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RB Justin Jackson - Los Angeles Chargers

5-11, 190

Born: 4-22-1996

College: Northwestern

Drafted: ---

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News you need to know

From the upgrade/downgrade report (Mon Dec 10): Jackson was a disappointment in Week 14 after his dazzling fourth quarter in Week 13, but Melvin Gordon isn't a sure thing to be ready for a Thursday night game in Week 15, and Austin Ekeler had a stinger that could make him unavailable on a short week of rest. There's some chance that Jackson is the starting running back for the Chargers this week.

General News (Tue Dec 11): is likely to see more playing time with Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler unlikely to play Thursday, Dec. 13, in Week 15.

Week 15: at Kansas City Chiefs

All RB vs KC

FBG says: Great matchup. The Chargers hoped to have Melvin Gordon back in action this week to lead their rushing offense, but his status remains uncertain coming into the Thursday night game and looks increasingly unlikely. Gordon has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury in Week 12, which has led to the combination of Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson leading the backfield. Ekeler has been the lead running back playing over two-thirds of the snaps with 28 rushing attempts compared to just 15 from Jackson in the last two games. Jackson actually looked impressive in Week 13, but the rookie squandered his seven opportunities last week as Ekeler clearly looked to be the best running back on the field. Ekeler, however, suffered a concussion in last week's game and appears to be doubtful coming into Thursday. With Ekeler out and Gordon likely to be limited, if playing at all, look for Justin Jackson to have a significant role in the offense this week. The Chiefs continue to give up fantasy production to opposing running backs, allowing the second-most fantasy points per game in standard scoring formats. Running backs facing the Chiefs have rushed for at least 90 yards and a touchdown against the Chiefs in five of their last six games. Their defensive line is dominated by pass-rushing specialists, and while nose tackle Derrick Nnadi's play has improved in recent weeks, this interior line cannot overcome the poor play behind them at linebacker and safety. The hope for this run defense lies in continued improvements by their interior linemen along with the expected return of safety Eric Berry this week. Berry could serve as that key playmaker this defense needs on the second level to prevent the chunk plays they so often have allowed, as shown by their 30th ranking with 5.1 rushing yards allowed per attempt this season. The Chargers have an offensive line that can stand toe to toe with this Chiefs front seven, and if Melvin Gordon is back to near 100 percent, Los Angeles should handily maintain the upper hand in this matchup even if Berry is on the field. A Justin Jackson led backfield yields to a less exciting matchup due to that drop in talent from Gordon.

Recent Stats and Projections

WEEK	OPP		oSNAP	RSH	YD	TD	TARG	REC	YD	TD	FumL	Pts
12	vs ARI		13	7	57	0	0	0	0	0	0	5.7
13	at PIT		14	8	63	1	1	1	19	0	0	14.2
14	vs CIN		21	7	12	0	2	2	23	0	0	3.5
15	at KC	PROJ-Dodds	*	15	*	*		3	*	*	*	*
15	at KC	PROJ-Tremblay	*	15	*	*		5	*	*	*	*
15	at KC	PROJ-Bloom	*	14	*	*		2	*	*	*	*

Weekly Performance vs RB 1, RB 12, RB 24, RB 36

Percentile ranks

Justin Jackson's percentile rank in each category, among RB with more than 50 fantasy points.

Recent Game Summaries

2018 Week 14 vs CIN (7 / 12 / 0 rush, 2 / 2 / 23 / 0 rec)

After looking so impressive late in last week's game against Pittsburgh, many observers expected that it would be Jackson and not Ekeler who may earn the lion's share of the carries in this game. But Ekeler started hot and never really let up, while Jackson found very little room to run and became an afterthought by halftime. He had a nice reception that he took up the sideline on a swing pass, and ran away from a weak tackle attempt for a decent gain. And later in the second half, he converted a third and 1 handoff to keep a drive alive. But he simply wasn't getting the opportunities Ekeler did (Ekeler out-touched him by a 17-9 margin). On a negative note for the Chargers but a possible positive note for Jackson owners, Ekeler appeared to injure himself on the onside kick attempt at the end of the fourth quarter, and is questionable to play against the Chiefs on a short week this week. If Ekeler cannot go against Kansas City on Thursday, it would stand to reason that Jackson would likely get the lion's share of the rushing workload since Melvin Gordon is not expected to return yet.

2018 Week 13 vs PIT (8 / 63 / 1 rush, 1 / 1 / 19 / 0 rec)

With Melvin Gordon out with a knee injury, most observers felt that Austin Ekeler would be the go-to guy and that Jackson would provide backup depth or perhaps work as a change of pace. While it's true that Ekeler out-touched Jackson by an 18-9 margin, Jackson greatly outpaced Ekeler in terms of production. Running behind the same line and against the same defense that Ekeler struggled to gain 1.6 yards per carry against, Jackson averaged a whopping 7.9 yards per carry. He looked shifty between the tackles, hitting holes with smoothness. Some of that can perhaps be attributed to the Steelers focusing on taking Ekeler away and not giving Jackson as much attention, but he still pushed ahead for yardage and found holes that Ekeler could not. On one swing pass, he looked like he was going to run out of bounds but instead toed the line and turned up field for close to 15 yards. He capped his afternoon with a phenomenal inside run, side-stepping a defender and taking it up the gut for an 18-yard score. It was very telling that with the Chargers driving for the go-ahead score, it was Jackson in the backfield and not Ekeler. And he was given the all-important carries to get the Chargers into field goal range for the game-winning kick. There are some whispers about Gordon possibly returning as soon as next week, but until he does it would appear that there is still value in both Charger running backs.

2018 Week 12 vs ARI (7 / 57 / 0 rush, 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 rec)

Jackson saw an uptick in snaps and touches in the blowout win against the Cardinals. Melvin Gordon sustained a knee injury in the third quarter, opening up an opportunity for Jackson in mop-up duty. Jackson showed nice burst on two perimeter runs of note, breaking an arm tackle on one of them. Jackson had average-at-best long speed, but runs hard for his diminutive size. Jackson would mix in with Austin Ekeler if Melvin Gordon were to miss time.

2018 Week 7 vs TEN (2 / 3 / 0 rush, 1 / 1 / 11 / 0 rec)

Jackson came on in relief of Austin Ekeler in the third quarter, but saw just three total touches. It was evident that the Chargers were leaning on Ekeler to carry the load by himself this week, rather than using a 1-2 punch like they typically do with Ekeler and Melvin Gordon (who missed the game with a hamstring injury).

2018 Week 6 vs CLE (3 / 4 / 0 rush, 1 / 1 / 8 / 0 rec)

With the Chargers dominating late, Jackson came on in relief of Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler. There wasn't much room to run as Cleveland knew the rushing attempts were coming, though he did grab an 8-yard screen pass to get the team into field goal range late.

Latest News

Chargers | Justin Jackson scores in win (Thu Dec 13, 11:38 PM) - Los Angeles Chargers RB Justin Jackson finished with 16 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 27 yards in a 29-28 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15.

Our View: Jackson could have had two scores but Philip Rivers missed him on an open wheel route. He'll be an RB2 next week if he starts against a tough Baltimore defense.
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Chargers | Justin Jackson has an opening (Tue Dec 11, 11:44 AM) - Los Angeles Chargers RB Justin Jackson is likely to see more playing time with RBs Melvin Gordon (knee) and Austin Ekeler (concussion) unlikely to play Thursday, Dec. 13, in Week 15.

Our View: Gordon is considered a game-time decision for Thursday night's game against the Chiefs. If Gordon doesn't play and Ekeler is not cleared, Jackson would step into the starting role. That alone gives him flex appeal in Week 15.
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Chargers | Justin Jackson doesn't do much (Sun Dec 9, 09:55 PM) - Los Angeles Chargers RB Justin Jackson rushed seven times for 12 yards and caught two passes for 23 yards in a 26-21 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14.

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Chargers | Teammates confident in Justin Jackson (Fri Dec 7, 10:44 PM) - Los Angeles Chargers RB Justin Jackson didn't surprise his teammates with his performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13, according to QB Philip Rivers.

Our View: Jackson's snap and touch count are sure to go up this week. He's worth a flex look and could even outproduce Austin Ekeler if the Chargers jump out to a big lead.
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Chargers | Justin Jackson impresses in primetime (Mon Dec 3, 02:15 AM) - Los Angeles Chargers RB Justin Jackson ran eight times for 63 yards and a score against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13.

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