Head Of The Pack: The Fallout From Eddie Lacy’s Injury
The Packers’ running back corp was thrown is flux Thursday afternoon with Eddie Lacy being placed on the injured reserve list. The Packers’ workhorse will miss a minimum of eight weeks, but could return to the team if he is fully healed by that time. With the Pack’s number two back, James Starks, also slated to miss the next month after his own knee injury, the Green Bay rushing attack was suddenly without a torchbearer. We’ll discuss the uneasiness surrounding Eddie Lacy’s situation in a bit, but for now, let’s talk about the players who will be battling for touches while Lacy is on the mend.
Many fantasy owners got out ahead of yesterday’s announcement, as Don Jackson and Knile Davis have been flying off the waiver wire all week. However, these moves were being made in the dark, as no one knew for certain how the snaps would be distributed between those two backs and Ty Montgomery, the Packers’ second year wideout, who played a hybrid runner/ receiver role in college, at Stanford and is now being asked to pick up the slack at running back.
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Those questions were answered on Thursday night, as Montgomery dominated the competition’s first round against the Bears. The wideout handled the vast majority of the snaps, rushing for 60 yards on nine carries and hauling in ten passes for another 66 yards. While he didn’t fare quite as well in an early goal line situation as most would expect from a true tailback, Montgomery functioned brilliantly in his role overall.
We can assume Montgomery’s usage will remain steady in this hybrid capacity moving forward. The eventual return of James Starks could lead to decrease in rushing attempts, but if he continues to perform as he did against the Bears, Montgomery will have a role in this offense for the foreseeable future. Without a hybrid designation in your fantasy league, however, he can’t help you get stronger at running back.
The Hopefuls
As for Don Jackson and Knile Davis, neither of them were able to get it going against the Bears. Jackson suffered a hand injury after just five snaps and two carries. He managed six yards on the ground. Davis didn’t get in the game until there was less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The former Chief also handled two carries, but he gained just one yard.
Fantasy owners who raced to their league site to scoop up one of these two backs were likely beyond disappointed with the results. While no one should have expected Packers’ coach Mike McCarthy to give either player double digit carries, it certainly would have been nice to see them get more than two, even if that usage was in short yardage situations.
Instead, the Packers chose to throw the football 56 times, just five attempts short of Aaron Rodgers career high of 61 passes in a single game. His 39 completions were the most Rodgers has ever compiled in the NFL. Discounting the quarterback’s rushing attempts on the night, Green Bay ran the ball a mere 21 times. Still, it’s difficult to argue with the results.
Yet, for fantasy owners desperate for help at running back, there are two questions that need to be asked. Is there a place in this offense for either Knile Davis or Don Jackson moving forward and, how long should we keep these players on our roster while we wait for an answer to the first question
The reports of Don Jackson working out with the first team offense leading up to the Bears’ game spurred much of the buzz surrounding the rookie. There were reports from Packers’ beat writers and tweets from NFL insiders proclaiming that Jackson would see his fair share of the work on Thursday night. Had he not injured his hand, he may have seen a few prime opportunities as the game went on.
However, it was apparent early on that Jackson was not going to be featured in any way and was on the field to be a decoy, while Rodgers assaulted both, the record books and the Bears’ defense. We’ll wait for news on the severity of his hand injury, but at this time, it’s difficult to advise anyone to hold out hope for Jackson to see a worthwhile share of the touches in this offense. As long as Ty Montgomery keeps playing like he did on Thursday, Jackson will remain a player with very limited upside, if any at all. This makes Jackson an option only for those fantasy owners with deep roster limits, excellent running back depth, or extremely desperate needs at the position.
How quickly Knile Davis picks up Green Bay’s offense will dictate how soon he gets a shot to run the rock during a meaningful portion of the game. Davis showed off his ability in 2014 while filling in for an injured Jamaal Charles. At that time, some compared Davis’ potential to that of former Charger, Michael Turner. Turner was stuck behind the great Ladainian Tomlinson until he left for the Falcons in free agency and unleashed his talents. Davis is paying for a future roll with some NFL team. We can expect to see a very motivated player when his opportunity comes. It’s safe to assume he will see more work in week eight when the Packers travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons. He should be held until then to see if his lot improves.
The Man Of The Hour
But again, barring a massive outburst by one of the “true” tailbacks, this job belongs to Ty Montgomery. The injuries to Eddie Lacy and James Starks have likely changed the trajectory of Montgomery’s career. The Packers always knew about his versatility, but now they know they can call upon him for more than a few random gadget plays. It will be interesting to see if an how his role evolves and if our league sites begin to honor his “slash” designation with dual eligibility at both wideout and running back.
Which brings us back to Eddie Lacy. The mammoth back will have surgery to repair the injured ankle, but could be eligible to return to the team in eight weeks if he’s fully healed. By that time, the Packers will have had to decide whether to bring Lacy, or cornerback Sam Shields, (who is also on the I.R. list with a severe concussion,) off of I.R., as NFL rules dictate that teams can only designate one player to return to play from the list. This decision could boil down to a handful of factors such as the team’s record, the strength of their running and defensive back units, and their ability to make plays in short yardage, just to name a few.
Eddie Lacy is in the final year of his rookie contract. As a second round pick, the team holds no fifth year option on the former Alabama star. It’s completely possible they have tired of his inability to stay healthy and might look to find another candidate for the feature back role. They could bring Lacy back at a discount and make him compete for the job next season, or they could decide to move on all together.
In either event, dynasty owners can not rely on Lacy being a staple of the Packers’ running back corps heading into 2017. He’s not likely to have much trade value in dynasty leagues either, making him a speculative buy low option for owners willing to take a flyer on a player who has demonstrated his ability to dominate when healthy. It’s possible he lands on a new team next season, which leaves his future usage completely up in the air.
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