As he has in recent years past, Eddie Lacy has once again gotten off to a slow start to begin the NFL season. So why am I recommending you putting him in your lineups (both cash and tournament)? Because good running backs in cake matchups still tend to produce solid fantasy numbers.

The operative word from the sentence above is "good"; namely, does Lacy still fit the description? The answer is a resounding yes. Looking at the data, Lacy is putting up an impressive 0.05 Rushing NEP per rush. For reference, the league average for the past three seasons has hovered around -0.02 Rushing NEP per rush. Yes, this does indicate that the average running back is a net negative in terms of overall efficiency because running the ball is overall less efficient than passing. But in terms of per-touch production, Lacy has far outclassed the average back this season.

So why hasn't his efficiency resulted in better fantasy numbers? For starters, he's had to deal with a sprained ankle, an issue that has passed but that has sapped his production in one game and limited it in another. Secondly, his team schedule has been pretty rough, facing three top-11 run defenses.

But this week, Lacy gets to go against the 25th ranked Chargers' run defense, who are giving up 132 yards per game on the ground on average. Moreover, the game script aligns for a big day from Lacy. With a high over/under of 50 points, and a 10-point spread in Green Bay's favor, there is likely to be a lot of time spent killing clock and feeding Lacy the rock in the second half.

Finally, with his slow start fantasy-wise, Lacy makes for a good tournament play because the masses are likely scared of him at this point. With Lacy sitting at a low price, facing a porous run defense with a favorable game script to boot, he is a linchpin of many of my cash and tournament lineups this weekend.