jax’s chances of a big game look even more intriguing. There’s no doubt that Mike Evans is the alpha dog in the Buccaneers passing attack, but, per Football Outsiders, the Giants are at their worst when going up against No. 2 receivers in coverage.
Jackson is 32 and caught just one pass in each of his past two games, but he’s still one of the NFL’s better No. 2 receivers. So far this season, the former Northern Colorado standout is at 53.2 receiving yards per game, and it’s important to remember that his average was at 62.6 last season in Evans’s first year in the league.
With 15.2 yards per reception this season and an average of over 14.0 YPR in every year of his career, Jackson is obviously one of the NFL’s premier deep threats. That doesn’t bode well for a Giants defense that has allowed the most passing yards per game with the third-most passes of at least 25 yards surrendered, per Sporting Charts.
The Giants lack of a real free safety could bite them hard against Tampa Bay, and we know that Winston has the tools to hit Evans and Jackson up vertically. A return to the starting lineup from injured cornerback Prince Amukamara would put a damper on Jackson’s breakout potential, since that would allow both Amukamara and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to help take care of the Buccaneers WR duo.
Amukamara’s Week 9 status, in addition to Jackson’s, remains to be seen, but it’s hard to find many positives when looking at the Giants pass defense. Although Evans is targeted more frequently on deep passes than Jackson, the latter receiver has caught a higher percentage of those balls, as per Pro Football Focus. That efficiency is worth keeping in mind as we head into Sunday’s game, and Jackson actually has a higher catch rate than Evans.
Oct 4, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson (83) runs the ball in the second half against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
In fact, Jackson has been the more efficient receiver overall, as his 7.98 yards per target average bests Evans’s 7.15 mark. It’s just that Evans has earned 14 more targets and has been healthier lately.
You could say that with Winston hitting his stride, Jackson is one of the more underrated fantasy options at the wide receiver position, and, if he’s healthy, he could be poised for a Week 9 explosion. Playing him would be a roll of the dice, if anything, but it’s a worthy gamble to take.
The less athletic and slower Marques Colston blew up for eight receptions for 114 yards and a TD on nine targets in Week 8 against New York (that’s 14.3 yards per catch), so you can only imagine what Jackson could be capable of with Evans taking pressure off of him.
Fantasy is all about finding sneaky plays right now, and V-Jax is the type of veteran star who could pay dividends for you in a favorable matchup against a defense that probably won’t be able to handle his combination of size and speed.
Dirk Koetter has shown a willingness to move Jackson inside to generate mis-matches, so not only will the Giants have issues handling him vertically, but their vulnerabilities over the middle of the field could be exploited by a surprisingly versatile 6’5″, 230-pound receiver who has been in the league since 2005.