Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Tim Hightower suddenly elevated from goal-line vulture to starting running back, to the surprise and delight of many. Veteran Edgerrin James took a backseat to the first-year back from Richmond and didn’t log a carry in Arizona’s 34-13 win over St. Louis.

This is a promotion that will stick for the rest of the season, and as James told the Arizona Republic, has been “brewing for a while.” Hightower is in, James is out.

What does it mean in fantasy? Well, Hightower goes from a moderately valuable scoring threat to a legitimate producer. He will get 20-plus carries per game and be as close to a “feature back” as there is in the modern-day NFL. The rookie already has seven touchdowns, too, and could sleep-walk his way into double digits by season’s end.

The upside is apparent in watching Hightower run. Where the declining James lacked big play ability, Hightower adds that element, and then some, to one of the league’s most prolific passing offenses.

He looks an awful lot like Dallas running back Marion Barber in the way he runs, only with a little more finesse and a little less violence. The results looks much the same, too: as a second-year player and first-time major contributor in 2006, Barber rushed for 654 yards and scored 14 touchdowns.

That package works, whether you’re talking about fantasy or reality.

As for James, the fall from grace was sudden, but the decline was not. Despite back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in Arizona, James averaged just 3.6 yards per carry in two-plus seasons and had just four carries go for more than 20 yards, according to the Arizona Republic.