Is Zac Stacy The Next Alfred Morris?

Coming out of Florida Atlantic, nobody saw Alfred Morris having the season that he had last season with the Redskins. Some didn’t expect him to make the roster. Morris shut down his critics, but began the season as the starter and helped lead the Redskins to having the best rushing attack in the NFL. Morris piled up 1,613 yards and 13 TD last season. Every team looks for those hidden gems in the late rounds of the draft. It just so happens the Rams may have found one in RB Zac Stacy who could be the next Alfred Morris.

After passing on Eddie Lacy in the first round, the Rams waited until the 5th round to get their running back, Zac Stacy out of Vanderbilt. The Rams traded both of their sixth round picks away in order to get Stacy. Snead and Fisher obviously saw something in this kid that a lot of people didn’t. Zac Stacy had 27 bench reps which will allow him to bring a physical compliment to the Rams small, speedy running backs. Don’t think for a second that Stacy isn’t fast though, he ran a 4.55-40 and is agile despite his build.

Stacy played in the SEC which is by far the most dominant conference in college football. Stacy played against a lot of NFL talent and piled up some decent stats along the way. Stacy had 3,143 yards and 30 touchdowns during his college career and rushed for 1,141 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. He also piled up 83 yards against Georgia and 86 yards against LSU which are NFL caliber defenses. Stacy is  a decent pass blocker and can catch out of the backfield having 150 yards receiving last season. Most importantly however, is that Zac Stacy is consistent, which is what the Rams are losing in Steven Jackson. Jackson always talked about how he took pride in being consistent, Stacy brings that consistency to the table. Zac Stacy could be the hidden gem in the bottom of the draft and be more NFL ready than people think.

The Rams are going to have an open running back competition between Richardson, Pead, Stacy, and Ganaway. It’s probably more of a three man race between Richardson, Pead, and Stacy however. Stacy will have every opportunity to start, and if he is not the week 1 starter he will definitely get touches in the running back by committee approach the Rams will have going. Stacy has a legitimate shot of starting, definitely don’t rule him out. Richardson has the most NFL game experience, but Stacy fits the typical Jeff Fisher running back.

Zac Stacy has the ability and potential to surprise a lot of people this season and be the next Alfred Morris. He probably wont rack up 1,600 yards rushing, but could be the week 1 starter and rush for over 1,000, and that could be doubtful as well as all of the running back on the Rams roster except for maybe Ganaway will get touches this season, giving the Rams three solid options to go with . However if it’s one guy to keep an eye on and watch out for, it’s definitely Zac Stacy.