Start'Em: Jason Avant a Waiver Wire Pickup | NFL Fantasy Football Rankings

It's been a while coming for Eagles' slot receiver Jason Avant to get his chance to help fantasy football owners to victory. For the past four seasons Avant has been a non-reinvent backup receiver, but now it appears that this young player is ready to produce in fantasy lineups.

Last week fantasy stud receiver DeSean Jackson suffered a concussion, and upon his absence quarterback Donovan McNabb looked Avant's way more often.

Now, Jackson has come out and told the press he doesn't believe he will be ready to face the Falcons' fantasy friendly secondary. This will leave the door open for Avant to cash in and help fantasy owners to the playoffs.

Three Solid Weeks

Last week wasn't the first game Avant put up decent fantasy numbers, as he's been solid for the past three in a row. Over that span Avant has been targeted twenty times and has seventeen receptions off of those targets.

Three weeks ago against the Chargers , Avant had eight catches for 156 yards receiving. The next week against the Bears he scored a touchdown and last week he had a good stat line again.

With Jackson out of the lineup, I wouldn't be surprised to see McNabb target Avant at least nine times in this game. The Falcons aren't that bad against the run but have struggled against the pass in the last couple months.

A big reason for this is because the Falcons have suffered key injuries in the secondary and haven't been able to slow down opponents in the passing game since.

Look for Avant to make a run at 100 yards receiving and a touchdown score this weekend.

Beyond Atlanta

Upon Jackson's return Avant's fantasy football value will drop. Jackson is by far the best receiver on the team, and Avant is usually used as the slot receiver in the offense.

As long as Jackson is out of the lineup I would suggest you use Avant but when he returns expect Avant's numbers to be sporadic.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com