James Starks, Eddie Lacy's Pre-Week 11 Fantasy Advice

For the second consecutive week, the Green Bay Packers will turn to James Starks as their primary running back to provide a spark. 

Per ESPN's Rob Demovsky, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed Wednesday that Starks will be No. 1 on the depth chart, with Eddie Lacy serving as the backup. 

Lacy has had a tumultuous season thus far. He came into 2015 seemingly with a long leash after back-to-back 1,100-yard campaigns. The former Alabama star has struggled mightily this year, though, averaging just 3.7 yards per carry, and sat out Week 10 against the Detroit Lions with a groin injury suffered the previous week. 

McCarthy did say that Lacy was going to practice Wednesday, giving some hope that he will be able to take the field against the Minnesota Vikings, per the Packers' official Twitter. 

Fantasy owners searching for answers from the usually reliable Packers offense are keeping a close eye on the running back situation. Starks provided mixed results, with just 42 rushing yards on 15 carries, but his 54 receiving yards on six catches gave him a solid stat line. 

Before inserting Starks back into the lineup for Week 11, though, it should be noted the Lions allow the sixth-most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs (19.3), per ESPN.com. By comparison, the Vikings give up the seventh-fewest points to opposing runners (12.9). 

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

Only two teams, the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos, have had over 100 yards rushing against the Vikings in 2015. During Green Bay's current three-game losing streak, it has run for a total of 208 yards. 

By comparison, in the first six games, the Packers were averaging 127.3 yards per game on the ground. The difference is Aaron Rodgers, shockingly, continues to struggle. His season completion percentage of 63.3 percent is his worst completion percentage since taking over as the starting quarterback in 2008, and he's completed less than 60 percent of his passes in three of the last four weeks. 

If opposing defenses know that Rodgers isn't going to beat them, it takes away everything Green Bay's offense hopes to do. Only an elite running back, which the Packers don't currently have, can succeed in those circumstances. 

Even though Starks is valuable for his ability to catch passes out of the backfield, he's not consistent enough to trust in a starting role this week against a strong Minnesota defense. 

There will be a game in which Starks has a favorable matchup to use him as a flex option, but don't use him as one of your two starters anytime soon. 

Lacy has reached a point where, if you haven't already, it's time to cut your losses. He's obviously fallen so far with the Packers coaching staff, to say noting of his groin injury, that there's no point in keeping him on the roster anymore. 

Matt Bowen of ESPN.com gave fantasy owners advice on potential replacements if they do cut Lacy:

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In my opinion, it's time to lean on the better running back options in your lineup and use the open roster spot to pick up an RB or flex flyer for the stretch run. Need a name? How about Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi? Over the past two weeks he's posted 11 carries for 88 yards (8.9 yards per carry). Lamar Miller is still the No.1 in Miami, but if we are cutting Lacy, this is a guy I would take a flyer on. 

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Jay Ajayi isn't putting up game-changing numbers, but Lacy has only had one double-digit scoring game this season and has been held to two points or less in three of the last four games he's played. 

Lacy has endured rough stretches before, notably in 2014 when he started with four consecutive games with less than 50 rushing yards, but this season, he feels like a player who has fallen off a cliff and needs an offseason to fix things. 

Fantasy stats per ESPN.com