Week 1 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings: Deon Jackson could be useful with Jonathan Taylor out

Chris Towers walks you through his Week 1 RB rankings

By Chris Towers

Sep 10, 2023 at 9:26 am ET • 3 min read

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We know Jonathan Taylor isn't going to play for the first four weeks of the 2023 NFL season, but that's about all we know for certain about the Colts running back situation heading into Week 1.

Uncertainty isn't necessarily a bad thing for Fantasy draft season, because so many of your picks are going to be speculative by nature. Viewed from a certain perspective, uncertainty is just another word for "potential" in Fantasy Football. But, things change when it comes time to actually setting your lineup. Because suddenly, all of those speculative, late-round fliers you threw out there may be facing a situation where they have no role to speak of in Week 1. However, in the Colts situation, uncertainty still could mean potential for the likes of Deon Jackson, Evan Hull, and Zack Moss. We just don't yet know for whom as Week 1 looms.

Right now, I'm not projecting Moss to play in Week 1 as he recovers from a broken arm, with Aaron Wilson reporting in recent days that Moss is aiming for a Week 2 or 3 return. He hasn't been ruled out, and he did get a limited practice in Wednesday and Thursday, so there's a chance he ends up playing. But I'm guessing the Colts will take the safe route and aim for next week.

That means we're likely looking at Jackson and Hull as the Colts top backs. Jackson is reportedly expected to draw the start. Jackson has a bit more experience, but only a bit – he started two games last season for the Colts and had double-digit carries in just four games, but he was pretty useful in those four games, averaging 14.9 PPR points per game. Of course, he did much of that damage as a pass-catcher, scoring more than half of those points on receptions, and there's probably going to be a pretty big difference between how an ancient Matt Ryan played last season vs. how the mobile Anthony Richardson plays this season. Expect fewer dump-offs.

Hull comes to the NFL after being a three-down back in college at Northwestern, and he brings a pretty strong athletic profile to the table – he ran a 4.47 40-yard dash at 209 pounds at the Combine, though he didn't often showcase much explosiveness in college.

Given that Jackson has NFL experience, I'd expect the Colts to tab him as the starter, with Hull spelling him, but both should be part of the game plan if Moss is out. It very well could be a hot hand situation, and Richardson's mobility should help open up running lanes for both backs. I wouldn't feel particularly comfortable starting either one this week, but if I was forced to, Jackson would be the guy – he's RB36 for me this week, while Hull is 47.

If you're starting either back, I hope that means you went with a zero-RB build in your drafts, because otherwise, you should have better options. However, Jackson has shown the ability to be useful in Fantasy before, so in a pinch, there are worse options out there in what could be a fast-paced, run-heavy offense.

Do you play in a deeper full-point PPR league? Over at Sportsline, Jacob Gibbs has you covered with full-point PPR position-by-position rankings for Week 1.