As Week 1 of the 2012 fantasy football season dawns—I guess that's also the beginning of the regular season—Steven Jackson, the official Only Fantasy Football Player of the St. Louis Rams, was ranked near the middle of the running back pack by WalterFootball, where he's 12th overall. In a game against the Detroit Lions, where there's a possibility Jackson will be neutralized in the second half as Sam Bradford throws long passes toward the sideline, I think that qualifies as a minor vote of confidence.
Jackson fell in a number of fantasy football leagues amid concerns about his age and Isaiah Pead's role on the team, but he's still an every-week starter for all but the most stacked teams, and Week 1 is no exception. One thing worth watching out for—how Jeff Fisher and Brian Schottenheimer use Jackson in the receiving game. At his peak Jackson was a dangerous and oft-targeted receiver, but he's become little more than a secondary option over the last few seasons. If he gets a few more targets than expected, his value could go up in spite of Pead's presence on the roster.