10 Massively Underrated Running Backs
Steven Jackson
A season ago, Steven Jackson was a second-round fantasy selection. After 12 games and 537 rushing yards with his new Falcons team, Jackson finds himself at the end of Round 6 in fantasy drafts according to FantasyFootballCalculator.com.
Steal.
While many would consider Steven Jackson a geriatric running back with little upside at age 31, I see him as a geriatric running back with an easy shot at 250-plus carries. And any running back in a high-powered passing offense will have ample opportunity to score, which is what Jackson did last year - seven total touchdowns in 12 games, the most he's had since 2008 - despite the Falcons seeing such poor game scripts.
You may be scared off by injury, but when Jackson returned back to reasonable health last year, he competed. And he competed well. From Weeks 12 through 16 (five games), Jackson finished with four top-24 running back performances. He scored 16.9 PPR fantasy points or more in three of those games (top 10 games), with the fourth coming in at 12.9 points. It wasn't so much that he was overly effective - his Rushing Net Expected Points (NEP) per rush was a bottom-tiered -0.08 - but he scored. And let's be honest, Jackson's never been a running back you love for efficiency. At least now, in Atlanta, his opportunity to score should be plentiful.
