Week 7 vs. New York Jets
Latavius Murray was signed to the Broncos off the Saints' practice squad and immediately received 15 carries in his Denver debut as the lead back on early downs with Melvin Gordon getting benched for the later parts of the game. Murray would normally be an interesting fantasy add under these circumstances, but Nathaniel Hackett has gone on the record stating that Gordon was not injured and will still start in Week 7. Hackett's comments are inconsistent with the recent RB deployment in Denver, making it difficult to project much of anything about how the individual players in that backfield will be used in Week 7. Murray is worth picking up off waivers, but he cannot be started until we have some more information on how the Broncos plan to use their RBs moving forward.
Week 17 vs. Los Angeles Rams
Latavius Murray had five carries and a reception for 24 yards last week against the Bengals. While he’s definitely cutting into the workload of Devonta Freeman and he has touchdown upside in short-yardage situations, it’s hard to trust his lack of consistent work. He’s going to end up being a touchdown-or-bust fantasy option, which is too risky in the vast majority of fantasy leagues to trust in a lineup.
Week 16 at Cincinnati Bengals
Just when we all thought it was safe to put Devonta Freeman in our lineups, Latavius Murray out-carried him seven-to-six against the Packers. Murray also had two more targets, though he still wound up with just one catch and seven carries for 51 yards.
This week, Murray faces a Bengals defense that ranks 18th in aFPA to opposing running backs. There’s upside here if Murray can be the short-yardage back, but with both Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley a threat for red-zone touches, it might be best to ignore the entire Baltimore backfield.
Week 14 at Cleveland Browns
Latavius Murray had a couple of nice catches for a total of 34 yards receiving last week against the Steelers, but he had only two targets and two carries on the day, compared to 19 total touches for Devonta Freeman. Until that ratio starts to favor Murray, it’s too risky to have him in lineups. The only hope is that he vultures a touchdown, and that’s something we expect more from Lamar Jackson in this offense. Leave Murray on waivers.
Week 13 at Pittsburgh Steelers
Latavius Murray has been healthy for a couple weeks now but seems to have taken a backseat to Devonta Freeman. He had just eight carries last week and he isn’t involved in the passing game. Unless that changes, he’s too risky to have in fantasy lineups. He’s droppable in most formats.
Week 12 vs. Cleveland Browns
Latavius Murray returned to action last week against the Bears but gained only 32 yards on 10 carries. He added two receptions for a single yard as well. He split touches with Devonta Freeman, who seems to have grabbed the starting running back job while he was out. Murray has upside if he can win the job back, and he has a decent chance of doing so. However, until we see him get the bulk of the work, he should remain an end-of-bench stash option in most leagues. Sit him.
Week 9 vs. Minnesota Vikings
Latavius Murray missed the game against the Bengals before the bye last week but should be active in Week 9. When we last saw him, he scored a touchdown on nine carries against the Chargers, finishing with 44 yards on the ground and 12 yards on a pair of receptions. Murray has been a part of the offense since arriving in Baltimore, but he’s still splitting time with other backs – most notably Devonta Freeman.
This week, Murray faces a Vikings defense that ranks 10th in aFPA to opposing running backs. With a tough matchup, a timeshare and limited expectations for the passing game, Murray should be considered a low-end RB3 option in most formats. He’s pretty touchdown-dependent, and if he doesn’t get in, he can cost you.
Update: With Murray likely out today, be sure to get him out of your lineup.
Week 6 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Latavius Murray followed up his 18-carry performance against the Broncos with just six carries and 17 yards against the Colts on Monday night. This is wildly frustrating for fantasy managers to try and figure out which – if any – Ravens running back is worth starting. The Chargers rank 15th in aFPA to opposing running backs, and they just gave up big numbers to Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb last week, but without any confidence in his workload, consider Murray no better than an RB3 or low-end flex option.
Week 5 vs. Indianapolis Colts
Latavius Murray had 59 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos last week, which is nice, but the real key was his 18 carries. Ty’Son Williams was inactive, and Devonta Freeman and Le’Veon Bell combined for just five carries and one target. While Murray also didn’t get used in the passing game, it was good to see him get the bulk of the touches in the backfield. If that continues, he’ll be a viable fantasy starter, particularly in standard formats.
This week, Murray faces a Colts defense that ranks ninth in aFPA to opposing running backs. It feels like it’s going to be a slog of a game, possibly yielding limited fantasy points for either team’s running game. As such, we have Murray ranked just outside low-end RB2 range, and if you have an option with more upside, I would look elsewhere.
Week 4 at Denver Broncos
Latavius Murray got the bulk of the carries last week against the Lions out of the Ravens’ trio of running backs. Unfortunately, that was still just seven rushes and he finished with 28 yards. He’s seen 33% of the offensive snaps so far this season, compared to 50% for Ty’Son Williams, and that seems like the likely split moving forward. A good role for Murray would be the goal-line back, but that’s already Lamar Jackson in many ways, so his fantasy value is limited while he’s splitting touches. Against a tough Denver defense this week, sit Murray in most leagues.
