Unsteady Eddie
Pack’s lacy the worst of draft flops
It’s official: Every fantasydraft pick has warts. some were obvious. some you looked past initially. some were hidden on draft night.
You knew you would have togo two games without Le’Veon Bell. In retrospect, Adrian Peterson’s inconsistency makes sense for someone coming off a year-long suspension. some fantasy pundits have been forecasting the injury or production decline of Ma r - shawn Lynch for years. Jamaal Charles drew the short straw in the dev astating injury sweepstakes. Even untouchable Antonio Brown has been impacted by the loss of Ben Roethlisberger.
If there was one safe play on draft day, it was Eddie Lacy — a three-down back who got goal-line carries on the league’s best offense. And then the season happened.
Lacy twisted his ankle against seattle in Week 2, but fantasy owners breathed a sigh of relief when he returned the next week. Yet his production hasn’t reached expected levels. But that was going to change this week, when the Packers faced the Chargers — who fantasy backs have feasted on this season.
And then the game happened. James starks got the start — wait … what?!? — and on the second drive he ripped off a 65-yard touchdown run. If the “hot hand” theory was in play, which it seemed to be, then Lacy’s fantasy day was all but over, which it was.
so now you’re staring at your fantasy roster and realizing: You have a first-round pick who you don’t feel safe starting. He might not be C.J. Anderson bad, but it’s not good.
there is speculation Lacy hasn’t completely recovered from his earlier ankle injury, but you would think if it were a big enough problem to stunt Lacy’s production and workload to the degree sunday’s game would suggest (four carries for 3 yards), then why wouldn’t the Packers just sit him down and let him heal?
there are other reasons for worry. Lacy’s weight could be, um, weighing him down — he is listed at 234 pounds, but by any measure he does not look lean. His yards per carry is down significantly from last season — 3.9 from 4.6. His touchdown frequency has dipped remarkably — he scored once every 25.3 touches over his first two seasons, but has just one TD in 76 touches this year.
If you have him, well, you’ re stuck. You’re not going to find good trade value for him right now. If you are in need, however, it is a good time to buy low. Lacy normally turns it on in the sec- ond half of the season — 16 of his 24 total TDS his first two seasons have come in the final eight games.
As the weather cools, the Packers will lean more on the running game. If the ankle is a problem, by then maybe it’s not. If Lacy isn’t in game shape now, by then maybe he wil l be. there is reason to believe when the Packers do start to lean later, they will lean Lacy’s direction, even if they didn’t this week.