Green Bay Packers: Week 16 Fantasy Profile
By Kenn Korb
Dec 20, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Green Bay Packers running back James Starks (44) runs the ball against the Oakland Raiders in the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Packers defeated the Raiders 30-20. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
RB – Eddie Lacy, James Starks
Last Game:
Lacy – 11 carries, 23 rushing yards; 2.30 fantasy points
Starks – 9 carries, 51 rushing yards, 1 catch, 5 receiving yards, 1 Fumble Lost; 3.60 fantasy points
We are 16 weeks into this season, and nobody can get a handle on this running back situation.
Eddie Lacy had such a slow start to the season, but then he started to get things going with some strong play in recent weeks. After no games with 100 yards rushing through the first 10 weeks of the season, Lacy has now had three games with that much since that point. But..in between those games we’ve seen him get mostly benched for missing curfew before being a relative no-show this past week against the Raiders.
Your guess is as good as mine if he has any hope of finishing the season on a high note. It definitely doesn’t look promising however; Arizona is even better against the run (#2 run defense DVOA) than the pass.
I think he can do better than he did against an Oakland team that seemed to load up specifically to stop the run…but I wouldn’t bank on it being all that much better.
Starks might actually be a sneaky good bet here. He won’t likely put up much rushing yardage, but he can do damage in the screen game. If Green Bay manages to use that as part of their gameplan — and more importantly, make positive plays come out of it — then Starks could have himself a decent amount of combined yardage.
If he can break a big play in there somewhere or have the good fortune of things lining up well on a particular snap, he could definitely add in a touchdown somewhere too. If you are looking at him as an option, that is what you’ll be banking on happening.
Week 16 Predictions:
Lacy – 45 rushing yards, 5 receiving yards; 5.00 fantasy points
Starks – 40 rushing yards, 35 receiving yards, 1 TD; 13.50 fantasy points
Verdict: Keep Guessing (Lacy); Screen Production (Starks)
Next: Receivers