Fantasy Football: Is Panthers' Jonathan Stewart Injury Prone?

Jonathan Stewart had a breakout rookie season in 2008, with a quality 4.5 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns. For all the success Stewart had in 2008, there were still problems that arose, that held Stewart back from being a fantasy stud.

Stewart's first major problem is his counter part running back DeAngelo Williams. Williams broke out last season for 20 touchdowns and to many was the fantasy football MVP of 2008.

Furthering Stewart's problems is that head coach John Fox has been very consistent from day one in Carolina about using a veteran runner over a young stud. This means that fantasy owners should expect Stewart to receive second licks in the offense yet again in 2009.

The second problem that keeps coming up for Stewart is that he always seems to have an ailment that holds him back. I hope for his sake he does not end up with an injury label like Fred "fragile" Taylor received by many in his prime.

Stewart out until August

For the second year in a row, Stewart has missed all the OTA work in June with Carolina. Last season he had surgery before the 2008 draft, and that cost him lots of work in the summer. During the season, Stewart played on a bad toe, and while he was effective, he was breaking down physically.

At this current time, Stewart is resting a sore Achilles tendon. It is widely believed that he acquired this injury while compensating for his toe, in the regular season.

Stewart's fantasy value

Right now, Stewart needs to show he can bounce back from his injury in August preseason games. If he looks good, then expect Stewart to be used the same way he was last year. The only difference would be that he may receive more goal-line opportunity', should Williams struggle in the early portion of the season.

I liken Stewart's value this season to Larry Johnson's value when Priest Holmes was still the star in Kansas City in 2005. That year, Priest was still a top-four overall selection in fantasy circles, but no one could deny that LJ was a very good runner as well. In some leagues that year, Johnson went as high as the fifth round in fantasy drafts. Look for this situation to be the same as Stewart is too valuable to ignore.

If you happen to draft DeAngelo in the first round of your draft, it would be wise to consider using a fifth-round pick to have Stewart as well. Remember in 2005, by the middle of the season, Holmes went down with an injury when he ran into a rookie named Shawn Merriman. Once Johnson took over, he led many fantasy owners to a championship that season.

In the end, if you have invested a top-end pick in Williams, the last thing you want to see is someone else partying with Stewart after your stud goes down.

Written By- Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com