It’s that time of year once again! Football Absurdity will bring you a breakdown of every notable fantasy football-relevant player throughout June, July, and August. We continue with the running backs. People constantly tell us Latavius Murray has weekly flex appeal, even with Alvin Kamara healthy and active. Will 2021 be the year they are finally correct about Latavius Murray?
Latavius Murray ADP and AAV:
Average Draft Position: RB46, Pick 128
Average Auction Value: $1.3 (T-RB46)
Latavius Murray Statistics:
| Year | G | GS | Rush | Ru Yds | Ru TD | Tgt | Rec | Yards | TD | Touches | Opp | Total Yards |
| 2020 | 15 | 7 | 146 | 656 | 4 | 26 | 23 | 176 | 1 | 169 | 172 | 832 |
| 2019 | 16 | 8 | 146 | 637 | 5 | 43 | 34 | 235 | 1 | 180 | 189 | 872 |
| 2018 | 16 | 6 | 140 | 578 | 6 | 26 | 22 | 141 | 0 | 162 | 166 | 719 |
| Year | YPC | Rush/G | Ru Yd/G | Tgt/G | Rec/G | Catch% | Yds/Tgt | Yds/Rec | Touches/G | Opp/G | Yds/G |
| 2020 | 4.49 | 9.7 | 43.7 | 1.73 | 1.53 | 88.5% | 6.77 | 7.65 | 11.27 | 11.47 | 55.47 |
| 2019 | 4.36 | 9.1 | 39.8 | 2.69 | 2.13 | 79.1% | 5.47 | 6.91 | 11.25 | 11.81 | 54.50 |
| 2018 | 4.13 | 8.8 | 36.1 | 1.63 | 1.38 | 84.6% | 5.42 | 6.41 | 10.13 | 10.38 | 44.94 |
| Year | Std Pts | HPPR Pts | PPR Pts | Pts/G | HPPR Pts/G | PPR Pts/G | Pts/Tch | HPPR Pts/Tch | PPR Pts/Tch |
| 2020 | 113.2 | 124.7 | 136.2 | 7.55 | 8.31 | 9.1 | 0.67 | 0.74 | 0.81 |
| 2019 | 123.2 | 140.2 | 157.2 | 7.70 | 8.76 | 9.83 | 0.68 | 0.78 | 0.87 |
| 2018 | 109.9 | 120.9 | 131.9 | 6.87 | 7.56 | 8.24 | 0.68 | 0.75 | 0.81 |
2021 Latavius Murray Fantasy Football Overview:
Latavius Murray is one of the few backups in this league that I would consider having hang around on my roster. He finished with at least 830 yards from scrimmage in each of the last two seasons, and has shown that if Alvin Kamara misses any time, it’s the Latavius Murray Show. Through two years in New Orleans, Murray has five games with at least 45% of the snaps. In those five games, his floor was 8.5 full PPR points, with an average of 24.5 full PPR points in those games. He’s been incredibly efficient for the Saints, and this translated to fantasy football production whenever Sean Payton called his number.
Latavius Murray isn’t a burner, and he won’t get you a lot of breakaway runs. But, he will get you a lot of production through consistent playing time and taking advantage of opportunities presented to him if Alvin Kamara misses time. Unfortunately, he has limited weekly upside as a quality football player stuck in the short side of a platoon with one of the most dynamic backs in the NFL.
So… full disclosure. We write these about a week before they go up on the website. If you’re reading this, it means that you probably already know that Michael Thomas is coming back to the Saints sometime around Halloween. That Michael Thomas surgery does sort of change things for him going into 2021. I believe this leads to the New Orleans Saints going to a more run-focused offense around Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray, Adam Trautman, and Taysom Hill. This is a good thing for Latavius Murray’s standalone value, and bumps him into a guy I’m more interested in having than I was before.
2021 Latavius Murray Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:
Latavius Murray Auction Value: $0
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!
The biggest realistic weekly upside for Murray, and all short-side running backs, is the coaches worrying about week seventeen. Coaches already have to juggle load management problems, so I’m sure they will turn to their backup running back more this season. That will give guys like Latavius Murray a chance to shine.
I’m concerned that Alvin Kamara stays healthy all season, and the Latavius Murray pick ends up being borderline useless. But, we can’t play fantasy football concerned. That having been said, Kamara has shown that he will miss a couple games here & there throughout his career. The concern is that this means more to Taysom Hill without Drew Brees around to protect Latavius Murray’s value. Go snatch up Latavius Murray as an upside play in the last 25% of your fantasy football draft. Worst case scenario, you cut him in week six… and then someone picks him up week seven… then Alvin Kamara gets abducted by aliens.
Best Case Scenario:
Alvin Kamara willingly goes with the aliens to explore the galaxy and fully realize his talents; Latavius Murray hits the ground running and ends the year as a top-fifteen running back.
Worst Case Scenario:
Someone tells Alvin Kamara to “swing away.”
Check out all our 2021 player profiles, here.
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[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com, airyards.com, and ftnfantasy.com]
