Player Profile: DeMarco Murray

Player Profile: DeMarco Murray
   This is the beginning of an ongoing segment I will be writing throughout the offseason about all kinds of players and what you should expect from those players going forward. At the end of each segment I will offer a projection of their statistics for the 2014 season. With these segments, I will try my hardest to make this offseason go by as fast as possible for you :) Enjoy!

DeMarco Murray

    Murray easily had his best year since being drafted in 2011. Murray finished 2013 with 217 carries, 1,124 yards rushing, and 9 TD's. What is even more staggering is that Murray had 53 receptions on top of those rushing numbers for 350 yards and 1 receiving TD. 3 out of the final 4 weeks of the Fantasy Football season Murray had 20 or more fantasy points (most leagues finish their season in week 16, so we will go with that). That's incredible! On top of all of this, Murray averaged an amazing 5.2 yards per carry. There seems to be lots to be excited about when thinking about drafting Murray in 2014.
    Now, lets get to the bad. The obvious rebuttal to anything great that is said about Murray is his history of injuries. Murray is 3 years into his NFL career and has never played a full NFL season. In 2013, Murray was forced to miss 2 games due to injury. Murray topped 20 carries in only 3 games. Also, 2013 was Murray's first season of posting more than 1,000 yards rushing.
     In conclusion, a lot of Fantasy Football experts are calling for Murray to be a mid to late first round draft pick for 2014. I cannot feel comfortable in drafting a player that has such a history of injuries with my first round draft pick. I would rather draft a player that has a healthier history and more upside such as Eddie Lacy or Zac Stacy. I like Murray a lot, just not as a first round pick. I'd feel more comfortable drafting Murray in the second or third round. If you plan on drafting Murray be prepared for him to miss a few games. Have a legit backup RB. As the old saying goes "You won't win your Fantasy Football league in the first round, but you can definitely lose it".

2014 Projection: 1,000 yards rushing, 250 yards receiving, 8 total TD's

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