Riders On The Storm

The Jacksonville Jaguars have had an abysmal start to the 2014 season. Not a whole lot has gone right so far. The offense hasn't been good. The defense has not improved as expected. Only 5 games into the season, it may already be time to see what the rookies have.

Image source nwitimes.com

At 0-5, and not much hope, Blake Bortles has already taken over at the helm of the offense. This week in comments reported by NFL.com the Jags head coach Gus Bradley said that the backfield is now an open competition. This may mean that there is a Storm on the horizon. Storm Johnson that is. With Toby Gerhart a disappointment so far, and Denard Robinson being too undersized to take the lead back role in the offense, Storm Johnson might be the feature back of the near future with Jacksonville.

Johnson played his college years at Miami and Central Florida. His only season with a significant workload was his 2013 junior season. In that season he had 213 carries for 1139 yards and 14 touchdowns. Add to that 30 catches for 260 yards and 3 more touchdowns and you see some good production.

A 7th round pick this year by the Jaguars, Johnson seems likely to get a look at least for the next few games, and if he performs, he could end up with the job for this year and possibly years to come. At 6' and 209 pounds, he has the size to absorb the punishment as a feature back in the NFL. Not a burner, had a 4.6 40-yard dash at the combine, Johnson is more likely to be a pound it up the gut power back. One knock on his potential will be the condition of the offensive line in Jacksonville. Not the most talented bunch in the league, they have not made much space for the backs so far this year.

That being said, there is always value in a starting running back in the NFL. If the Jaguars give Storm the amount of touches a feature back should get, he could be a valuable addition to a fantasy roster that has under performing running backs or has been decimated by injuries or suspensions this season. I recommend making a speculative add of Storm Johnson to your fantasy rosters. Dropping players that will likely never see a start on your team, handcuffs that you don't have the starter for, or injured players are the guys to look at dropping to add him. I would consider dropping Montee Ball for Johnson as well with his lack of performance and multi-week injury situation.

Storm Johnson could rain down some much needed points on your fantasy football season. Seed the clouds of your fantasy roster today.