2007 Outlook

The season started very slowly for Jones-Drew with only 12 yards on four carries in the first four games. Then he had 103 yards against the Colts on only 13 carries because of a few long runs but then went back to only three yards on three carries in week four. By midseason, Jones-Drew had run for only 320 yards in the first eight games with much of that the one Colts game in week three. Jones is vividly remembered for his tremendous effort in 2007 that ended with a total of 941 yards on 166 carries for a 5.7 YPC (3rd best in the NFL) and that he scored 13 rushing touchdowns and had two more scores as a receiver where he had 46 catches for 436 more yards. Great numbers and some very big games. But…

Maurice only gained an average of 42 rushing yards per game through the first 12 games with around four catches per week and 35 receiving yards. He had scored a total of seven rushing scores and two receiving touchdowns – pretty good by itself for a rookie that wasn’t a starter. But in the final four games, Fred Taylor was nursing a sore hamstring and only had 37 carries for 270 yards and that included 131 yards against the Colts. Jones-Drew had 71 carries during those final four match-ups with a total of 441 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He also added 14 catches for 119 yards. Those final four games included match-ups with IND (and Taylor had his 131 yards first), TEN, NE and KC (just 46 rushing yards). The New England game offered up an impressive 131 yards on 19 carries, but 74 yards came on one run. Otherwise, Jones-Drew only had 56 yards on 18 carries (3.1 YPC).

Is Jones-Drew the next LT? Of course that is very premature. But Jones-Drew did the one thing fantasy players love to remember – got red hot right during the fantasy playoffs. That happened when Taylor had a hamstring strain and the Jaguars just resigned Taylor to a three-year contract for $23 million. That wasn’t to be a bench guy. Jones-Drew has two characteristics that have huge fantasy benefits – he is the touchdown scorer and he can bust a long run or catch. In a long-term sense, he looks like a great keeper to own. For 2007, Taylor won’t always have a hamstring strain (at least probably) and the schedule is much tougher this year. Expect to see Jones-Drew productive and there’s no reason why his touchdowns will not continue even if Greg Jones is healthy again. But unless Taylor is out or very limited, then don’t expect Jones-Drew to be quite the wunderkind he was last year. To his benefit, he still goes against TEN and IND who he tore up last year. But Taylor’s extension and the way that Jones-Dew played in most games has to be considered.

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