2007 Outlook

It’s been three long seasons since the 49ers had a wideout of any note but the addition of Darrell Jackson should final give the fans someone to get excited about. Jackson was very consistent in Seattle with around 1100 yards and eight scores in years that he was not injured but his durability has been a big issue the last two years and undoubtedly was a part of the reason why Seattle allowed him to leave. Jackson missed ten games in 2005 and three games last year due to a variety of injury issues but even despite having only 13 games in 2006, he scored a career best ten touchdowns and had a 15.2 yard average per catch until he suffered a turf toe condition. His toe was still a problem earlier this spring but should be cleared up for training camp – or at least until he suffers something else.

Jackson is only 28 years old and has several good seasons left in him if he can hold up. He’s one of the lowest risk fantasy wideouts this year in the sense that it is guaranteed that he will be the starter and receive the majority of wideout catches. He brings not only terrific possession ability, but his 47 career touchdowns is far more than all other SF wideouts combined. He will be a factor in the endzone though tight end Vernon Davis will as well. The 49ers defense should be improved this year and rushing game is already stellar. That will place Jackson primarily into a possession, “keep the chains moving" role that should produce consistent numbers each week, even if they rarely ever turn into a truly big game. Alex Smith enters his third season and will improve – and to large extent because he actually has a top-flight wideout finally and not a set of receivers that make the average 49er fan thumb through the game program to see who they are.

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