Steven Jackson has flown to St Louis, and it appears he will be practicing with the Rams again soon. This gives him just over 2 weeks to get ready, which should be plenty of time if he not completely out of shape (ala LenWhale White).
So those of us that had Jackson near the top of our draft lists can breathe a sigh of relief. Let's look at Steven's projections a little more closely, if only because projecting someone on such a terrible offense to go so high does not sound like a good idea.
We have Jackson slated for 325 carries, which would be the second highest in his career. The first two years he was splitting carries with Marshall Faulk, the third year he had 346 carries, and last year's carries project to 316 when you figure in the 4 games he missed. He has no serious competition for his job, so he should be expected to shoulder the load again this year. The Rams may have to pass a lot (because they will be behind a lot), but no more than they did last year. So 310 carries might be a more conservative number, but 325 is in the right ballpark. We have him slated to catch 47 passes, which is actually a bit under his career pace for 16 games.
We are expecting Jackson to equal his 4.2 yards per carry of last season, below his career average of 4.4. Yes, their offensive line is still atrocious, but no worse than it was last year. Steven is only 25, and has only had one year with a lot of carries (2006, the year he had 346), so I don't think he is going to wear down in terms of yards per rush or be a high injury risk. We are projecting him to equal his career average of 8.3 yards per reception.
So, overall, I think Jackson deserves the rankings we have given him, and you should feel safe about drafting him in the first round of your drafts. He is our 8th RB in normal leagues, and even better in PPR leagues.
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