Jackson, here, makes for 70% of the top ten as runningbacks. The first round should be a consistent stud you can rely on that will out-perform the rest.
It's also driven by their scarcity. 32 teams, each with one primary back. Some diluted by R.B.B.C., others by poor team performance, persistent injury, team scoring attitudes; barely ten will emerge each year with decent point totals and only four or five elites.
If you ignore this position for long you'll have gaping holes in your scoring and your opponents will not.
The quarterback position will have many solid performers since each team has one starter, and 2/3rds will perform all season. There are at least two and often three receivers on every team that are in on each play, and, there are so many emerging mid-season that they make up most of the waiver wire acquisitions. In addition their scoring is so inconsistent week to week that one can hardly be relied on.
Tight ends must also block; and every team has a defense and kicker.
A week to week scoring runningback pair, coupled with the lottery pick, emerging receiver usually wins the game.
At the tenth choice, if the best are gone from one position it is better to have the elite from another position then a mediocre gamble.
Jackson is on an upward trajectory to stardom and far from a dangerous risk.
He's no Marshall Faulk, but then no-one is.
St. Louis has a new coach who claims he's going to emphasize the running game. Pundits have been calling for more balance in St. Louis since Vermeil left.
Martz resisted because he prescribed to the Martz way. With Vermeil gone the restraints were off and an unfettered passing attack ensued. They were and are good, so the air attack; like an aggressive poker player, built big stacks of victories only to finally bust out while pushing the wrong hand.
As potent as the Martz offense was, it was still one dimensional and could inevitably be cracked. They went to the next Superbowl, lost, and never went back.
Scott Linehan put together a marvelous attack last season in Miami. It should live on and grow beyond him. Even though he helped Chris Chambers emerge as a star, he often called running plays near the end-zone. This is in contrast to Martz.
Linehan didn't get to work with a solid running attack last year. In Minnesota he had a dysfunctional R.B.B.C. In St. Louis, he inherits a potentially great runningback.
At 6'2" he's the tallest back in my top forty, and at 233 one of the heaviest. It's all muscle.
With Marshall Faulk as a willing teacher, Jackson has, and is learning the nuances of the art.
No one talks of his running style being too straight up, where he can get injured, like they do with Chris Brown.
He is still young, and there are many questions about holes on the team.
The line is anchored by Orlando Pace, one of the best in the game, but, is not so strong at the other positions.
However, Bulger, and the aging receiving corp are still to be feared and can move the ball down the field. They will assist Jackson in gaining more yards and more touchdowns than in '05.
It also helps to have an easy start to get your legs. If Linehan can surprise a still reeling Denver, trying to figure out it's own offense, then they could be welcoming their division rival, Seattle, with a confident 5-0 record and revenge clearly on their mind.
All the pieces are in place for a great season for Jackson, and he may easily out-perform this tenth position.
