The Fantasy Value of Steven Jackson

During the summer of 2007 I decided to start up a friends and family league with my father and two friends. I spent a good many hours doing research to set up scoring and roster settings, and did much of this searching on google. Whenever I typed "fantasy" and "scoring", more often than not an article about Steven Jackson would come up. Now for those who don't know what I'm talking about, let me explain. After an incredible 2006 season, where Jackson rushed for over 1,500 yards and 13 TDs, Jackson promised a 2,500 yard season for 2007. However, one injury was followed by another and needless to say he didn't reach his goal. Last season the promise came down a bit, and Jackson offered Ram's fans 2,000 yards rushing on the year. However, like the year before Jackson was plagued by injury and didn't deliver. So why is his ADP in the vicinity of 7 this season? Because when SJax plays, he wins games for fantasy owners. If you don't believe me, look at the stats. In the 11 games that Jackson started last season, he ran for over 1,000 yards with 7 TDs, and 4.1 yards per carry. SJax is a legit fantasy player, and these are my hopes for him this season:

More receptions - Marc Bulger has never been the most reliable QB, but when Jackson is healthy Bulger tends to look to him if his first receiver isn't open. In his legendary 2006 season, Jackson had 90 receptions for 800 plus yards and 3 scores. If Jackson can remain in the lineup he will regain his trust with Bulger and Bulger will look to him more. I expect Steven Jackson to have 80 receptions this season, for 650 yards and 2 TDs.

Less fumbles - In each of the last two season, where Jackson played 12 and 11 games, respectively, he fumbled the ball 5 times. In 2006, he had only 4, and 2 lost. I expect Steven Jackson to lower his fumble count this year to 3.

Do the right thing - Instead of promising some ridiculous high yardage rushing season, I would like Steven Jackson to promise his fans a 16 game season. If SJax can just stay on the field and off the bench this year, he will do damage. He might just break 2,000 total yards on the season if he avoids injury. I expect Steven Jackson to play 16 games this season.

And that my friends, is the most shocking prediction of them all.

-Bill Condit

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