Chris Smith's Thoughts

Wide receiver Darrell Jackson had a terrific start to his 2005 season with 482 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns through the first six games.  Then he suffered an injury and missed the remainder of the season.  He was averaging a career-best 11.2 fantasy points per game through that stretch and has really grown into the # 1 receiver position with the Seahawks.

Reasons to believe Darrell Jackson can elevate his play into a top-ten fantasy season

1) Maturity: Jackson is now in the prime of his career and he has the skill package necessary to become a fantasy star this season

2) Chemistry with QB Matt Hasselbeck: Over the years, Jackson has developed alongside of Hasselbeck and both are very comfortable with each other at this time. Jackson will always be option 1 in this passing offense as long as Hasselbeck is under center

3) Past success: In both 2003 and 2004, Jackson finished with 1,100+ receiving yards and in those years he totaled 16 receiving touchdowns. His production should eclipse that average this season

4) RB Shaun Alexander and the Seahawks strong rushing attack: Defenses cannot key on Jackson throughout the game as the Seahawks are more than capable of pounding the ball at a defense over and over again with the talented Alexander

5) The other receiving options on the team: The Seahawks other offensive skill position guys are not upper-tier players but are talented enough to keep defenses honest and make it hard for defenses to rotate their coverage over to Jackson.  Bobby Engram is a great #3 receiver, Nate Burleson is a young kid brought over from Minnesota who may develop into a very good #2 guy and Jerramy Stevens has emerged as a threat from the tight end slot

Positives

• In the prime of his career
• Has had two seasons with 160+ fantasy points
• Has wonderful chemistry with QB Hasselbeck

Negatives

• The Seahawks will sometimes focus on the running game when it is working well
• If Hasselbeck goes down to injury, Jackson's numbers will plummet in a hurry with no proven backup
• Has had only one top-ten fantasy finish at the receiver spot in the NFL (2003 season)

Final Thoughts

The only thing that can result in Jackson not having a top-ten fantasy campaign this year is if the injury bug bites him again in 2006. He is in the prime of his career and has a quarterback under center who is 100% confident in his ability. Expect very good numbers from Jackson this season.

Quotations from the Message Board Thread

To view the entire Player Spotlight thread (there's a ton of fantastic commentary in there), click here.

fridayfrenzy:
Even IF Jackson plays a full season, Seattle spreads the ball too much for Jackson to rake in over 90 receptions and 1300 yards. Not one Seattle WR in this history of their franchise has ever got over 1300 receiving yards and that includes the likes of Largent. You think that a WR who has knee problems and who has three viable targets in Engram, Burleson and Stevens on the field with him is going to produce franchise records?

This Is Not VRR:
Anyway...I'd say it's about time that we put the notion that Hasselbeck spreads the ball around too much for any one Seahawks WR to have a dominant fantasy season to rest. It's simply not true. Jackson had great numbers last year when he was healthy, and he had great numbers after returning from his knee injury.

The only thing Jackson owners should be worried about is his health. If that's enough to make you avoid him altogether, so be it. Just don't pass on him because you don't think he'll get enough touches. That will prove to be flat-out wrong.

Just Win Baby:
Now, Hasselbeck only attempted 449 passes last season, and the Seahawks as a team were 23rd in the league. But they had the #2 offense thanks to the running game. As someone already pointed out, the loss of Hutchinson will likely have an appreciable impact on the running game, which would logically lead to an increase in passing attempts. In 2004, with generally the same offensive cast as last year, the Seahawks attempted 59 more passes and were 14th in pass attempts. I'd look for a similar number this year, say around 530 attempts.

Jon Moore:
I'm on the Jackson bandwagon, and in a big way. His injury last year, and underrated play has made him a steal in virtually all leagues. I've targeted him in all of my keepers and dynasties, and acquired him in most. He's a guy i target in 1 year leagues as well. I'm very confident that he'll outdo his draft position, and is capable of posting top 5 stats for a receiver.

Darrell Jackson Projections

SOURCE	RSHYD	RSHTD	REC	RECYD	RECTD
Chris Smith	0	0	91	1250	9
Message Board Consensus	0	0	87	1198	9