Rams to use "hot hand" at running back?

One of the guys that I avoided in fantasy drafts was Rams running back Zac Stacy, who isn’t on any of my fantasy teams this year.

No running back had more carries over his team’s final nine games than Stacy, who had a massive workload of 200 carries during that span. Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell was second (180) on that list. Among the 12 running backs with at least 140 carries over that span, only Bell (3.62) averaged less yards per carry than Stacy (3.80).

What he lacked in per-touch efficiency, he made up for in volume.

With Benny Cunningham getting the start in the third preseason game (i.e., regular-season dress rehearsal), it sounded the alarms that Stacy at least wouldn’t get the same kind of volume he had last season that made him such a valuable fantasy option as a rookie.

Now GM Les Snead has used the “hot hand” phrase to describe the team’s running back usage.

In an ESPN Insider piece highlighting fantasy advice for all teams, Rams reporter Nick Wagoner wrote the following:

“While the Rams continue to list running back Zac Stacy as the starter — and he probably will be against the Vikings in Week 1 — general manager Les Snead said on local radio this week that he expects the offense to go with the “hot hand” in a given week at running back. Benny Cunningham started in Stacy’s place in the third preseason game against Cleveland and both backs should get opportunities against Minnesota. Plan your fantasy rosters accordingly.”

If you own him, I’m not sure I’d sit him this week, but it’s going to be hard to trust him on a weekly basis. In my Week 1 fantasy football running back rankings, Stacy and Cunningham were the RB19 and RB46, respectively. I’ll likely narrow the gap when I update my rankings.