DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews Post-Preseason Week 2 Fantasy Advice

In any offense Chip Kelly leads, fantasy football owners should salivate at the prospect of drafting the Philadelphia Eagles' headlining playmakers. 

DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews were the focal point of the first half vs. the Ravens Saturday night in the team's second preseason contest.

Here is a look at their stats and what they mean for your fantasy team.

Rusher	Attempts	Yards	Average	Long	TD
DeMarco Murray	5	17	3.4	7	1
Ryan Mathews	3	19	6.3	14	1

Before you make DeMarco Murray the first running back taken off the board, let's get something straight: Murray is not going to rush the ball 393 times this season. It would not have worked out well for his health, and it would have destroyed your fantasy team. 

Kelly's plan to share the ball more for Murray's sake has already been put on display as backup Ryan Mathews saw carries with the first unit as well on Saturday night.

Despite the shortage of yards, Murray gained a confidence boost with his first touchdowns in an Eagles uniform, as the NFL Network noted:

He's going to get looks from short-yardage situations, which means touchdowns will still come for him, even if he is carrying the ball 150 times less in 2015. But a fresh Murray throughout the season means production throughout the year, and he will still put up plenty of yards and plenty of points for your fantasy team. 

ESPN Fantasy projections have Murray recording 197.6 points in 2015, recording 1,160 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. If you're playing in a 10-team league and he's still available in the second or third round, nab him as quick as you can.

In order for Murray to rest, Kelly needed another explosive running back in their backfield to ensure there would be minimal drop-off. This is where Mathews comes in as a very reasonable lower-round pick for your team. 

Mathews is a powerful runner, though not as powerful as Murray, who can run well in between tackles. But his inability to score from close range on Saturday night and that Murray eventually punched in might be a preview of how Kelly deals with goal-line situations. 

But Mathews showed that he is capable of scoring from a bit farther out with a 14-yard touchdown run to open the night's scoring, also his first in an Eagles uniform as the Philadelphia Inquirer's Zach Berman looked on: 

He's going to get his carries this year and will put up plenty of yards as ESPN Fantasy projects him to get 194 carries for 888 yards that will rack up 126.6 points.

Mathews obviously is not among the elite tier of running backs that you want to spend a pick on in your first three or four rounds, but he can be an absolute steal if he is hanging around your draft in the eighth or ninth.

Stats and projections courtesy of ESPN.com.