Fantasy: Jackson answers Eagles' need for speed

Recent fantasy analysis

• Every move from 1st wave of free agency
• Will Antonio Brown still be an elite asset with Raiders?
• Fantasy free-agent index

DeSean Jackson has always been a name that's generated headlines and drawn the interest of football fans regardless of how he was performing on the field.

D-Jax is a captivating talent who can blow the top off a defense at any moment, and that's exactly what the Philadelphia Eagles have been lacking since he left the team in 2014. Now, after reacquiring him from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that's exactly what they have.

Even at 32 years old, Jackson remains one of the most explosive receivers in the game, evidenced by his white-hot start to the 2018 campaign, which included three 100-yard games in the first month of the season. Jackson posted the second-most fantasy points among receivers during that stretch and held on as the WR12 in standard formats (WR17 in PPR) after the first eight weeks.

The majority of that early-season success occurred while Ryan Fitzpatrick was under center, a fact that shouldn't surprise anyone given Jackson's lack of chemistry with Jameis Winston. The Bucs' franchise quarterback was an unfortunate fit with Jackson, as Winston's deep ball accuracy continues to be a work in progress, and the speedy receiver's numbers fell off in the second half of the year.

In Philly, Jackson will get to play with Carson Wentz, a quarterback who will be able to take advantage of Jackson's skill set, as Warren Sharp of SharpFootballAnalysis.com displays below.

Carson Wentz excels throwing the routes that DeSean Jackson runs best. This is an extremely underrated acquisition. pic.twitter.com/VYnJkSmgGh

- Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 11, 2019

If you didn't listen to me when I sang Wentz's praises earlier in the offseason as a player who will be fully recovered from injuries that altered his effectiveness in 2018, the return of Jackson should make you reconsider investing in the Eagles' quarterback moving forward.

Wentz set career highs in passing yards per game and completion percentage last season and tossed multiple touchdowns in eight of his 11 outings. He accomplished those feats despite being limited as a runner due to offseason surgery, getting poor production from his running backs, and not having a field-stretcher to back defenses off.

Tight end Zach Ertz has been the Eagles' leader in receiving yards for three straight seasons, while Philadelphia's receiving corps features Alshon Jeffery, a big-bodied star who relies on size, and Nelson Agholor, who hasn't produced outside of the slot. Even Golden Tate, the team's mid-season rental in 2018, was more of a short-area, run-after-the-catch threat.

The excitement over Jackson's return to Philadelphia, the city where he spent his first six NFL seasons, might seem a bit odd since he has just one 1,000-yard campaign on his resume over the last four years and hasn't topped four touchdowns in any of those seasons. But injuries and poor quarterback fits make him an underrated commodity at this point in his career, one the Eagles desperately need.

Jackson thrives on splash plays, making him a better best-ball target than a re-draft option. He'll have a WR3 ceiling in year-long leagues while offering week-winning upside every time you put him in your lineup.

Instant impactCarson Wentz, QB, Eagles

The Eagles are putting all the pieces in place to help Wentz get back to the MVP-worthy play he exhibited before shredding his knee in 2017. That includes Jackson joining the mix, as well as inking veteran left tackle Jason Peters to a new deal. Expect the team to address the running back position either in free agency or the draft, giving Wentz a full complement of weapons. A top-three fantasy season is within reach.

Alshon Jeffery, WR, Eagles

Jeffery is unlikely to put up huge yardage totals, but his touchdown potential remains intact, meaning he settles in as a comfortable WR2 for fantasy. Jackson may even help draw attention away from the Eagles' No. 1 receiver.

Nelson Agholor, WR, Eagles

Agholor's $9.4-million contract becomes fully guaranteed on March 13. Several beat writers have speculated that the arrival of Jackson could spell the end for Agholor in Philly.

Zach Ertz, TE, Eagles

Similar to Jeffery, Ertz should be generally unaffected by Jackson's presence in the offense. Ertz's targets are likely to regress, but that may have more to do with head coach Doug Pederson trying to get sophomore tight end Dallas Goedert more involved than with Jackson's return. Ertz is still one of the three best fantasy tight ends in the game.

Chris Godwin, WR, Buccaneers

Winston and Mike Evans won't see their numbers change much with Jackson's departure. Evans is a borderline elite fantasy receiver and Winston has more than enough weapons to revive his career under new head coach Bruce Arians. The big winner in Tampa is Godwin, who will finally become a full-time player now that Jackson and Adam Humphries are gone. I've written about this before, but in the six games Jackson missed over the last two years, Godwin's stat lines were 3-98-0, 7-11-1, 5-101-1, 1-13-0, 0-0-0, and 6-114-2. He has legitimate WR2 upside.

O.J. Howard, TE, Buccaneers

Howard was well on his way to a breakout campaign last season before being placed on injured reserve, and though he didn't need Jackson out of the way like Godwin did, the loss of another set of hands only helps Howard move up the Bucs' pecking order. Howard is a top-six fantasy tight end heading into next season.

Copyright (C) 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.