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Fantasy Impact: Ryan Mathews Joins The Flock By Signing With The Eagles

By Bruce Matson

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Ryan Mathews signs a 3 year $12M deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, which is the cherry on top to the frenzy of Chip Kelly’s signings. Mathews joins fellow free agent signee DeMarco Murray to help complete Philadelphia’s backfield. Mathews played 7 games last season, rushing for 330 yards and 3 TDs averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Mathews has been plagued with injuries and has never finished an entire season. Mathews will be a part of Chip Kelly’s fast paced run heavy offense, and his fantasy outlook is going to be very interesting next year.

Dec 1, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews (24) carries the ball during the Chargers 17-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Liu-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Mathews RB Philadelphia Eagles

Even with a career rattled with injuries, Mathews has proved to be a very efficient running back by averaging 4.4 yards per carry during his career. Mathews is a very talented running back, and he’s going to be a valuable asset to the Eagles next season. Due to being injured often, Mathews’ skill set is under rated. Mathews has the ability to be a one of the leading rushers in the league. In 2013, Mathews finished the season with 1,255 yards and 6 TDs, while starting just 14 games. Even with him sharing touches out of the backfield, Mathews can easily get 200 touches next season, and be a reliable RB2. Mathews is going to be a value play in redraft leagues. He should be drafted in the middle rounds in redraft this summer. In dynasty, Mathews doesn’t hold to much trade value, but if you are in a pinch at RB then I would float an offer to the Mathews owner to see if you can get him on the cheap. With him sharing the backfield with DeMarco Murray, some owners may have tempered expectations with Mathews. If you own Mathews and you are building for the future then I recommend trying to sell him to the Murray owner as a handcuff.

DeMarco Murray RB Philadelphia Eagles

Murray is the back to own for the Eagles. They paid him the big bucks (5 year $42M), and they are going to give him a heavy workload. Even with Mathews in the backfield, the Eagles are going to run the ball a substantial amount, and there is going to be room for 2 RBs in the backfield. Murray is going to get the brunt of the workload. He may not get as many carries as he did last year with Dallas, but he’s still going to one of the top running backs in the league when it comes to touches next year. Murray’s value in redraft leagues is going to fall from being a top 5 pick to going in the late 1st round to late 2nd, because of the uncertainty of his usage. Murray’s value in dynasty doesn’t change much. His value is more geared towards win now teams, and a sell for rebuilding teams.

Darren Sproles RB Philadelphia Eagles

Sproles served as the reception and touchdown vulture to LeSean McCoy last season. He is still going to be used as the passing down back, but his usage should decrease by about 10-20%, due to Murray and Mathews being on the team. Sproles will still have fantasy relevance as a bye week fill in, and sometimes as a flex option. He has literally no value in dynasty leagues due to his age, but he could be a band aid for you team if you in desperate need for a RB.

Need Help with your dynasty team? Contact me on Twitter @bmatz08 and I will give you the guidance you need to make the best decisions on trades, drafts, and the waiver wire.

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