With the trade of DeMarco Murray from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Tennessee Titans expected to be finalized on Wednesday, it's now all about analyzing the deal that sent the 2014 NFL Offensive Player of the Year to Nashville.
In general, group think will tell us that Murray had a horrible season in 2015. He averaged a career low 3.6 yards per rush while putting up just 702 yards on the ground. Murray did add 322 receiving yards, to put his total yardage number over 1,000 for the fourth time in five NFL seasons.
These were sorely disappointing numbers for a player that put up a league-leading 1,845 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns as well as 416 receiving yards in 2014.
Despite these below-average numbers, Murray finished as the 17th-best running back in FanDuel contests. In terms of larger PPR formats, he finished in the top 15.
Not great numbers for a player that saw his ADP in the top five during the preseason. But not necessarily the travesty that most want to make it out to be.
It's really important to note just how bad the Eagles offensive line performed from a run-blocking standpoint. Murray averaged just 1.6 yards per attempt before contact. For comparison's sake, Thomas Rawls of the Seattle Seahawks averaged an entire yard more per rush before contact. That's an amazing difference.
With Chance Warmack and Taylor Lewan on the Titans' offensive line and the potential of adding top overall prospect Laremy Tunsil in the draft, Tennessee has a solid foundation here.
The other thing to take into account is the presence of Marcus Mariota under center. With his ability on the ground, the Titans should be able to find open running lanes for their backs. We already know how dynamic Murray can be in the open field, so this promises to lift him up from a production standpoint.
There's no reason to believe Murray will be anywhere near a first-round pick in re-draft leagues, but he's likely (and should) be valued in the top-three rounds when all is said and done. The same thing couldn't be said if he had returned to the Philadelphia Eagles. This makes the trade to Tennessee about as fantasy relevant as it gets.