The Emergence of RB Zac Stacy

Coming into the season,the St. Louis Rams had a huge question mark at the Running Back position. With Steven Jackson testing free agency and eventually signing with the Atlanta Falcons, the St. Louis Rams were going to ride the backs of Daryl Richardson and Isaiah Pead. Both were drafted in 2012 and were eventually expected to take over the reigns of Jackson. Pead and Richardson are two very talented backs, but as the 2013 season went on it was obvious Richardson cannot carry the load and is best used as a change of pace back. Isaiah Pead seems to be buried in the Jeff Fisher doghouse and is a complete non-factor week in and week out.

In the 2013 NFL draft the Houston Texans traded away their fifth round draft pick (160 overall) to the St. Louis Rams for their 16th and 30th picks in the sixth round (184th and 194th overall).

The St. Louis Rams used that fifth round draft pick to select RB Zac Stacy out of Vanderbilt University. Stacy wasn’t a big name coming out of college, however he did play in the SEC.

The Rams didn’t expect much of Stacy early on in the season as they were confident with Richardson and Pead holding down the running back position. Stacy only recorded one rushing attempt for four yards through the first four games of the season which came in week one against the Arizona Cardinals. However, starting running back Daryl Richardson wasn’t doing much better. In week four, against the San Francisco 49ers on a Thursday night, Richardson had a very dreadful game with 12 rushes for 16 yards.

In week five of the 2013 NFL season, Zac Stacy got his first opportunity to start for the St. Louis Rams and he has never looked back.

Since week five, Zac Stacy has 102 rushing attempts for 471 years which is good for 4.6 yards a carry and two touchdowns. Through the air he has 13 receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown.

Since Stacy has been inserted into the starting lineup in week five, no NFL player has rushed for more yards than him. Stacy also has been facing top 10 run defenses in Houston, Carolina, and Seattle.

Week after week Stacy’s statistics are getting higher and it seems he is in for huge second half of the season and a legitimate run of offensive rookie of the year.

In week eight, the Rams hosted the Seattle Seahawks’ on Monday Night Football. This is the first game the Rams were without their franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford as he suffered a torn ACL the week before and many sports analyst didn’t expect much from the Rams offense. However, the Rams offense out gained Seattle 339 to 135 riding the back of Zac Stacy as he recorded 26 rushing attempts for 134 yards which is good for 5.2 yards a carry.

In week nine at home against the Tennessee Titans, Zac Stacy had his best game of the season which he touched the ball 33 times for a total of 178 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Stacy is just a human pinball that just bounces off defenders. He lacks break away speed, however has great vision in the hole and is a very patient runner.

This rookie has been pretty impressive and it looks like the Rams have found their future at the running back position. As long as he can stay healthy and the Rams don’t over work him, Stacy could be in for a long career as the St. Louis Rams running back.