Eddie Lacy Must Be in All Fantasy Lineups for Return in Week 2

Eddie Lacy was one of fantasy football's biggest disappointments in Week 1.

Owners should never express anger when a player on their roster suffers an injury as Lacy did against Seattle due to a concussion, so that is most certainly not what owners have to be worried about when it comes to who is surely their No. 1 back.

No, he was a disappointment because after an offseason of hype that finally boiled over into the real thing—worthwhile hype too, considering he scored the sixth-most points at his position last year with Aaron Rodgers out a large chunk of time—Lacy fell flat on his face.

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Looking at the numbers, one could even be forgiven for taking that as a literal statement.

Against the Seahawks, Lacy rumbled for 34 yards on 12 carries. For those scrambling to find a calculator, here—that was a 2.8 per-carry average.

So much for that whole "Touches equal production at running back" spiel, right?

Yet, Lacy remains a matchup-proof back. He earned that title as a rookie last year, easily exceeding all expectations in the face of loaded boxes with Rodgers out. After being cleared to play this week against New York, Lacy himself has noted that he won't change the way he plays the game.

"Somehow I'll have to figure out a way to change the way I run but still keep the physical part of it," Lacy said, per ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky. "It's not really something I'm trying to change as of now. I guess as I get older I will figure out how it goes."

To further prevent issues, Lacy will also change his helmet, as Demovsky illustrates:

No, most concerning now is Lacy's opponent in Week 2, the Jets.

Led by coach Rex Ryan, the Jets are perennially tough against the rush, surrendering just 3.4 yards per carry last season. Last week, Ryan's unit allowed an average of 1.7 yards, although Oakland completely abandoned the run and attempted to do so just 15 times.

Really, Lacy is no Darren McFadden or Maurice Jones-Drew, either. Instead, he's a back on fresh legs who has proved he can produce in an explosive offense or outside of it and, even better, will have the benefit of playing Sunday with the threat of Rodgers under center keeping the Jets honest and out of the box.

Owners will also be quick to worry about Lacy's production this week after a horrific showing from the Green Bay offensive line in Seattle, but one has to remember one thing, which Chris B. Brown of Smartfootball.com illustrates nicely: 

Lacy is a rare breed. He's an every-down back in a time when the league itself prefers committees. He takes handoffs to all angles. He catches passes out of the backfield. He gets all of the goal-line work.

Against a rather downtrodden New York team, Rodgers should have no issues shredding what is a miserable secondary. The defensive line is good, yes, but the Jets continue to struggle against the pass—they allowed 151 yards and a pair of touchdowns to rookie quarterback Derek Carr last week.

Rodgers is no rookie. As such, expect Lacy to have wide-open running lanes consistently with the Jets being unable to stack the box, and also expect plenty of big plays through the air to mean a wealth of totes near the end zone. Even better, expect the contest to get out of hand and the staff to give the ball to Lacy to kill the clock.

Lacy's performance last week was discouraging, but most are when they hit the road to Seattle. In comparison to his work as a whole so far in his career, it's a small blip on the radar. Lacy can produce, and he most certainly will against New York.

Owners who don't start Lacy are asking for a loss.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.