Should Philadelphia Eagles Consider Ryan Mathews over DeMarco Murray?

When a team signs the reigning NFL rushing champion in free agency, as the Philadelphia Eagles did in March, the expectation is he’s being brought in to carry the load. When the player in question is awarded $21 million guaranteed on his new contract, per Spotrac, typically that cements his status as the workhorse.

But the Eagles complicated matters—perhaps unnecessarily—when they went out and signed a second feature back simultaneously, a two-time 1,000-yard runner himself.

And now that the so-called No. 2 is moving the football much better than the No. 1, the team finds itself in a bit of a bind.

Should it continue to feed DeMarco Murray carries when he’s significantly less productive or promote Ryan Mathews and risk creating a rift in the locker room?

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Obviously, the situation is a little more nuanced than that, but that’s the basic gist.

Whether it’s because Murray is still feeling the effects of his grueling 2014 campaign or Mathews is simply a better fit for Philadelphia’s offense, it’s clear which one has been the more dangerous back when the ball is in his hands through five games.

The question is, how long do the Eagles ride Murray? They need to give him an opportunity to get a feel for his offensive line—a unit that’s often let him down, by the way—and pick up some momentum.

Indeed, Murray turned in his best performance of the season this past Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, rushing 20 times for 83 yards and a touchdown. He added seven receptions for 37 yards as well.

Yet Mathews’ day was superior despite receiving fewer than half the number of touches. He ran for 73 yards and a touchdown on only eight attempts, plus another 23 yards on three catches.

Murray averaged 4.2 yards on the ground and 5.3 through the air. Mathews averaged 9.1 and 7.7, respectively.

GM	Murray ATT/ YDS / AVG / TD	Mathews ATT-YDS-TD	Murray REC-YDS-TD	Mathews REC-YDS-TD
Wk 1 @ ATL	8 / 9 / 1.1 / 1	3 / 4 / 1.3 / 1	4 / 11 / 2.8 / 1	3 / 24 / 8.0 / 0
Wk 2 vs. DAL	13 / 2 / 0.2 / 0	1 / 0 / 0.0 / 0	5 / 53 / 10.6 / 0	-
Wk 3 @ NYJ	DNP	24 / 108 / 4.5 / 0	DNP	2 / 20 / 10.0 / 1
Wk 4 @ WAS	8 / 36 / 4.5 / 0	5 / 20 / 4.0 / 0	2 / 12 / 6.0 / 0	-
Wk 5 vs. NOR	20 / 83 / 4.2 / 1	8 / 73 / 9.1 / 1	7 / 37 / 5.3 / 0	3 / 23 / 7.7 / 0

It’s not as if those figures are a one-week anomaly, either. That’s how it’s gone all season.

Murray has 49 carries for 130 yards (2.7 per carry) and two touchdowns. He’s averaging 6.3 yards per catch and has one score through the air. Mathews has 41 carries for 205 yards (5.0 YPC) and two touchdowns, and he is averaging 8.4 yards per catch along with a receiving score.

Of course, anybody can look at the statistics and surmise who’s performed better thus far. The trick is figuring out how to best deploy the backs in a way that makes sense for the offense and keeps everybody happy.

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

I always thought the split between Murray and Mathews would be a little closer to 50-50 than observers imagined.

The fact of the matter is Murray was overrated coming off one of the most prolific seasons on the ground in NFL history, while Mathews was underrated coming off an injury-plagued season.

Yes, Murray ran for 1,845 yards last season—the 17th-highest total in NFL history. He also needed 392 carries to do it, which ranks seventh all-time. And he did it behind a Dallas Cowboys offensive line that touted three Pro Bowlers.

YR	GMS	YDS	AVG	TD
2015	4	130	2.7	2
2014	16	1,845	4.7	13
2013	14	1,121	5.2	9
2012	10	663	4.1	4
2011	13	897	5.5	2

Prior to 2014, Murray’s career high was 1,121 rushing yards. He was also injured frequently in previous seasons but managed to play all 16 games last season. Add roughly 500 touches in one year (playoffs included), take him out of that offense and drop him behind a weaker offensive line, and how incredible is Murray really?

Still very good, but maybe not quite the commodity many people imagined. The Cowboys didn’t seem to think so, either.

Meanwhile, the main knock on Mathews was always injury problems as well. In between health issues, the former 12th overall draft pick of the San Diego Chargers managed some pretty good years himself, including a couple of 1,000-yard campaigns despite playing 16 games only once.

The Eagles were able to acquire Mathews for a song in free agency—just $5 million guaranteed, according to Spotrac. However, the only evidence suggesting Murray was a significantly better player was one big season.

So the idea Mathews can’t carry the load for the Eagles would seem to be false. He held that role in San Diego for five years.

With that said, this still doesn’t answer the difficult question of finding a rotation that makes sense for the offense and also keeps everybody happy.

Murray knew there was a talented back behind him and there would be more sharing of the ball in this offense as opposed to the one he came from. After being run into the ground in Dallas, he was probably more than happy with that.

YR	GMS	YDS	AVG	TD
2015	5	205	5.0	2
2014	6	330	4.5	3
2013	16	1,255	4.4	6
2012	12	707	3.8	1
2011	14	1,091	4.9	6
2010	12	698	4.3	7

Yet that doesn’t mean he would be OK with becoming Mathews’ backup, either, should it come to that.

When Murray admitted to Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com that he didn’t think he was getting the ball enough following the Eagles’ loss to Washington, it wasn’t with a bad attitude or ill intent. Murray simply wants and expects to be a big part of this offense.

If all of a sudden Mathews is out-touching Murray on a weekly basis, how do you suppose that will go over?

But if Mathews is the more effective of the two, how can the Eagles not turn to him more often? At a certain point, how much money the organization is paying these guys has to go out the window.

Murray wouldn’t be thrilled with the decision, although he is a team player, so he might not cause too much of a fuss—you hope.

Sorry to say, but at this point, it doesn’t appear the Eagles have many good answers. The best thing to do for now might be to continue feeding Murray the rock and hope he gets on a roll. Mathews’ explosiveness makes him a fine change-of-pace back, and the coaching staff can find an extra few touches for him.

What will be interesting to see is if the balance of carries does reverse completely should Mathews continue to outplay Murray by such a wide margin over the course of the season.

If nothing else, the Eagles must at least consider it.