​Cover Photo: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images


With both Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler's injury statuses having taken a turn for worse, there's only one name fantasy football owners should be looking at to dominate the playoffs this weekend. And that name is Justin Jackson. 


That's because the Los Angeles Chargers' third-string running back suddenly has a legitimate shot at being the team's feature back in Week 15 against a porous Kansas City Chiefs defense. 

While Gordon is, of course, a top-tier talent at the running back position, Ekeler and Jackson have been filling in admirably, with little production lost, during Gordon's recent two-week absence.

Over the last three weeks, Jackson has compiled 132 rushing yards on 27 attempts (5.1 yards per attempt) playing behind both Gordon in Week 11 and Ekeler in Week 12 and Week 13. Despite a regression in Week 14 against the Bengals, the rookie back is looking at tremendous fantasy upside this Thursday night as the No. 1 option in the rushing game.
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​And Jackson is no slouch. He is the leading rusher in Northwestern University history with 5,440 and 41 touchdowns in 51 games during his four-year college career.
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​The Chargers offense ranks in the Top 5 in yards per attempt (4.8) and Top 10 in rushing touchdowns (12) through Week 14, so look for a strong fill-in performance from Jackson as the team's top back. Jackson should be an RB1 this Thursday, facing a Kansas City defense that gives up the second most fantasy points to the RB position this season. 

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David Hayes is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David Hayes also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username DavidWHayes. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.