Is Latavius Murray a good fit for Minnesota Vikings?

Rumors have been circulating about the Minnesota Vikings having interest in free agent running back Latavius Murray, but is he a fit with the team?

Shortly after the Minnesota Vikings cut ties with franchise legend Adrian Peterson, rumors began flying around regarding the team’s uncertain future at the running back position. Most notably, several reports emerged tying the Vikings to free agent running back Latavius Murray.

On the surface, the move makes some sense, as the former Raiders running back would clearly upgrade Minnesota’s position group, bringing a good deal of production and experience to the table. In a somewhat injury-riddled season for the Oakland Raiders last year, Murray rushed 195 times for 788 yards and 12 touchdowns while adding 33 receptions for 264 yards in the passing game.

Latavius Murray boasts many of the skills that the offense has severely lacked in recent years,  with the versatility to run from both under center and the shotgun, the talent to make plays in the passing game, and crucially, the ability to hold onto the ball with relative consistency.

Perhaps most enticing is Murray’s proclivity for pass-blocking, however. Whereas Adrian Peterson and Jerick McKinnon have struggled in pass protection, Latavius Murray has received rave reviews from his coaches. Then-Raiders offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave had this to say about the running back in a recent interview: (via The Mercury News)

"“Latavius is the smartest one we have in terms of pass protection, he really works at it. He’s in there with the O-line, day in and day out, working [with offensive line] coach [Mike] Tice.”"

From that standpoint, Murray would be a logical fit with the Vikings, offering an infusion of talent and versatility to the running back position in some of the areas they need it most.

Still, it’s fair to be underwhelmed by the idea of signing Murray. Despite his eye-catching athletic measurables, running a 4.38 forty-yard dash at nearly 230 pounds, Murray has generally failed to create yards on his own.

Running behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, featuring three players coming off Pro Bowl years in tackle Donald Penn, guard Kelechi Osemele, and center Rodney Hudson, Murray managed to average just a pedestrian 4.0 yards per attempt in 2016.

While Murray’s impressive burst out of his stance and serviceable vision allowed him to consistently pick up every yard that his line gave him, he failed to take plays to the next level, generating extra yardage on his own. Most of his gains have come almost entirely as a result of the offensive line’s stellar blocking.

This isn’t to say that Murray is incapable of making plays on his own, just that he failed to do so with any measure of consistency. To illustrate this point, consider that Murray managed to produce just five runs of 20+ yards on the season last year. His teammate Jalen Richard, an undrafted rookie out of the University of Southern Mississippi, managed the same number on 112 fewer carries.

Simply put, five big plays across an entire season is not nearly enough for a player with Murray’s game-breaking speed, especially when you consider the remarkable strength of the offensive line he was running behind.

While Murray showed the occasional ability to make a defender miss in the open field or break a tackle to get free, his runs generally failed to jump off of the film.

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Even if the Minnesota Vikings manage to significantly improve their offensive line through free agency and the draft, this all could be a serious problem if Murray were to end up in Minnesota. Far from having their runs sprung by stellar blocking, the Vikings’ running backs had to fight tooth-and-nail for every yard gained this year. Based on Latavius Murray’s film, there is nothing to suggest that he would be able to do this with any more success.

Thus, despite the fact that Murray would add skill and versatility to the Vikings position group, it would not be a sound investment to sign the 27-year-old, especially considering that he is likely to command somewhere in the range of 4 to 6 million dollars a year, according to Rotoworld.

The move makes even less sense given the strength of this years running back class in the NFL draft. Without having to shell out any money that could go toward shoring up the offensive line, the Vikings will likely be able to pick up a talented young running back in the mid rounds of this years draft, with options such as Kareem Hunt, Wayne Gallman, and Samaje Perine all likely to be available.

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Murray would definitely bring some amount of value to the Minnesota Vikings, but he hasn’t shown himself to be anything more than a mediocre running back in the NFL. The Vikings may feel more comfortable bringing in an experienced backup to fill their void at running back, but the smart move would definitely be to pass on Murray and address the position in the draft.