Moving On: DeMarco Murray's monsterous
2014 season won't be duplicated in Philadelphia.
The past year has been an eventful one for DeMarco Murray. He’s
been the brunt of the “Spray Tan” Twitter scandal, the
top-producing fantasy running back (the top player, in most formats)
in football and a much-sought-after free agent. Murray has also
been the centerpiece of a worthwhile pundit debate on whether the
offensive line was the mitigating factor that propelled him to elite
status in Dallas, or whether his talents and skill set was perfect
for that system. While we may never know what glorious melodrama
truly went down with Heidi Mueller or if her relationship with Murray’s
ex-teammate Brennan Clay will ever be the same, we may soon get
the answers to some of the other questions that puzzled us regarding
the enigmatic running back – now a member of the Philadelphia
Eagles.
Murray was lured away from Dallas with a five-year, $42 million
deal – a monster contract that seems incongruous with Chip
Kelly’s moves thus far during the off-season. For those who
believed Kelly was pulling a Bill Belichick and frugally putting
together a roster composed of brilliantly choreographed but mostly
inexpensive moving parts, that theory has been thoroughly debunked.
Murray is far from a sure thing, and 2014 was the first in his four-year
career that he played all 16 games. But last year’s accomplishments
shine like the star in the center of AT&T Stadium:
392 carries for a league-leading 1,845 rushing yards and 13 TDs
League-best 449 touches and 2,261 all-purpose yards
2014 First-Team All-NFL (AP & Pro Football Writers)
2014 NFL AP Offensive Player of the Year
And that’s the short list. Murray also broke Jim Brown’s 1958 NFL
rushing record for the most consecutive 100-yard games to start
the season, broke his hand in Week 15, and promptly rushed for another
100 yards in Week 16 to pass Emmitt Smith’s Cowboys franchise single-season
rushing record.
But contract negotiations were tense and sometimes bitter as the
club decided whether his injury history and talents were worth throwing
big money at during an off-season that posed a similar conundrum
with embattled receiver Dez Bryant. In the end, Murray was clearly
annoyed, and the Eagles won out.
Fantasy Impact
I don’t have much insight into Murray’s convoluted
claims that “It was never about the money in any situation”
and “It’s about winning a Super Bowl and being fair,”
but the fantasy outlook for Murray is a complicated one. He’ll
remain the primary ball carrier in Philadelphia, but the offensive
line is being retooled and remains a question mark. The distribution
of touches in last season’s Eagles backfield also raises
important questions about whether Murray’s value as a fantasy
running back can match the high-water mark of 2014. While it’s
not impossible, it’d be wise to predict a slight regression,
if not a significant one.
One of the reasons Tony Romo had a career year was the elite running
game, and as crazy as it may sound, Murray enjoyed limited scrutiny
considering how high-profile he was last season. In Philly, he’ll
be the barometer of the team for a sometimes less-than reasonable
fan base, though he did experience that in Dallas during his first
few seasons.
Kelly believes that Murray’s patient yet explosive, downhill
style will translate well to his offense, and I don’t disagree.
But there are myriad factors working against Murray this season,
the least of which may be a tenuous quarterback situation that
pits his former OU teammate Sam Bradford – a guy coming
off two torn ACLs – and much-beleaguered mall mannequin
Mark Sanchez (owner of the ButtFumble® patent). Sanchez made
strides in 2014, and Bradford is a total X-factor who’s
shown ability but can’t stay on the field. There are other
talented backs in Philly, including scamper-happy veteran Darren
Sproles, young Chris Polk and Ryan Mathews – who was working
on a contract with the Eagles before they made a splash with the
Murray deal.
All things considered, we still have to treat Murray as a top-tier
running back, possibly still the best option available – outside
of do-it-all Le’Veon
Bell and perennial standout Jamaal
Charles. He’s a definite first-round and top-five commodity,
but so was LeSean
McCoy heading into last season.
