Oakland Raiders Latavius Murray one of most intriguing players heading into offseason

The Oakland Raiders did some quizzical things at the running back position this past season, and their stubbornness hurt the team when they kept trotting out ineffective veterans Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden. Jones-Drew offered nothing positive in his 43 carries, as he turned them into 96 yards while looking completely washed up.

Meanwhile, the frustratingly inconsistent McFadden will almost certainly hit the free agent market this time around after averaging just 3.4 yards per carry with only his 36 receptions serving as anything resembling a “saving grace” for him. He hasn’t averaged more than 3.5 yards per carry since putting up 5.4 per pop back in 2011, so it’s hard to have high hopes for him going forward; the Raiders are best served letting him walk.

It took the Raiders a long time to finally turn to Latavius Murray, who was always touted as a high-upside guy with plenty of talent to burn. The Raiders weren’t going anywhere this season, so it made their unwillingness to play Murray all the more puzzling and disheartening. After turning four carries into 43 yards against the rival San Diego Chargers, Murray blew open the Kansas City Chiefs with 123 yards on four carries and two touchdowns thanks to an 11-yard TD and a ridiculous 90-yard TD that showcased his awe-inspiring speed and explosiveness.

Murray’s numbers were much more modest in the following weeks, as he finished off the season with just one game with more than four yards per carry in his final four contests. He did, however, show off some pass-catching prowess with multiple receptions in each of those outings, and he finished the season with 17 receptions on 23 targets as a promising receiver out of the backfield. If he can cut down on the drops and develop more, then he could be a real asset as a check-down option with dangerous YAC ability in the open field.

The Raiders were the worst team at running the ball in the NFL, as they had the lowest attempts and yards in the league, and their average of 3.7 yards per carry was just putrid. Without Murray, that average would have been closer to three yards per carry than four, as he averaged a solid 5.2 yards per pop on the strength of that Chiefs game.

His rushing efficiency will most likely be predicated on having those home-run plays, and that could prevent him from becoming a true feature back. But, at the very least, his combination of playmaking ability on the ground and promise as a pass-catcher will make him a valuable part of the Raiders backfield in the future. Whether or not Tony Sparano, who didn’t catch onto Murray soon enough either, remains the head coach is irrelevant, as Murray showed enough skills to deserve significant snaps in 2015; the Raiders clearly need to evaluate him even more.

Derek Carr was constrained by a conservative offense that probably eased him into the NFL too much, and everyone knows that he didn’t have the best wide receivers around him. But the Raiders biggest issue on offense was their complete lack of a running game, and that put the more stress on Carr than anyone else. He, James Jones, and Mychal Rivera were really the only three players on offense that defenses had to respect, and they clearly didn’t have to fear a rushing attack that went over 100 yards just four times last season.

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They did have considerably more success on the ground with Murray carrying the load from Week 1 onward, and it will be interesting to see what he can do with better run blocking in front of him. Donald Penn and Gabe Jackson had solid seasons for the Raiders, but their offensive line was, as a whole, well below average last season and is another area that needs improvement.

Murray, who was a combine warrior and runs a sub-4.4 forty,  has to have better blocking in front of him in order to get loose for those big plays, because his explosiveness and underrated strength can only go so far. He’ll make defenders miss and get more than the “real estate” in front of him, but the Oakland Raiders- for Carr’s sake as well as Murray’s- have to add a true star OL in both run and pass blocking.

It’s not easy to evaluate Latavius Murray at this stage, because we only have 82 carries to look at. That said, he turned those 82 carries into 424 yards, and he was especially effective in short bursts. That said, he did manage 86 yards on 23 carries in a workhorse performance against an elite Buffalo Bills run defense that is among the best in the league in that area of the game, so Murray clearly has feature back upside.

With exceptional physical tools, Murray rode an incredible 90-yard touchdown en route to a bigger opportunity on the team, and he’s gone from being an overlooked diamond-in-the-rough to one of the most intriguing players in the entire league. If he can play well next season (as long as the Raiders don’t screw up in the offseason, he’ll have better blocking in front of him), then that’s one less huge need for the Raiders need to worry about.

There’s certainly a chance that he isn’t feature back material, but I think he’s at least a good rotation back in this league due to his playmaking ability. This guy has as much upside as any running back in this league, because the 82 carries he received last season were the first time he received any in-game action in his career after missing his entire rookie season with an injury. Like Carr, Murray didn’t step into an ideal situation, so it can only get easier for him going forward. The breakout potential is immense, especially since 2015 will only be his second season in the league.

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