Pick or pass: Brandon Jacobs

Will Jacobs stay healthy?

Which Brandon Jacobs will show up for the New York Giants and fantasy owners in 2008?

Will it be the yards-collecting but non-scoring Brandon Jacobs of the 2007 regular season that averaged five yards a carry, broke 130 yards rushing in three different games, but ran for just four touchdowns?

Or will it be the touchdown-scoring, yards-challenged Brandon Jacobs of the 2007-08 playoffs that scored three touchdowns in four playoff games, but managed a measly 3.2 yards per carry with no run longer than 12 yards?

Or will it be the injured Brandon Jacobs that missed five games in 2007?

Or will it be all three versions of the Giants running back?

You probably get the point — it’s hard to tell what to expect from Jacobs heading into 2008. He’s been a household name to fantasy football owners since his goal line vulture days backing up Tiki Barber in 2005 (averaged 6.2 yards per game, but scored seven touchdowns) and 2006 (nine touchdowns), but last season was his first year as a feature back.

He lacked consistency, but the 6′4″ rusher definitely showed promise last year, as his 91.7-yards-per-game average trailed only Adrian Peterson and LaDainian Tomlinson among all NFL backs. He mustered just four rushing touchdowns, but did catch two scores, and as mentioned above, hit pay dirt three times in the post season.

But heading into the season, there were concerns that Jacobs’ upright running style would make him susceptible to injuries as a full-time back, and that’s what happened as the he missed five games. Jacobs was still the top option in the backfield when healthy, but he shared time with Ruben Droughns (beginning of the season) and Ahmad Bradshaw (end of season and playoffs).

Fantasy football owners are having a hard time agreeing where to rank Jacobs, with some seeing what he did last year as just a taste of his potential, with others figuring the injuries and inconsistencies are signs of things to come.

On this blog, Jacobs is No. 20 in the latest running back rankings. In the West Coast Nonsense-hosted mock draft, he was the 36th overall pick. But in a blogger mock draft I’m currently a part of, Jacobs went at pick No. 19, and Yahoo! fantasy writer Brandon Funston puts the Giants back at No. 17 overall.

I’m not big on Jacobs, but I’m not big on any Giants heading into 2008. They won the Super Bowl last year, but had little in the way of great fantasy players. Burress (a lot of scores, not a lot of catches) and Manning (some big games, and some bad ones) had their moments, but with Shockey gone, that means one less weapon for the offense, and more pressure on the ground game. If you believe the Giants can recapture what they had last year, plus get more consistency out of their offense, then Jacobs is your guy to pick. If you’re skeptical, like this blog, you’ll probably pass.

What do you think? Pick or pass?