Murray Today. Gone Tomorrow

After moving to Oakland a few weeks ago, I started noticing how spotty it can be. I live on a block that’s got coffee shops in shipping containers and barber shops where they serve craft whiskey while freshening up your undercut, but park two blocks away and your car is going to get broken into. It’s just Oakland’s nature.

This off-field pattern is strangely paralleled in the Oakland backfield, at least as far as fantasy football is concerned. The Raiders seem to be on their way to becoming the sort of team that, if they were a neighborhood, you’d be comfortable parking your car in, but they still have a ways to go. Raider-ownership has been a walk in the park for many fantasy football owners thus far, but the evidence shows that casual stroll is about to lead Latavius Murray to ruin… or at least a useless bench spot.

The Raiders weren’t exactly singing Murray’s praises this offseason. It would seem that Roy Helu Jr. and Trent Richardson were simply not talented enough to take away the snaps that the Raiders coaching staff were looking to give away. This season, the Raiders drafted DeAndre Washington, who has proven the preseason hype and is taking an increasingly solid chunk out of Murray’s carries. Helping himself to another chunk is Jalen Richard, an unsigned free agent who has another 15 carries to his name.

Through week 3, running backs who are not Murray have exactly 1 more carry than Murray himself. Not exactly a vote of confidence. As Matthew Berry, host of the ESPN Fantasy Football Focus Podcast, said earlier this week “Murray’s usage is declining, you just haven’t noticed because of the touchdowns.” He’s tied for 25th in carries, and the Raiders face cupcake defenses far less often moving forward than they have thus far — the best defense they’ve faced so far is the Titans, who rank 17th in rushing defense.

The bottom line. Murray has a really sexy looking stat line right now, but it’s not likely to continue. Take advantage of the fact that your league-mates might find him enticing and make a smart trade, and recognize that at this rate you’re going to need a better option for a starting RB.