Zac Stacy? Isaiah Pead? Benny Cunningham? One or maybe even two of these guys were picked up by owners last week when Daryl Richardson tweeted that there would be competition for the Rams starting running back job going into Week 5 against Jacksonville. Pead initially appeared to be the slight favorite despite his disappearance coming off suspension, but Stacy wound up being THE guy to grab after picking up 78 yards on just 14 carries. If you picked him up, Congrats. If he is still on your waiver wire, he is the top guy I'd pick up this week. How often do starting running backs, young starting running backs, pop up this late in the season?
Stacy has one thing that Richardson and Pead lack.....Size. Richardson weighs in at 196. Pead isn't much higher at 197. Stacy outweighs both at 5/8/216. Some sites have him listed at 226. Cunningham has the size, but he's clearly too raw after going undrafted. Now I know you're likely saying "Well, Maurice Jones-Drew isn't big?" What MJD lacked in size, he made up for in ability. Or he did at least. He isn't looking so hot now. But Stacy's size is an advantage as he was a battering ram in between the tackles against the Jaguars. Along with size, Stacy also showed good balance and showed exceptionally well in the passing game as a blocker. That last part will go a long way in how long Stacy can hold onto the job.
A question that keeps going through my mind, however, is whether Stacy was simply at the right place at the right time. The Jaguars rank in the bottom half of the league against fantasy running backs, giving up almost 19 points a game. So is Stacy THAT good, or was he the beneficiary of a bad defense?
Final Conclusion
In the end, there is no doubt that owners, ALL OWNERS, have to pick up Stacy as he will start against the Texans in Week 6. The good news is that the Texans are just as bad as the Jaguars against the run, giving up around the same number of fantasy points. Would I start him as an RB2? That's a bit too high in my opinion. Especially for a player who has only made one start. A flex option? Most definitely. There is a good chance that, because of the matchup, Stacy could crack 100 yards. The only drawback is that PPR owners won't get as much value out of him because his pass-catching history isn't very good. While at Vanderbilt, he totaled 46 receptions in 4 years. He didn't notch a catch last week. Expect that trend to continue. But I will say, again, that he is a pickup in ALL leagues.