5 Mid-Round Players to Avoid in Fantasy Football Drafts

DeSean Jackson, Washington Redskins

ADP: 6.08

I’ve always been a believer that fantasy football is about consistency. Consistent -- maybe even dull -- lineups can be the difference between a deep playoff run, and sputtering off into the consolation bracket. When it comes to consistency, DeSean Jackson is basically the exact opposite of the poster boy.

Jackson is one of the ultimate boom-or-bust players in the game today. And it is for that reason I will not be riding that ride this season. I’m sure Jackson had a few weeks last year where he probably won you a matchup or two. And that’s not surprising as he had three top-five finishes, including a number two finish (according to FantasyPros standard scoring leaders).

But what about the weeks he was in your lineup and not finishing the week as a WR1 (top-12 in scoring)? Jackson finished with eight weeks as at least a WR2 (Top-24), with six of those being worthy of WR1 play. Not too bad -- actually that’s pretty good, right?

Sure, until you consider the other seven weeks he played were literally useless to your lineup and could have quite possibly cost you matchups. In the seven weeks Jackson wasn’t in the top-24 of wide receiver scoring, he averaged a finish of 64th. Yes, 64th! All while never being higher than the 53rd best receiver in a given week. It was all or nothing with Jackson, and there was really no way to tell what version you were getting.

If healthy, Jackson may certainly end up finishing as a top-30, potentially top-25 wide receiver at the end of the year -- about where he’s being drafted. But his cumulative score won’t tell the whole story.