Tavaris Jackson (2 Viewers)

[Golden Mike Tomczak]

I am on the fence about the guy. He had flashes of being a good QB last year, but overall leaves me shaking my head. Only 9 TDs, 12 Ints, 1911 yards. Not exactly the best stat line I've ever seen. Is he worth keeping for fantasy purposes, and more importantly, is there any competition for the starting gig? Vikes homers chime in.

 

[The Man with the Plan]

There's really no point to keeping him since mostly everybody hates him anyway so you'll probably be able to get him back in a draft.

He's a running quarterback (260 yards in 12 games) and those guys usually end up having some fantasy value. He'll never be a great passer and probably not a very good one either but if he can provide rushing stats and somehow put up decent passing statistics (addition of Berrian and Rice's development should help) he could be a decent fantasy quarterback.

 

[Dave Stauff]

Current Jackson owner in one dynasty league and truthfully wish I wasn't. He appears to be no more than a placeholder at the position for Minnesota, but it's not going to take #1 draft pick to replace him. Even if he holds onto the job, he's a bottom 10 fantasy QB due to the Vikes emphasis on the run and his lack of skills. The best you can hope for is "journeyman", you already know the worst.

 

[Dirty Weasel]

The Vikings have what should be one of the best offensive lines in the NFL this year. That should translate into some decent games for Jackson, whether it be from running or passing (probably moreso by running). His downfall is that he's a poor man's Michael Vick. Vick usually had enough yards running to offset his hideous passing stats, making him a much less inconsistent FF QB than Jackson will be. Tarvaris will probably put up about 6 good games statwise, but I wouldn't want to see him in my starting lineup. He is a borderline QB2 in a 12-team league.

 

[Brewzers]

Current Jackson owner in one dynasty league and truthfully wish I wasn't. He appears to be no more than a placeholder at the position for Minnesota, but it's not going to take #1 draft pick to replace him. Even if he holds onto the job, he's a bottom 10 fantasy QB due to the Vikes emphasis on the run and his lack of skills. The best you can hope for is "journeyman", you already know the worst.

The guy has only started 16 games. You really need to give a QB 25-30 starts before you dismiss him. I think everyone was aware he was a major development project from the outset. The light bulb seemed to click on for Jackson late last year. In the first half of last year he averaged 120 passing yds/gm, 5.5 YPA, 0.4 TD/gm, 1.0 Int/gm and 8.9 FP/gm. In the second half of the season he averaged 187 passing yds/gm, 7.1 YPA, 1.0 TD/gm, 1.0 Int/gm and 17.9 FP/gm. Thats a significant improvement.Minnesota has everything in place to be a strong contender in 2008 and that can only help Jackson. I think he will build on the second half of last season and develop into a solid QB. JMO.

 

[loose circuits]

I think having a deep threat that can actually catch the bombs Tarvaris' serves up will help his value tremendously. I don't know how many deep passes T Willy. Enter Berrian, who is a perfect fit for that rocket arm and the development of Sidney Rice. Not to mention Bobby Wade playing the slot where he is better suited.

I actually expect big things from Tarvaris. More so in the 2nd half of the year as he is still developing and maturing. He was drafted as a project and probably shouldn't have been starting

 

[thelimey]

I think the he started to look the part more in the second half of the season. I was just looking at his splits to see if theres anything in the numbers that supports that:

weeks 1-10 5 games played

51 comp / 110 att (46%), 600 yd pa, 2 td / 5 int, 65 yd rsh, 1 td

weeks 11-17 7 games played

120 comp / 184 att (65%), 1311 yd pa, 7td / 7 int, 195 yd rsh, 2 td

Those 2nd half season numbers were pretty respectble, extrapolated over a full season (I know its always a dangerous thing to do) you'd get somewhere around 3000 yd, 16 td, 16 int, 450 rsh yd, 4 rsh td; good enough for somewhe around qb 12 - 15 in most scoring formats last season thanks to his rushing stats (with all the injuries and turnover at qb last season he still ended up qb 20).

I think he'll be given this year to prove he can manage games and not turn the ball over as much, fantasy wise he looks like a no 2 QB with the odd spot start but with some upside due to his rushing stats and strong arm.

Besides it'll be interesting to see how many points he'll gain by Troy Williamson no longer dropping long bombs that would have been td's

 

[thelimey]

Oops just seen everything I posted had just been posted, I guess thats what happens if you go for a snack half way through writing a post....

 

[renesauz]

:Nervous Jackson owner:

 

[ScottyFargo]

QB comparison, Jackson, Young, Cutler, Gerrard

Tarvaris is basically Vince Young on a different team with weaker rush stats. If you doubled his stats over his first 16 games it comes out pretty close to Vince Young's two years of playing. I don't believe there is much of a QB controversy going on between Frerotte, J.D. Booty and Tarvaris; it's pretty much T-Jack's job.

If you're holding onto him cheaply, then sure, see if he'll amount to anything, but there are obviously better fantasy options available for this season.

 

[gregjcross]

Im not understanding the love for Berrian; if he was a truly great WR the Bears wouldnt let him walk. It doesnt mean he is not a good WR but I dont think he has the skills that would improve a QB performance, I think the QB would improve his.

 

[benbadman]

Here's my take on Tavaris Jackson's fantasy prospects. He's a guy in the QB20-30 tier that has potential to be a fantasy difference-maker. If you are drafting a guy in QB8-12 range then someone else in QB15-20 to platoon, try to grab Jackson in the last few rounds (or maybe even round 12+)

The Vikings have a very good shot at being a playoff team in 2008, and one metric I use in evaluating players is to target players on playoff-likely teams. In my main league last year, 6 out of top 10 QBs were from playoff teams, and all top 10 QBs were on 7+ win teams. To win in the NFL, most teams need good-to-great QB play. So if the Vikings are to take that next step and make the playoffs, granted with an elite run-focused attack, there is a 50/50 shot that Jackson will be a serviceable fantasy QB. Plus with ADP and Chester behind him, he'll face much easier coverage.

And since most leagues you only start 1 QB, Jackson seems like a guy worth stashing on the bench, even if you have only have 5-6 bench spots. All things considered I plan to target Jackson as a QB2 or early QB3 after I build solid depth at RB/WR and probably before drafting a defense or 2nd TE or 1st kicker.

If all of the above wasn't convincing enough, how about this ALL-DOME playoff schedule:

14 Dec 07 MIN @ DET 1:00 PM Tickets FOX

15 Dec 14 MIN @ ARI 4:05 PM Tickets FOX

16 Dec 21 ATL @ MIN 1:00 PM Tickets FOX

**Week 17 is Giants @ Vikings, also in a dome