Fantasy Football 2018: 10 RB sleepers to target for Week 13

Justin Jackson, Los Angeles Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers

Melvin Gordon’s injury opens up a huge opportunity for new Chargers starting running back Austin Ekeler, who has been hugely impressive behind Gordon this season. But fantasy football owners already know to expect big things from Ekeler, who is starting in virtually every league this week – and for good reason. He’s a legitimately good every-down back operating in one of the NFL’s most vaunted offenses.

However, Ekeler isn’t the only running back on the Chargers worth keeping an eye on with Gordon out, because the Chargers have shown that their offense is capable of supporting two running backs. Ekeler will lead the way for the Chargers, but he probably won’t command as many snaps as Gordon did, meaning that his backup will receive more carries than Ekeler did as the No. 2 guy.

Justin Jackson is the man behind Ekeler, and he looked like an intriguing fantasy option last week after Gordon went down. The 23-year-old, seventh-round pick out of Northwestern picked up 57 yards on seven carries in an encouraging “debut” against the Arizona Cardinals defense, setting himself up nicely for a Week 13 encore against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Of course, Pittsburgh’s run defense is superior to Arizona’s, and the Chargers will have to play on the road at a chilly Heinz. However, Jackson could get around 10 carries, and if he picks up a goal-line opportunity, that could be enough to help fantasy owners in deep leagues.