The Eagles' Jackson isn't the perfect comparison for this exercise, since he did catch 62 passes as a rookie, but his jump in value from even his rookie year to this year is just what fantasy owners hope for. The Eagles realized quickly the gamebreaker they had; Jackson doesn't catch a ton of passes, but he is put into situations to make big plays. Jackson's 14.7 yards-per-catch average last season, the highest among all rookies, indicated his big-play capabilities.
This season, we have quite a few players accomplishing this, and in each case I think it's a clear harbinger of better things to come, maybe even at the Pro Bowl level we see Jackson performing at. Jackson was "only" 21st in the league in average yards per reception a season ago, but he was much closer to the top when it came to plays of 20-plus yards. That's what I'm looking at today, rookie wide receivers you might seldom think about using who have the potential to be Jackson types, home run hitters, based on an impressive yards-per-catch average. Here are three I've been tracking the past month, and will surely look at next season.
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