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Meet Alex Green

The next great back in Green Bay
By: Pete Davidson : September 29, 2011 5:08pm

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Last year, I wrote an article called “Meet James Starks.” In that piece, we pushed ourselves out there by calling for a largely unknown player to eventually take over the reigns at tailback in the high-powered Packers’ offense.

I got a few e-mails on that one. Most of them mocking me. No--all of them mocking me.

It’s all good. Besides, I enjoyed the ones I got when Starks was the starting back in the Super Bowl.

Today, I want to pimp yet another Packers’ tailback, and, quite ironically, tell you that he is better than James Starks.

Significantly better.

Now, for those of you who have been reading us all year, this will be review. In fact, the subject of this article, Alex Green, was featured in our “They Come Out of Nowhere” piece that we published on Sunday.

Things have changed a little bit since then and we wanted to highlight Green again. Ryan Grant’s injured kidney could create an opening for Green to showcase his skills this weekend. There is a good chance that he will be active for the first time all year and HC Mike McCarthy has indicated that he will get some touches. And, quite honestly, this guy may not need that many totes to get people talking about him.

Green played his college ball in Hawaii, where they run the spread offense. Green looked great in the spread for sure, but he is no one-trick pony. This kid can really do it all. He could be a short yardage back as easily as he could be a 3rd down back. What he mostly looks like to us is an every-down stud.

Take a look....

How can you watch this guy and not be impressed? He’s got a low center of gravity, size, burst, balance, hands, good awareness and the desire to be a good pass protector. In short, he has every single skill required to be a huge force in Green Bay’s wide open offense. Green is a better talent than Starks and Ryan Grant.

We’ve been saying it for months, and, not to get too dramatic, but this is the back Green Bay has been looking for since Ahman Green’s decline.

As we said with Starks last year, there are no guarantees. The lockout damaged all rookies, and with two established vets ahead of him, it’s no surprise that Green has yet to be unwrapped. We suggest you use this to your advantage if you play in a large format. Stash him now, on the cheap, if you haven’t already.  

For those in smaller formats with more restrictive roster sizes, pay close attention to him. When he starts getting viable for your format, get him before the pack does.

Now for the prognostication.... It wouldn’t be fair to blow a big horn and then not step up. The truth is that there’s just no way to tell when he breaks through. I had originally pegged him to gain value after the Pack’s week eight bye, but Grant’s situation may get him there sooner. The downside is that if he looks great this weekend, the secret will be out. For this reason, we wanted to sound the bell now. Know your league and act appropriately. If I had a lot invested in either Starks or Grant in a league that allows logistically for the rostering of backups, I would make it a priority to roster Green now.

I’ll leave you with this assertion ... if Alex Green got 20+ touches on a weekly basis while playing for the Packers, he would be a lock first rounder. A lot of fantasy footballers have never seen this guy play. His upside in this offense is incredibly high. As soon as next week, his price could be high too.