DeMarco Murray 2017 projections

Jon Robinson pulled off one of the best trades in NFL history* last offseason when he acquired DeMarco Murray for a song from the Philadelphia Eagles. Most people called it a terrible deal, but they had no idea who they were dealing with at the time. Jon Robinson doesn’t make terrible deals!

Murray wasted no time in revealing Robinson’s genius. He averaged 5.36 yards per carry in September. On the season he rushed for 1,287 on 293 carries and 9 touchdowns. That’s 4.4 yards per carry on the season. That number probably would have been even better had he not been slowed by a toe injury for the majority of the second half of the year.

We speculated all offseason last year about what the split would be between Murray and Derrick Henry. I was convinced before the season started that it would be 60/40 in favor of Murray. It turned out to be basically 70/30 in Murray’s favor. I still think it creeps closer to 60/40 this year.

Murray’s numbers will be down this season, and it won’t be because he isn’t effective. It is going to be because Henry is going to eat into his carries just a little bit, and the Titans are going to throw the ball more.

I predict 225/1,062/11 for Murray in 2017. What say you?

Here are all 9 of Murray’s touchdowns from 2016, again courtesy of rsikes:

*Slight exaggeration