Latavius Murray has joined the Saints, which sends his fantasy value skyrocketing. In New Orleans, Murray will fill in the “Big Back” role, which automatically creates 10+ TD upside. Murray’s always been a beast in short yardage, and now he’ll have oodles of chances to punch in scores with the Saints offense constantly in the Red Zone. No, Murray didn’t land the starting job he had hoped for. But he’s the perfect complement to megastar Alvin Kamara, and could be a huge discount RB2 with sneaky massive upside.
Murray is one of the biggest pure risers up my Big Board, exploding from obscurity into my 70s with room to rise. Yes, he’s committee-trapped, but this is the rare RBBC that can still dominate in fantasy. Just two seasons ago, Mark Ingram was the RB6 in fantasy, while Kamara was the RB4. The Saints offense churns out backfield points as one of the top run-blocking units in the NFL. Murray may not be quite on Ingram’s level, but he isn’t overly far off. A Top-15 campaign isn’t impossible
Plus, if tragedy strikes and Murray is forced to start, he’d be in the weekly conversation for Top-3 RBs. In a worse situation, Murray was the RB7 while starting in place of the injured Dalvin Cook (Weeks 5-9). In New Orleans, his upside would be far greater. This is the ultimate “handcuff with benefits.”
