Ryan Mathews

Week 2 vs. Dallas
Ryan Mathews finished Week 1 with three runs for four yards, including a TD, as well as three catches for 24 yards. Mathews six touches ranked behind DeMarco Murray and Darren Sproles who both collected 12. This is to be expected much of the year, making Mathews a risky start in standard fantasy leagues.

Fantasy Upside
Ryan Mathews is capable of carrying the load and putting up borderline RB1 numbers based on his time in San Diego. The Eagles run a lot of plays and like to rush the ball under Chip Kelly, so Mathews is potentially coming into a good fit as far as system goes. With a largely unproven group of WRs, the Birds are once again expected to run the ball a lot this year.

Fantasy Downside
Despite all the positives above, there is, unfortunately, a lot of downside. Mathews has an injury history that often limits his time on the field. But more importantly, the team signed DeMarco Murray who is expected to get a bulk of the work ahead of Mathews. While the Birds run a lot of plays, there still should be chances for Mathews to get involved, but with Murray around it's going to limit his fantasy production. Don't forget about Darren Sproles in the passing game, too.

Bottom Line
Mathews ranks 40th on our list of RBs and has an ADP of the 8th round in 12 team leagues. The deeper the league, the more value Mathews has. It remains to be seen how much he's used, but we project him for between 8 and 9 carries a game. If you're a Murray owner, it may not be a bad idea to back yourself up with Mathews at some point in your draft. In typical 10-team leagues, it's hard to imagine Mathews having a ton of value. We only project him for 11 receptions so we don't see a much potential in PPR leagues either.

Week 14 - Mathews vs. New England

Ryan Mathews carried 12 times for 40 yards last week but did add a TD to help salvage what otherwise would have been a poor fantasy day.

In Mathews defense, it was a pretty tough matchup as the Ravens were ranked fourth in terms of allowing fantasy points to RBs. And the Chargers played from behind a large part of the game. Things get a little easier this week as the Pats are ranked 19th in allowing points to RBs. Mathews comes in as an average RB2 play as a result.

Mathews continues to be pretty productive, getting at least 70 yards and/or a TD in four of his five games played this year. His 12 carries the past two weeks is a little cause for concern but we knew the Bolts really wanted to keep Mathews workload in check. The ground game could very well be a point of attack for SD this week.