Fantasy Jacksonville Jaguars

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Nic Cage of the NFL. I don't know if it was his awful attempt at an accent in Con Air or what, but Cage just seems like a bad actor. Yet there he is bringing in all kinds of money with the National Treasure franchise, and he's even won an Oscar. You looked at the 2007 Jags and saw a diminutive running back flanked by a walking injury behind an inexperienced QB who had to throw to an awful receiving corps. Much like Cage, they got it done ... so why would 2008 be any different?

The Breakout
It looks like the Jags decided that David Garrard needed some receiving help, so they got him some in the off-season in the form of Jerry Porter and Troy Williamson. Both had fallen out of favor in their previous situations, yet sport undeniable talent. I'm going with Williamson here. He's still a young speedster, and has been heaped with praise early on in camp by Garrard. You should be able to get him close to the end of your draft.

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew saved many a fantasy football team last year -- including mine, for the record --
with a 15-touchdown rookie season. However, naysayers have come out of the woodwork recently, suggesting that Jones-Drew will be greatly overrated as a fantasy player this season.

To those people, I say this -- take a look at the highlight reel from Saturday's Jaguars-Buccaneers game. Seriously, click here and look at it. I'll wait.

You saw all the tackles he broke in the open field, right? You saw how quickly he motored up the field afterward, right?

Say what you want about Jacksonville's offense or its quarterback, but the one thing you cannot deny is that Maurice Jones-Drew makes big plays. That's his value to the Jags and to your fantasy team. No, he's not a LaDanian Tomlinson type that can rush for 120 yards and a TD every week -- especially with Fred Taylor still around -- but he's capable of turning nothing into something every time he touches the ball, especially in the passing game, and he's sure to get at least 15 touches per game this year. Given the quality of receivers in Jacksonville these days, Jones-Drew might end up being Byron Leftwich's most reliable target.

So don't be afraid to grab Maurice Jones-Drew early in your fantasy draft -- not too early, of course, as he's probably a 2nd- or 3rd-rounder, but he's as good a second running back to have on your roster as anyone.