Is Eddie Lacy Getting Too Much Hype?

This is actually something I noticed when I was talking fantasy football recently and its a lot more relevant now after RB Eddie Lacy suffered a concussion on Thursday night. I'm a big fan of his, but I was really surprised when a non-Packer fan friend told me that he drafted Lacy ahead of LeSean McCoy. The Packers are always going to be a pass-first team with QB Aaron Rodgers and Lacy is only a safety valve receiver, not a legitimate receiving threat like McCoy. 

Below, guest writer Lance Fleury wrote a sponsored article about the inflated value of Lacy.

The Green Bay Packers are set to start the 2014 NFL season, and expectations are obviously very high surrounding the franchise. The hope is that they are going to be not only in the playoffs, but one of the teams battling for a spot in the Super Bowl. There is no doubt that this team is very solid, but one guy who is still at least a little bit of a wild card is Eddie Lacy. Yes, he had a superb season in fantasy football a year ago as a rookie. However, is he really going to be the perfect complementary piece to Aaron Rodgers and the passing offense now that the quarterback is healthy?

At the beginning of his rookie year, Lacy was not exactly receiving high praise. Not only was he considered to be possibly out of shape going into the 2013 season, but he was also dealing with some nagging injuries that actually kept him out of close to two contests. After that, he was able to really turn things up a notch, especially when Rodgers went down with an injury to his collarbone.

It is natural for fans of the Green Bay Packers to be very hyped about the 2014 season, as this will really be the 1^st extended time to see Lacy and Rodgers playing comfortably together. There is no doubt that Rodgers is going to open up a lot of opportunities in fantasy football for Lacy, but the second year player out of Alabama will need to improve on his yards per carry. As a rookie, he was only able to average 4.1 yards when he carried the ball. That should improve now that he is a bit more used to how the game is played, but that is at least a little bit of a concern.

From a fantasy football perspective, 11 touchdowns can also be a curse for a 2^nd year player. Once a person is able to have that type of success as a rookie, it is expected out of them every single year. Touchdowns can be hit or miss from year-to-year, so expecting him to get double-digit scores every year might not be the smartest idea.

Doug Martin, CJ Spiller, Trent Richardson and others in recent memory have struggled after showing a lot of promise early on in their career. Green Bay is obviously a different situation with one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but it is not a given that Lacy is one of the best running backs in the game. He still has a lot to prove in order for Green Bay to fully reach their potential this upcoming year. He will certainly be tested early with some of the defenses the Packers will be going up against.