Player Of Interest

His 5.9 yards per carry was the best mark of any runner in the league with at least 80 rushing attempts. He also can catch the ball out of the backfield as indicated by the fact he had at least one catch in each of the team’s last 10 contests a year ago. If Beast Mode breaks down, Richard could quickly enter RB2 conversation. Given the fact the 31-year-old was parked on his couch all of last season, it’s not hard to imagine Lynch flaming out. Hunt is not going to out-snap Chubb, but they were on the field together a fair amount of time.

Meanwhile, Hunt immediately leapfrogged Chubb in the passing game. Hunt projects to see 80+ targets over a full season and we know targets are more valuable than carries in fantasy football. Week 14 – Murray took full advantage of a good matchup against Chicago. He was the centerpiece of Dallas� offensive successes early in the game. Murray saw four straight rushes to open the game for 37 yards and over 50 total yards on the first drive. The running lanes were plentiful and Murray�s burst easily got him to the second level to lower his shoulder at the end of his attempts.

Player Alarms

Playing behind a great offensive line will help him stay efficient with his carries. Prosise is continuing to drop down draft boards as the summer rolls along after Seattle signed Eddie Lacy this offseason. He’s arguably still the best playmaker on the entire team though and he should be able to carve out a passing-down role as long as he can stay healthy. If Lacy flops, Prosise could emerge as one of the biggest steals on draft days.

Murray also stayed on the field for all 16 games for just the second time in his career, although having Henry on hand to ease Murray’s workload certainly helped on that front. Week 1 – More than an impact player, Murray was a sustaining element in the Dallas offense against the Giants this week. He amassed 28 total touches, gaining yards primarily by lowering his pads and running through defenders after contact. As the Giants secondary limited the downfield chances in the passing game, Murray saw ten targets, second to only Miles Austin on the day. There were no goal line opportunities of note for the Dallas ground game as Murray was the clear workhorse back with only two running back touches going to a player other than Murray.

Murray had most of his carries early in the game as the Saints raced out to a huge lead by halftime. Murray appeared back to full strength, decisively cutting and lowering his shoulder for additional yardage between the tackles. On Dallas� lone sustained drive, Murray was the centerpiece, getting around the corner on a draw play for the red zone touchdown. This game marked Murray�s highest carry total since Week three. With Murray healthy going into Dallas� bye week, he is in-line for a high volume of usage with better game scripts against the Giants and Raiders. Before the Raiders pulled Marshawn Lynch out retirement, Richard was a hot commodity in fantasy circles. Oakland has one of the league’s best offensive lines and Richard fared well a year after signing as an undrafted rookie out of Southern Mississippi.

Derrick Henry Nipping At Demarco Murray’s Heels For Fantasy Relevance

Lastly, we have LeSean McCoy, the man DeMarco Murray is taking over for in Philly. McCoy was down across the board last year and moves to a much worse offense with a worse offensive line. Week 15 – Murray looked sharp from the first snap of the game, cutting well and showing power to finish his runs hard. The offensive line routinely got push against Green Bay�s front seven and Murray�s burst gained yards to the perimeter. In the first quarter alone, Murray had nearly 80 yards on the ground as he was rarely obstructed before five yards downfield.

Murray was derailed by injuries again last year, missing six games with a sprained foot. He’s battled various maladies since his college days at Oklahoma and has now missed nine games in two NFL seasons – and missed most of May minicamp with a hamstring injury. His environment could use some improvement, however – the Cowboys had a below-average offensive line last season, and the defense often forced the team to play from behind. Moreover, Murray saw only eight carries from inside the 10 and five from inside the five (T-29th). Heading into 2013, Murray has the starting job all to himself – Felix Jones is in Philadelphia, leaving only rookie Joseph Randle as the primary backup. There is a much murkier track record for players like Jordan Howard. First of all, Howard is a relatively average prospect.Secondly, we’ve seen a startling amount of rookie RBs with promising seasons flop as a sophomore for a variety of reasons .

He left Dallas in free agency, and while Philadelphia’s offensive line doesn’t have quite the draft pedigree of the Cowboys’, it’s still one of the league’s top units. During his rookie season, Murray was a third string running back. However, on October 16th, 2011, the starting running back, Felix Jones, had an ankle injury so Murray was able to get in some time. The following week, Jones was still out so Murray moved to second string and ran for 253 yards on 25 carries breaking Emmitt Smith’s single-game rushing record. By the end of the season, Murray led every NFL rookie player in yards per game, average per carry and rushing yards. Week 9 – In Murray�s first game back after a knee injury, he saw a limited amount of work as Dallas relied on the short passing game against Minnesota. Murray had seven first half touches for 44 yards, but was nearly invisible in the final 30 minutes.

• While the Cowboys are a pass-heavy team by nature, their pass-run ratio in this game was more slanted than can be expected in games where they are leading.
• Week 1 – More than an impact player, Murray was a sustaining element in the Dallas offense against the Giants this week.
• He amassed 28 total touches, gaining yards primarily by lowering his pads and running through defenders after contact.
• As the Giants secondary limited the downfield chances in the passing game, Murray saw ten targets, second to only Miles Austin on the day.
• Murray also stayed on the field for all 16 games for just the second time in his career, although having Henry on hand to ease Murray’s workload certainly helped on that front.

Murray was efficient with his touches, however, showing patience at the line-of-scrimmage before cutting past a linebacker for a big gain on the ground. He also converted a third-and-short situation with great leverage. On an outlet reception in the first half, Murray cut all the way across the field, picking up blockers along the way, for a first down when little running room was available. Murray�s knee injury did not appear to limit him in the first half nor did he sustain a hit that slowed him, but his snap count and involvement in the offense waned in the second half. He came up short on a third down rushing attempt and gained minimal yardage on an outlet reception later in the game. With just ten touches and no red zone work, it was a non-descript performance for Murray in an advantageous matchup against Minnesota.

Howard doesn’t have much wiggle room on an offense that is below average at nearly every position except offensive line. It’s concerning that he’s a minus in the passing game on a team that is expected to be playing from behind frequently. There so much buzz right now around Isaiah Crowell, it’s causing Johnson to keep falling down draft boards.

And although he’s been dinged for durability issues, he’s made it through 31 of the last 32 games. Marcus Mariota had an exciting, promising rookie year and could probably be used more as a running threat this year. No one is chasing Murray’s monster 2014 season, but we know he’s a much better player than we saw last year. Assuming he doesn’t change his mind, Murray will finish his career with 7,174 rushing yards, 2,165 receiving yards and 55 touchdowns in 99 games. He’ll be best remembered for a 392-1, rushing line with the 2014 Cowboys, followed by a clunker of a season for Chip Kelly’s Eagles in 2015. ESPN.com’s Cameron Wolfe expects Murray to pursue a career in broadcasting, something he’s hinted at in the past. DeMarco Murray, however, is being drafted 9 picks later going into 2017, and it’s hard to understand why.

Season Stats

The Chiefs traded three picks to move up to grab Hunt, so they clearly covet him. His elusive rating of 112.1 ranked third among all FBS running backs with a minimum of 187 carries. It’s not hard to imagine Hunt taking over the starting job sooner rather than later. He only mustered 112 carries in 2016, but did rush for 456 yards. Perkins wasn’t involved much in the passing game and finished with just 15 receptions for 162 yards .

After the Cowboys scored on the opening possession of the third quarter, they ran the ball just three times the rest of the game. Murray was red hot as the centerpiece of the offense, but rarely saw the ball after his impressive start. As Dallas squandered their big lead, Murray�s frustration was visible as he ripped his helmet off and yelled in disgust as the team abandoned the run game. Murray had 22 touches for the game and over 150 total yards, but the early dominance of the Dallas rushing attack had Murray poised for well over 200 yards. Week 10 – Murray was the lone bright spot for a Dallas offense that struggled to piece together successful plays all game in New Orleans.

Johnson’s role in the passing game alone puts him squarely on the RB3 radar. He’s averaged 57 catches per season during his first two years as a pro and now there are talks that he’ll emerge as the Browns’ guy in the slot more often than not. His yards per carry also rose in 2016 as he went up from 3.6 YPC as a rookie to 4.9 YPC last season.

Draft Research

While the Cowboys are a pass-heavy team by nature, their pass-run ratio in this game was more slanted than can be expected in games where they are leading. Everything came together last season for Murray, who led the league in rushing by nearly 500 yards over the next closest back. Murray’s breakthrough wasn’t just a product of better health and a better system, however. In fact, the only blemish on Murray’s 2014 ledger was his ongoing ball-security issues.

Perhaps we can make excuses for Murray — most of the Eagles were a horror show last year, especially on offense. Philadelphia dealt Murray to the Titans in March, and his deal was quickly reworked. The plan is for Murray to take a stab at being Tennessee’s bell cow, though the Titans also drafted rookie RB Derrick Henry in the second round. He has the ability to run everything you want, inside and out, and he’s an excellent receiver.

Fantasy Football

Before the half, Murray converted a goal line carry and he was on his way to a huge game. Despite Dallas having a 26-3 halftime lead, they abandoned the run game.

Injuries limited Prosise to just six games as a rookie, including fracturing his scapula in Week 11. It was unfortunate timing as just a week earlier he gave us a taste of what he is capable of when he put up 22.3 PPR fantasy points versus the Patriots.

It started a six-game stretch in which he totaled a whopping 915 yards before his season ended due to a broken right ankle in Week 14. Murray finished with just two touchdowns, but he got an impressive 5.5 YPC and established himself as the team’s lead back over Felix Jones, who continues to prove he works best in a change-of-pace role.

Murray was better than Jordan Howard in almost every statistical category in 2016 except for overall rushing yards, and his role won’t change in 2017. Last year seven other running backs exceeded that 1,440 yards from scrimmage total. Of those seven I could easily make a case for taking Murray over Forte, Foster, Forsett and McCoy. Forte is now 29 and coming off a season with just a 3.9 YPC and without Marc Trestman his reception total is expected to decrease significantly. Justin Forsett is a player I do like but he has no established history of dominance prior to last year, and at age 29/30 this season he isn’t a reasonable first round pick.

As the lead back who’s a dangerous receiver and the team’s best option at the goal line, Murray has a lot of upside. If you believe in running-back regression after a heavy workload, enjoy your victory lap on Murray. After a monster 2014 season with Dallas , he crashed to a horrendous 2015 in Philadelphia. His YPC dropped by over a yard, and his volume disintegrated, too. Murray battled dings like any running back, but it wasn’t a matter of missing action — he made it to 15 games.

The young running back is still looking for his first career touchdown. When he got an extended look later in the season, there were signs of progression. Perkins closed out his debut season with four straight games with double digit carries, rushing for 271 yards on 62 carries (4.9 YPC) during that span.

In his only start of the season in Week 17 he rushed for 102 yards. What makes it even worse is that while Murray was starting to struggle, rookie Derrick Henry was finding his stride. The numbers weren’t gaudy over the final eight games , but he averaged 4.7 yards per carry and scored 4 TD. With a year of experience under his belt it’s easy to envision his role growing, especially since teams don’t like to watch their second round draft pick rendered as a bit of an afterthought. He’s going to get an opportunity, and he should see increased touches in his sophomore campaign. Murray had an impressive rookie campaign, including a signature performance in Week 7, when he ran for 253 yards against the Rams, including a season-high 91-yard touchdown run on his first carry of the game. Murray had totaled just 25 carries up until then, so he took full advantage of his first real opportunity.