Fantasy Football Team Preview: Rams

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet the ...
Steve Spagnuolo era. The first order of business? To rebuild almost everything. The Rams have already begun a makeover which will most certainly continue after another season of double-digit losses. I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say this is the last year Marc Bulger will be the Rams' starting quarterback. There isn't much to like about this squad from a fantasy perspective -- outside of the beast who is pictured to the right.

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The Breakout
Really, no one jumps off the page at me. Donnie Avery will be a popular sleeper/breakout selection among the masses, but let's be careful to not allow him to enter the he's gotten so much credit for being a sleeper he's going to be a bust zone. For example, I don't like his current value much. He's going before Jerricho Cotchery, Donald Driver and Devin Hester.

That being said, he will see an uptick in statistical production from last season. Torry Holt took his 119 targets from 2008 with him. Avery was targeted 103 times and you can expect that to rise up to around 120. That means we're looking at around 65 catches, 850 yards and a handful of touchdowns. If that piques your interest at a certain point in the draft, go ahead and take a stab. He'll work as a WR3.

The Bust
Everyone is rated pretty low other than Steven Jackson, but I'm going to warn everyone I can against seeing the name Marc Bulger and hoping for some sort of return to glory. I expect Jackson to remain healthy all season, and that will help take some pressure off Bulger. Still, his receiving options are pretty lackluster and the Rams will be forced to heavily rely upon Jackson. The days of 3,800-plus passing yards and 20-plus touchdown heaves are a thing of the past -- even with the Rams likely playing catchup frequently. Bulger's a low-end QB2 and nothing more.

The Depth Chart
QB1 - Marc Bulger
QB2 - Kyle Boller
RB1 - Steven Jackson
RB2 - Antonio Pittman
RB3 - Kenneth Darby
WR1 - Donnie Avery
WR2 - Keenan Burton
WR3 - Ronald Curry
WR4 - Laurent Robinson
TE - Randy McMichael
K - Josh Brown

The D/ST
Um, no. Seriously, just say no. Spagnuolo is going to tear it down before he builds it back up. There is absolutely no discernible reason to own the Rams defense in any fantasy league. The development of youngsters like Chris Long and James Laurinaitis bears watching for future reference, but it shouldn't be because the Rams D/ST is active in your fantasy league.

The Skinny
• There's a lot of crap to wade through here, which is quite the reversal from the Greatest Show on Turf days. There is one person I really love this year, though: Steven Jackson.

When Jackson plays, he's a monster. Last season he was viewed as a bust, yet he averaged almost 130 yards from scrimmage when he was on the field. He scored eight touchdowns in 11 games (he's technically listed with 12 games, but remember: one game he suited up and didn't see the field). The big knock is that he always misses games. The one time he did play every game in a season he had 2,334 yards and 16 touchdowns. There was a passing game behind him, but Spagnuolo has been praising Jackson as a star of offseason workouts for both his talent and his work ethic. Remember, last season he was holding out for more money and probably wasn't in game shape when he finally reported to camp. This time around, he's motivated to play all 16 games and prove he's an elite back. The Rams are going to use a run-heavy West Coast offense -- with Jackson as the clear-cut focal point -- this year, so he'll be racking up rushing and receiving yards at a ridiculous pace. He's worth a mid-first-round pick at the latest in my mind.

• Avery, as I said, is in line for a good season, but not great. Be careful not to take him too high, or he could end up becoming a bust. He's good value around 40th among receivers, but not much higher.

• Curry is a somewhat intriguing option in huge leagues. He has tons of athleticism and three seasons where he was useful in fantasy leagues as at least a stop-gap, but last season he was worthless. You could argue he's been stuck on bad teams and in bad situations, but is this one really much better? He's worth watching, but don't get too excited and draft him as a WR4 or anything. I'd like the gamble pick for your sixth receiver, if you have roster space for that many.

• As for the rest? Personally, I'd ignore everything else on this team except McMichael. McMichael is coming off a season in which he only played four games due to a broken leg. He's been a quasi-reliable outlet option for passers on bad teams in the past. He can work as a bye-week replacement as a low-end TE2.

• Burton and Robinson are shaky-at-best options, and the team won't be scoring near enough points to make Brown a worthwhile, consistent kicking option.