Sleeper Watch

Is Steven Jackson part of a new “Marshall Plan” in St. Louis?

One of the more interesting fantasy football projects is looking at the impact of rookies after the draft, analyzing their new teams, and trying to figure out which players are headed for year one success. One player whose supporters were not comfortable predicting early glory based on his new home is Steven Jackson, the Oregon State RB who “slipped” to St. Louis at pick 26 of the first round in April. However, new information may cause this prognosis to change.

KTRS 550 AM out of St. Louis reported that Rams RB Marshall Faulk is considering retirement. According to the station, sources inside the Rams locker room revealed that Faulk’s knee is acting up again, and that he might choose to retire this summer if it continues to bother him in camp. Faulk has not played 16 games in a season since 1999, only played in 11 games last year, has seen his per carry average fall from 5.3 to 4.5 to 3.9 in the last three years, has hit the magic age of 30, and now has a first-round caliber backup.

Any comparisons to former Rams second-stringer Trung Canidate would be an insult to Steven Jackson. The 233-pound back was not supposed to be on the board as late as he was, with everyone from Mel Kiper Jr. to your local bartender projecting him to go to the Patriots, Broncos, or Cowboys. Yet in spite of his late draft slot, Jackson has some real potential. He rushed for more than 3,200 yards over his last two seasons in college, and has developed tools as a receiver, seeing his receptions more than double between his sophomore and junior years.

Now that the Rams found him at the end of the first round, it’s relatively safe to say that as long as he doesn’t hold out, he could outlast Lamar Gordon and get some action, considering how unlikely it seems that Faulk will be a go all season. For now, Jackson’s agent (who coincidentally is the same man that represents Marshall Faulk) is still trying to tie more performance bonus opportunities to Jackson’s rookie contract. Sounds like he might know something. In recent years, the St. Louis backup, whoever he happened to be, was worth drafting in the late rounds, as a handcuff if not as trade bait. This year, however, there is the possibility for sleeper magic.
 

Sleeper contributed by Chris Wieder. More of Chris?s insights and opinions can be found in the Cafe Forums, where he posts as Poobah.