This could be a tough week for fantasy football owners of DeSean Jackson. But this DeSean owner has a solution.
The Eagles ultimate weapon has averaged nearly 18 points per game in points-per-reception and 100-yard bonus Yahoo! leagues through six weeks. But after a vicious hit knocked him out of Week 6’s match up with the Falcons his fantasy owners could be scrambling to find a replacement.
Even with the Eagles bye week pending next week owners won’t want to drop D-Jax. But dropping another lesser player in favor of Jason Avant could prove huge this week.
Is it possible that the temporary fix for D-Jax could be on the same roster and is owned in only five percent of Yahoo! leagues?
Avant is a risky but possibly great one-week fix while D-Jax and his head are on the mend. Avant will likely be only a one-week stopgap -- but that doesn’t mean he isn’t worth the risk.
Every season Avant has one big game where he lights it up. In 08 it was a five-catch, 101-yard performance against Cleveland. Last season it was and eight-grab, 156-yard showing against San Diego
The trick with Avant seems to be picking him up that one or two weeks a season when he busts out a big game.
Yes, Avant has only hauled in 18 grabs for 180 yards so far this season and hasn’t toppled 100 yards since that Chargers game last November. But, with DeSean on the mend and No. 4 wideout Riley Cooper coming back from his own head injury, the Birds could rely heavily on No. 81 alongside Jeremy Maclin.
Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg seems prepared to use Avant more this week.
"Jason’s a heck of a player for us," Mornhinweg said. "He made a couple of big plays for us last week, designed specifically for him. So, [we have] great confidence in Jason. It’s a little bit more cyclic for him, because much of his game is inside. He’ll play some outside for you, he always has played some outside for us. Maybe a little bit more."
The Eagles opponent’s defensive numbers should also favor Avant having a big week.
I know, the Titans are 4-2 but so are the Eagles. And both teams have their deficiencies on the defensive side.
The Titans have the No. 4 scoring defense, are second in the NFL with 10 interceptions and lead the league with 24 sacks so you would think the Birds could be due for a beating, but most of Tennessee’s defensive prowess comes from stopping the run where their 97.5 yards per game ranks eighth in the NFL and forcing turnovers.
Against the pass the Titans get torched for 231 yards per game -- despite all those sacks. Only nine teams have given up more yards per game through the air this season.
The Eagles give up nearly 116 yards on the ground each game so the Titans should be relying heavily on star RB Chris Johnson. Expect the Eagles offense to pick on the Titans’ secondary and an over-the-middle possession guy like Avant could really benefit from a pass-first attitude Sunday.
I’m gonna go out a limb and predict seven grabs for 87 yards and a score for Avant in Nashville. That should get you at least 14 fantasy points in most leagues and almost 22 points in PPR leagues.
And just in case you’re wondering I’m putting my money where my mouth is -- I picked him up in my PPR fantasy league to take Jackson’s place for this week.
