Fantasy Upside
Staying in the NFC East this year, DeMarco Murray makes the move from Dallas to Philly in 2015 to try to defend his 2014 rushing title. Murray replaces LeSean McCoy in the Eagles backfield and should be a great fit. Part of McCoy’s issue was he didn’t always hit the holes, running more side-to-side in search of the big play. So Murray’s north-south running style is believed to be a perfect fit for Chip Kelly’s offense. The Eagles like to run a lot of plays in a quick amount of time and Murray figures to be a big part of the running game.
Fantasy Downside
The Eagles also signed Ryan Mathews in the offseason, and it’s believed he’ll cut into Murray’s workload a bit. While the good news there is there will be plenty of plays for both backs, it doesn’t look like the Eagles want Murray to approach the 450 touches he had last season. Darren Sproles is still part of the RB group and should go back to being a pass-catching threat which will also cut into Murray’s production.
Bottom Line
Murray is ranked near the bottom of our top-10 backs, making him a low-end RB1 who will be around at the top or middle of the second round. You’ll hear a lot of talk about Murray losing touches, but he’ll still get his share of work given how the Eagles offense operates. Mathews is certainly a wildcard here, given he’s capable of being a lead back when healthy. However, based on what the Eagles paid Murray, he should pay off his second round price tag.