Mike McCoy inherited starting running back Ryan Mathews when he took the job as coach of the San Diego Chargers. During the offseason, the team signed Danny Woodhead and brought back veteran Ronnie Brown.
It's easy to see those moves as a reflection of Mathews. The first-round draft pick in the 2011 NFL Draft has shown flashes of excellent play, but rarely has it been sustained. But, McCoy said that the running back moves had "nothing to do" with Mathews' shortcomings. It was about building depth behind Mathews.
McCoy's expectations for Mathews are clear: "To have a great year and be the guy."
However... McCoy prefers to get multiple backs involved in the offseason, dating back to his days as a coach under John Fox with the Carolina Panthers. So, look for Woodhead and Brown to be involved, and they both especially excel in third-down situations. We rank Mathews just 30th on our list with an ADP of the 6th round. This might be Mathews' last chance to be the guy, but it at least looks like he's going to get a shot with the new coaching staff. With a 6th round ADP, he's RB3 material.
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