Fantasy Football 2014: St. Louis Rams RB Rundown
Going into last season, the Rams backfield was an open competition after the departure of long-time anchor Steven Jackson. Coming out of camp, there wasn’t a clear winner, but as the season went on the Rams found a workhorse back who comes into this season as a fringe RB1.
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The Rams like to run the ball under head coach Jeff Fisher and look to build around their defense and ground attack in a tough NFC West. The Rams lost a valuable piece of their backfield with the season-ending injury to Isaiah Pead, but it does create some interesting potential with Tre Mason and Benny Cunningham as late-round sleepers.
Here is the RB Rundown on the Rams backfield with a quick fantasy forecast for the 2014 season. The rankings indicate where they rank in my top 80 which came out last week and which will be updated later this week.
RB. St. Louis Rams. Zac Stacy. 13. player. 51. The main back in St. Louis is without question Zac Stacy. Stacy followed a similar path to fantasy stardom as fellow-late round pick Alfred Morris did in 2012. After being drafted in the fifth round out of Vanderbilt, Stacy rushed for 973 yards and seven touchdowns in only 14 games. He also showed his versatility with 26 catches over that time. With a full season and a firm grasp on the top spot in the backfield, look for Stacy to reach 1,000 yards and add plenty of value. He’s a relatively safe pick, but the downside to taking Stacy is his schedule shapes up to be absolutely brutal which does lower his ceiling a bit knocking him just outside my top ten.
51. Cunningham gets a big boost in value with Pead no longer around to take away his carries. Although Stacy is a three-down back, Cunningham is a very good pass protector, and Coach Fisher like to use a mix at the running back position. Expect some work for Cunningham every week, and in case of injury to Stacy he proved last season he can carry the load rushing for 109 yards and a touchdown in the only game he got double-digit touches. Cunningham is one of the better backup options in your draft, and he’s worth a look as you build your depth late in the draft. . RB. St. Louis Rams. Benny Cunningham. 45. player
RB. St. Louis Rams. Tre Mason. 78. player. 51. After an impressive year at Auburn last season, Mason has struggled in his first NFL camp especially with pass protection. He could get some carries late in the season or in case of injury, and he does have the potential to be a nice NFL RB if he can pick up the playbook and blocking schemes. Mason isn’t someone you need to draft in most standard leagues, but he is worth monitoring going forward.
RB. St. Louis Rams. Isaiah Pead. NR. player. 51. Pead had slipped behind Mason in the Rams backfield even before his injury. He tore his ACL and will be out for the season. Even in dynasty leagues, he can safely stay on the waiver wires going forward.
This post is part of a series detailing the backfield situation for each NFL team from a fantasy football perspective. Check out my top 80 rankings and click here for the full series.