Storm Johnson's Updated 2014 Fantasy Outlook Heading into Week 7

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Storm Johnson was one of fantasy's hottest waiver-wire pickups over the course of the past week due to injuries and tremendous upside, but he ran into mixed results Sunday against Tennessee.

Not that it is entirely the rookie's fault.

Johnson impressed early with a few nice carries and an eventual short-yardage touchdown. He wound up finishing the day with just eight points overall, though, as offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch inexplicably gave his rookie tailback one carry in the final two quarters of what turned out to be a game decided by two points.

We know the offensive line struggles in Jacksonville. Going into the week, the Jaguars were the third-worst run-blocking team in the league, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

But owners can be forgiven for thinking that the staff would not abandon the run entirely. It did, and eight points is the result for those who took the dive on Johnson. 

Still, it would be silly to suggest owners ignore Johnson from here on out. While Tennessee ranked near the middle of the pack in terms of points allowed to running backs, the state of the position overall means most are chomping at the bit for quality backs who may have an opportunity to produce.

Opportunity is what Johnson should have. Remember that coach Gus Bradley spoke highly of his three usable backs before the game, per an Associated Press report, via FloridaToday.com.

"I think that you will see all three of them have a chance to play in different roles," Bradley said. "It does create opportunities. It is that cliche 'next man up,' so it will give more opportunities to D-Rob and Todman and Storm. All three will be utilized."

Sunday's usages tell a different story, though, as the final box score reads:

	CAR	YDS	AVG
B. Bortles	5	38	7.6
D. Robinson	5	22	4.4
S. Johnson	10	21	2.1
J. Todman	3	1	0.3

Johnson struggled in terms of per-carry average, but it was quite apparent he is the lead back moving forward until Toby Gerhart returns from injury. Denard Robinson gets the occasional touch, and Jordan Todman is a passing-down back, but the staff—when it actually feels it is worth it to run the ball—defers to the rookie already.

The conversation subsequently bleeds into matchup territory, which reveals a bit of a mixed slate the rest of the way:

WK	OPP	Rank vs. RBs (Avg. points surrendered)
7	Cle	30 (21.8)
8	Mia	20 (19.8)
9	@Cin	15 (16.3)
10	Dal	14 (15.6)
11	BYE
12	@Ind	17 (19.2)
13	NYG	24 (20.2)
14	Hou	16 (17.8)
15	@Bal	4 (10.6)
16	Ten	18 (19.4)
17	@Hou	16 (17.8)

Upcoming games against Cleveland, Miami and New York should prove to be gold mines, while the obvious no-fly zones are a bit farther down the list. 

Next week in Cleveland should tell owners everything they need to know about Johnson's value. There is no reason to not pick him up in all leagues at the moment, as he has folks such as Bleacher Report's Matt Miller buzzing for good reason:

At worst, Johnson filters out into a non-factor at the position, but again, given the overall outlook, a potential breakout candidate is better than sitting on one's hands.

Johnson is an extremely high-upside flex player in the coming weeks who, if it works out right for owners, will force the staff to feed him the ball and fade Gerhart out of the rotation whenever he returns.

Treat him as such for the time being, especially based on a desirable schedule in the coming weeks.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. ET. Statistics courtesy of ESPN. Kansas City and New Orleans on bye.