For Better or Norse: Vikings replace Peterson with Latavius Murray
It was clear the Vikings and running back Adrian Peterson would not be continuing their professional relationship after they declined to pick up his $18 million option for the 2017 season. While the Vikings have been linked to many of the draft’s top running backs this year, they have also added former Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray, signing him to a three year, $15 million dollar contract. He’ll battle incumbent starter Jerick McKinnon for the starting job unless the Vikings add another high profile back via the draft. This signing impacts several different players, so it’s natural we break that down here at DLF.
Latavius Murray, RB MIN
After three years in the “Black Hole,” Murray moves on and finds a new home in Minnesota. He now has the gargantuan task of replacing a legend in the form of Peterson. However, the way Peterson’s Vikings career ended the last few years including a suspension and numerous injuries, he is at least afforded the luxury of not competing with fresh memories. After a promising rookie season with a 5.2 yards per carry average on 83 carries, Murray has delivered back-to-back 4.0 yards per carry campaigns. He is coming off a bit of a disappointing season in 2016 as well. The positive notes from last year were his 12 rushing touchdowns (which ranked fifth in the league) and his 33 receptions for 264 yards. In fact, Murray has improved vastly in the passing game over his three years in the league and that is something the Vikings will surely lean on. The negatives for Murray were his aforementioned pedestrian yards per carry average (just 788 rushing yards on 195 carries) while finding himself in a full blown running back by committee.
[am4show have=’g1;’ guest_error=’sub_message’ user_error=’sub_message’ ]
In Minnesota he’ll continue to get the majority of goal line work because the Vikings have never been big fans of using McKinnon in that role. Much like 2016, touchdowns will be the make-or-break factor in whether or not Murray has a successful 2017. I don’t expect his yardage totals to explode playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league, especially after playing behind a top five unit in Oakland. Even though free agency is drying up, the Vikings could still add help along the offensive line via the draft. Murray’s ADP will be interesting to track over the coming months. If the Vikings fail to add more competition, it has a chance to bounce back from it’s one year low point you see below.
Jerick McKinnon, RB MIN
The legend of Jerick McKinnon has always been far more impressive than the actual play of real life Jerick McKinnon. A beneficiary of the SPARQ scoring system (this is said to analyze a player’s true athleticism), McKinnon has never been able to translate that ability to NFL success. In fact, he has never rushed for more than two touchdowns or 539 yards in any given season. It’s not all bad, though, as he has proven to be an asset in the passing game after hauling in 43 catches for 255 yards and a pair of scores in 2016. At 5’9”, 205 pounds, he’s a physically smaller version of Latavius Murray who is 6’3” and 230 pounds. His role shouldn’t change much moving forward. He’ll continue getting 8-12 combined touches per game and will always be a better best ball gamble than a dynasty asset.
Sam Bradford, QB MIN
If the Vikings could put an offensive line in front of Bradford, this team could actually be incredibly dangerous. They have plenty of playmakers with Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Kyle Rudolph and now the duo of Murray and McKinnon. The problem is the amount of time Bradford has before multiple defenders are breathing down his neck. The addition of Murray will give him yet another check down target near the line of scrimmage. One hidden asset Murray will bring to the team is his lack of negative rushing attempts. For better or worse, Murray gets the ball and runs really hard – sometimes right into the behinds of the center and/or guard. He runs 100 miles per hour straight ahead and if that’s for two yards, so be it. If there’s a hole there, it could just as easily go for 75 yards as well. Bradford should see a lot fewer “2nd and 12’s” because of this and that’s at least a start.
Adrian Peterson, RB FA
The addition of Murray signals the end to the Adrian Peterson era in Minnesota. Peterson will now need to find a new team and could be forced to drop his asking price to get it done. There are a whole host of great running back prospects in the draft and Peterson’s market is slowly shrinking.
DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard, RBs OAK
The Raiders seem to like this pair of young running backs and didn’t fight to keep Murray at all. However, the depth chart today is destined to look different come September. In fact, Peterson himself has been rumored to have interest in Oakland. If he goes somewhere else, the Raiders are also a candidate to look at some of the best backs in the draft. It’s too early to tell just how valuable either of the existing Oakland running backs are at the moment. If you have an owner who believes either of these two is the incumbent starter, it might be time to sell high.
Follow me on Twitter @OlingerIDP.
[/am4show]
- Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week Seven - October 24, 2018
- Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week Six - October 16, 2018
- Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week Five - October 10, 2018
