5 Players Whose Fantasy Football Stock Has Risen Since Free Agency Started

DeSean Jackson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

When DeSean Jackson signed with the Buccaneers, I penned an article titled, DeSean Jackson Is Exactly What Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers Needed.

So, yeah, I'm pretty into this signing.

We know what D-Jax does well: he gets downfield and can make splash plays. Over the last five seasons, he's averaged 11.51 air yards per catch with a 5.91 yards after the catch per catch rate. A wideout with that type of air yards per catch rate would be expected to have a 3.85 yards after the catch per catch average, meaning Jackson is very good at making big plays happen.

Meanwhile, quarterback Jameis Winston threw the ball 16 or more yards down the field on 21.69% of his passes in 2016, the third-most in the NFL. As a result, 66.09% of Winston's yards accumulated came via the air.

That's not really a good thing, as you can see from the chart above. What it tells us is that the Bucs weren't getting enough yards after the catch, hence the disproportionate air yards percentage ratio.

That's why Jackson is a perfect fit.

And from a fantasy standpoint, there's plenty of opportunity for him to succeed. Mike Evans topped the league last year with a 29.93% market share, so Jackson could dig into that workload a bit. On top of that, the Bucs freed up another 40 targets when Russell Shepard signed with the Panthers.

Jackson has seen a market share north of 19% just once over the last six seasons, but during that campaign, he finished as a top-12 fantasy wide receiver. That's not to say something similar will happen in 2017, but if he can come close to that number -- which is entirely possible -- Jackson should give owners plenty of upside in fantasy.