Steven Jackson Injury: Is Cadillac Williams Fantasy Football's Best Handcuff?

We didn't even make it through the early games today before witnessing the first significant fantasy football injury of the season, as St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson left with a leg injury in the first half of Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jackson was off to a solid start with 56 rushing yards (including a 47-yard touchdown scamper), but after trying to reenter the game, Jackson was shut down for the afternoon.

The Rams then turned the reins in the run game over to Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, who turned in a very good statistical effort, gaining 140 total yards on the day and hauling in five passes. The seven-year veteran has shown he can be a fantasy football asset, rushing for nearly 1,200 yards and finishing in the top 25 at his position in 2005, but Williams' inability to stay on the field has relegated him to backup status in the NFL and rendered him a fantasy afterthought.

That may be about to change though, should Jackson miss any time.

Williams will undoubtedly leap to the front of the hot pickups list on fantasy waiver wires this week, and this just underscores how important it can be for fantasy owners to secure the "handcuff" for their star running backs.

For Jackson owners, Williams is now an absolute must-have. Even if Jackson returns next Monday night against the New York Giants, there is always the possibility that he could re-aggravate the injury and wind up right back on the sidelines.

In fact, fantasy owners who don't own Jackson should probably consider adding Williams to their rosters even before we know more about the severity of Jackson's injury.

"Cadillac" has demonstrated that, when healthy, he can be an effective runner and receiver. Jackson's durability issues have once again reared their ugly heads, and as the old saying goes, you can just never have too many fantasy running backs.