Fantasy Slant: DeMarco Murray to the Philadelphia Eagles

By Matt Johnson on Saturday, March 14th 2015
Fantasy Slant: DeMarco Murray to the Philadelphia Eagles

Through the entire offseason bonanza, no franchise has been crazier than the Philadelphia Eagles. After cutting DeSean Jackson last year, Chip Kelly made more sweeping changes. LeSean McCoy, the NFL's leading rusher in 2013, was traded to the Buffalo Bills for linebacker Kiko Alonso. The move provided a major upgrade for Philadelphia at inside linebacker, but left a major void at running back.

While some speculated that Kelly was intent on proving he didn't need a top running back to run his system, he immediately tried to sign Frank Gore days after. We now know Gore had a change of heart and ended contract talks with the Eagles, opting to sign with the Indianapolis Colts. It left Philadelphia in search of its next featured running back to carry the rock in Kelly's system.

On Wednesday, it was reported that Ryan Mathews would sign a three-year deal with the Eagles. But things went quiet over the next 12 hours and the signing became official. On Wednesday night, we learned DeMarco Murray was flying to Philadelphia for a visit. The next day, Murray signed a five-year deal with Philadelphia and Mathews' agreement with the Eagles was confirmed hours later. 

Now we have a crowded backfield, but Chip Kelly seems to love it. Murray, Mathews, Darren Sproles and Chris Polk will all be fighting for carries this season. Polk is the last man in line for carries and potentially could be dealt during the draft. But Kelly has already called Sproles his "Swiss-army knife" of the offense and he will be accordingly. Meanwhile, Mathews should see at least eight touches per game in Philadelphia's quick-hitting offense.

Murray won't come close to the 449 touches, sixth most in NFL history, he saw last season with the Dallas Cowboys. But this can also be a good thing for Murray long-term, he has a history of injuries with missing eight games between 2011-'13. This past season was the first time he has played every game and Dallas wore him down to the very end.

While the Cowboys had a phenomenal offensive line that can make any running back look good, Murray won't suddenly be running into a wall in Philadelphia. The Eagles' offensive line finished the season as Pro Football Focus's best run-blocking unit in the NFL. The only concern with Murray will be the steep decrease in carries leading to production compared to last season, when he finished the year with a league-leading 2,261 total yards and 13 touchdowns. 

Kelly will spread the ball around, so Murray certainly won't average around the 28 touches he saw in Dallas, but he could still see 18-20 touches per game and goal line work. Murray won't be a top-five fantasy running back in 2015, but he can certainly be a top-12 back.

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