Steven Jackson's Value Rising

The Rams recently inked a very solid fullback, in Mike Karney, but he's not the news in fantasy football. He shouldn't ever be owned in fantasy leagues, unless there are some who use fullbacks (I've never heard of any, though I'd prefer that to having a kicker). Karney is a quality football player, but that is a completely separate arena than being a fantasy football player.

What does happen with the move of Karney, though, is a ripple affect. Think about how much more effective Thomas Jones was this past season, after the Jets revamped their offensive line and acquired a solid blocking fullback.

Steven Jackson is going to be in a very similar situation this season. In fact, he's coming off a very disappointing season, much like Jones was last year. The biggest difference, though, is that Jackson has a lot more talent and he's much younger.

Jackson is only 25 years-old, and we've seen his potential in a monster 2006 campaign where he piled up 2,334 yards from scrimmage and 16 total touchdowns. The overall offense won't be near as efficient as it was that season, but Jackson has a good chance to get close to those numbers. With Jason Brown and probably the second overall draft pick (it's going to be a stud left tackle) joining the offensive line, along with a fullback the caliber of Karney, Jackson will have much more running room than he did in 2008.

Another factor to consider is that he held out last season. Obviously, you can't prove the holdout is what caused the injury. Still, it's nice to know that he'll be with the team for the duration of camp in '09, and he's likely to be quite motivated to return to form.

Drafting your fantasy football team is a long, long way away. For now, though, it looks like SJax is going to be a bit undervalued and pay great dividends to his prospective owners.