Empire Writes Back
Fansided

New York Jets: Trading for Zac Stacy solidifies backfield

By Nick Ziegler

facebooktwitterreddit

The New York Jets were able to use one of their draft picks in the 2015 NFL Draft to acquire a talented young running back.

More from New York Jets

Instead of drafting a running back prospect in the seventh-round, the Jets would make a trade with the St. Louis Rams for running back Zac Stacy. There was a lot of talk going into the draft that the Jets would look to add another running back, and on Saturday they pulled the trigger on a trade for Stacy.

Stacy became available after the Rams used the 10th overall pick in the draft to select running back Todd Gurley. Last season, the Rams drafted running back Tre Mason, who became the starter last season, and the drafting of Gurley was the final straw for Stacy.

“Looking back over the years, I don’t know if I remember a player that handled the circumstances that he handled last year that in essence was what we’d refer to as a demotion better than Zac from a team standpoint,” Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said Saturday.

In 2013, Stacy had a very impressive rookie campaign. In his rookie season, Stacy totaled 973 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, and a 3.9 yards per carry average. Stacy was also effective in the passing game, which will be important for the Jets. In 2013, Stacy totaled 26 receptions, 141 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown.

Stacy will join a backfield with Chris Ivory and Stevan Ridley in 2015, as the Jets will likely spread the wealth on snaps between the three.

Both Ivory and Ridley aren’t known for their ability as pass-catchers out of the backfield. Stacy should be the favorite to be the third-down running back at the worst.

“We thought the idea of bringing Zac in for that kind of investment would be very beneficial and increase the competition at that position,” Maccagnan said to ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. “He’s had success in the league. Two years ago, he was close to a 1,000-yard back. This past season, his production wasn’t quite as high, but we do think he’s a good-caliber running back.”

Ridley is coming off of a major knee surgery, which made it important for the Jets to acquire another running back. Ivory has been the Jets’ No.1 option the past two seasons, and after some injury-plagued years in New Orleans has been very good for the Jets.

In two seasons with the Jets, Ivory has totaled 1,654 rushing yards, nine rushing touchdowns, and a 4.4 yards per carry average. Heading into 2015, Ivory will likely be the Jets’ No.1 running back again, but now they have some talent behind him.

For whomever the quarterback is in 2015 for the Jets, having a receiving back is going to be important. Chris Johnson was supposed to be that last season for the Jets, but was very ineffective. Now, Stacy will slide into that role, and he also has proven that he can be more than a serviceable runner.

Adding Stacy for a seventh-round pick is a great move by the Jets, as the Jets needed to add a running back with some catching ability.

Next: Who was the best first-round pick by the Jets?

More from Empire Writes Back

Home/New York Jets