How does the Fred Jackson signing impact the Seahawks?
On Friday, the Seattle Seahawks announced they had signed veteran running back Fred Jackson. Jackson, 34, was released Monday by the Buffalo Bills. He averaged a career-low 3.7 yards per carry last season, but his 66 catches were a career high. He joins the Seahawks just as reserve running back Robert Turbin gets waived and trade talks for third string runner Christine Michael heat up. Jackson will primarily serve as the backup to Marshawn Lynch, who comes back for his ninth season.
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Jackson has managed to stay fantasy relevant even at age 34. Jackson and Lynch played together in Buffalo from 2007 to 2010 before Lynch was traded to Seattle to make room for rookie C.J. Spiller in the middle of the 2010 season. Now, none of them are in Buffalo and two of them have reunited in Seattle, which is great for the two friends who have stayed close, but may cause confusion for fantasy owners.
Don’t get me wrong. Lynch is still a clear cut RB1 just like LeSean McCoy was going to be the starter in Buffalo. Jackson, however, finds a way to be fantasy relevant enough every year to cause headaches for not only his fantasy owners, but owners of the other running backs on the depth chart. Last season, filling in for an injured Spiller, Jackson finished as the 22nd highest scoring running back in standard scoring and 16th in PPR formats…as a 33-year-old!
Fantasy owners of Marshawn Lynch have never really had to feel threatened by injury (he has missed one game during his time in Seattle) or by Seattle backup running backs and handcuffs taking away carries from “Beast Mode.” In four full seasons in Seattle, Lynch has 1,181 carries. The second and third running backs each season have combined for 405, with 80 carries being the most a backup has accumulated in a single season. Lynch is as sure of a bet as anyone else with his durability and consistency, but on the other end of that, it may mean he is due to break down soon. It may mean a smaller workload for Lynch, who will turn 30 next year, and with no credible threat to overtake the bulk of the carries in Seattle, enter the ageless Jackson.
Jackson, if he stays healthy, will only truly be fantasy relevant if something happens to Lynch. This is not a RBBC situation, nor is Jackson really a change of pace back (i.e. Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen, Giovani Bernard). Jackson’s resurgence over the last two seasons had more to do with the injury-riddled Buffalo backfield and being in the right place at the right time. Rostering Jackson at this point is more as a handcuff in case something happens to Lynch. This would have been the same role he would have filled if he had stayed in Buffalo backing up LeSean McCoy. If you drafted him before the Buffalo release and Seattle signing, nothing has changed in terms of his role. It will just be a matter of Lynch’s productivity, health, and relationship with the organization seemingly always up in the air.
In this writer’s opinion, this will keep Lynch healthy and more productive as the season goes along. Sure, there may be some goal line carries that go to Jackson that will lead to vultured touchdowns in September and October, but come December and the fantasy playoffs, where it matters most, Lynch will have fresher legs and more power behind his runs because of a lighter workload. It will be the first time he has a credible backup during his time in Seattle. Still, in a run-first scheme, do not count out Jackson’s production as his role to keep Lynch fresh may end up benefiting him as well. If you can pick him up now, he is worth a late-round draft pick. His current ADP is 57th for running backs and 186th overall, which is in line with a late-round flier.
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Michael Vincent is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MVtweetshere.
