After the draft, a report out of Pittsburgh indicated that the Steelers passed on selecting running back Eddie Lacy because they were concerned about the state of Lacy’s toe after an injury that required fusion surgery.
The Steelers opted for Le’Veon Bell, leaving Lacy to land with the Packers late in the second round. That was a good bit later than Lacy was expected to go and his injury history, Lacy also battled a hamstring injury during the pre-draft period, has raised some concern about how effective he’ll be at the NFL level. Lacy says that if things don’t work out, it won’t be because he’s coming into his first season as damaged goods.
“From Day 1,” Lacy said, via Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I’m going to be ready to go.”
Lacy’s physical running style is one that makes Dunne and others describe him as a workhorse and there’s no doubt that the Packers would like him to be a back who can play every down and keep teams from committing two safeties to stop the pass. The kind of back who winds up with a workhorse profile is also one that finds himself on the injury report week after week because of what a physical running style does to the body and there tends to be a point where constant nagging injuries take their toll on a player’s effectiveness.
That’s a real concern, especially when Lacy has already picked up medical red flags at this point in his career. That would explain why the Packers doubled down with Johnathan Franklin in their quest to find a back who can consistently make defenses respect the run and, as a result, open more downfield passing lanes for Aaron Rodgers and company.