Tennessee Titans: DeMarco Murray proving to be very valuable
The Tennessee Titans took a risk on trading for running back DeMarco Murray this offseason, and despite their 1-2 record, he’s looking like a steal…
After being dubbed a free agent ‘bust’ for the Philadelphia Eagles, general manager Howie Roseman dealt running back DeMarco Murray to the Tennessee Titans after just one year with hte team.
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Murray averaged a career-low 3.7 yards per carry in his lone year with the Eagles, and the price tag attached to him was simply too high for the Eagles to justify paying with the depth on the roster behind him. It was really a move to dump salary, but the Tennessee Titans got themselves a heck of a player for virtually nothing.
So far, the Titans are just 1-2 and they are lucky not to be 0-3, but that’s no fault of Murray, who is looking more like the guy we saw with the Dallas Cowboys two years ago than the one we saw last season with the Eagles.
He’s averaging six yards per carry, racking up 245 yards on just 41 carries so far this season with one fumble. In the passing game, he’s been a major factor, catching 17 passes (7 for first downs) for 132 yards and two more touchdowns, including this play against the Vikings:
Cam Newton may be superman in his celebrations, but DeMarco Murray FLYS like superman in his game! pic.twitter.com/C155fcHAxz
— Victory Views Video (@VictoryViewsVID) September 26, 2016
And we saw some ability to out-run defenders to the pylon on this nice run Sunday against the Oakland Raiders:
.@DeMarcoMurray gets around the edge.
— NFL (@NFL) September 25, 2016
Dives for the pylon...@Titans TOUCHDOWN! #TitanUp #OAKvsTEN https://t.co/HEKKAZuboN
He’s also shown some great burst, like on this huge run against the Detroit Lions:
I’m not exactly sure what the expectations were for Murray coming into his first season in Tennessee, but I think it’s safe to say that he’s exceeding them. He’s getting way more looks in the offense than rookie Derrick Henry, and so far is leading the team with his 17 catches.
As Marcus Mariota continues to develop, having a player like Murray who can do a little bit of everything will be a huge help.