The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed wide receiver DeSean Jackson as a speed complement to Mike Evans, giving Jameis Winston a legitimate No. 2 receiver to work with as they gunned for playoff contention this season. However, Jackson’s production has been fairly uneven at this point.
Fantasy football start/sit Week 5: What to do with DeSean Jackson
Jackson’s been pretty hit-and-miss so far. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Through three games, Jackson has just nine catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. He’s had several missed opportunities to break a big play, clearly still trying to develop chemistry with Wintson. Last week he managed only two catches for 20 yards in the Bucs’ close win over the New York Giants. Despite the slow start, he has 20 targets, second to only Evans’ 32, so the volume opportunity is there.
Fantasy impact: This week, the Bucs face the New England Patriots on Thursday night. It’s a great spot for fantasy owners, with the Patriots fielding one of the worst defenses in the league and giving up the most fantasy points to wide receivers. Jackson’s early-season struggles are an obvious concern, but this is a prime bounce-back matchup for him.
If he can’t get going against the Patriots’ struggling secondary, then it might be time to worry about his rest-of-season potential. But for now, owners can fire him up as a high-ceiling WR3.
Recommendation: Start
