By any standard, Steve Slaton’s rookie campaign was a resounding success, and admittedly, it came as a complete surprise to any fantasy pundit who will answer the question honestly. While many predicted big seasons from classmates Matt Forte and Chris Johnson, few regarded Slaton as a playmaker of the same caliber. One season later, many fantasy owners will be considering Slaton with their second-round picks...
 

Slaton entered the NFL having been a member of one of college football’s most prolific backfields at West Virginia. Teaming with quarterback Pat White, Slaton played three seasons in Morgantown without a redshirt, averaging over 135 total yards per game and totaling a school-record 55 career touchdowns. Yet, despite his tremendous college career as well as an excellent combine that established him as one of the most versatile and athletic backs in his class, Slaton slipped to the end of third round due to concerns about his diminutive stature and wide-open college system.
 

The Houston Texans took Slaton with the eighty-ninth overall pick, and while they intended to use him primarily as a receiving threat on passing downs, a rash of injuries to the veterans in front of him saw Slaton lead the team in carries in his debut, against no less than the eventual champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The 49 total yards he collected in the game would be his second-lowest total of the season and he never looked back. After an awkward Week 2 bye, Slaton started in the season’s third week and beat a vaunted Titans’ run defense to the tune of 124 total yards and a touchdown. It would be the last week he was available in any competitive league.
 

As many rookies will do, Slaton proved inconsistent for much of the season, reaching 100 total yards just twice between Week 4 and Week 10 and scattering touchdowns here and there along the way. From Weeks 11-15, however, Slaton put together a stretch of games that would have made any owner proud. For those five weeks, Slaton collected 687 total yards and a trio of touchdowns, flashing the big-play, multi-dimensional potential that will make him a prized commodity in 2009 drafts.
 

In previous seasons, most owners would be justifiably skeptical of using a high-round pick on a Houston running back; the most recent Texan tailback to register on fantasy radars was Domanick Davis, who himself was a major bust during the 2005 season. This current incarnation of the Texans, however, is not the same team that failed as universally as their predecessors.
 

Stability has come to many of the essential positions on both offense and defense, and Slaton, along with quarterback Matt Schaub, wide receiver Andre Johnson and tight end Owen Daniels, represents a separation from those truly awful offenses of the past. In fact, the Texans quietly finished third in the NFL last season in total offensive yards behind only New Orleans and Denver.
 

Slaton, more than any other player, will be the key to Houston’s continued success on that side of the ball. His versatility (he had 50 receptions to go with 268 carries) alone makes him a high priority in PPR leagues, and without much competition for carries, the touchdowns should be forthcoming as well. The Texans will likely do as much as they can to keep him below the 300-carry plateau, but rest assured that he will easily surpass 300 total touches one way or another with the dynamism that he brings to the passing game.
 

While he’s not an elite option, Slaton is the type of player that owners picking at the end of the first round must absolutely target when their turn comes around early in the second. Though he has a small history of injury, he is a high-reward, low-risk option with a secure job at an essential position. These are the players that win championships.

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