Nov 20, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray (28) carries the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
When I first saw Latavius Murray playing for the University of Central Florida, I really liked him as a running back. I thought he had some talent and when the Oakland Raiders drafted him in 2013, I thought, “Okay, the Raiders have a good backup for Darren McFadden,” whom I had fallen in love with from 2010-2011. Then when McFadden got hurt again last year, Murray couldn’t take advantage because he was lost for the season with a foot injury.
So Rashad Jennings took over and played his way into a nice contract on the east coast with the New York Giants. Many were up-in-arms about Jennings moving on and I told them that Jennings was nothing special and it wasn’t that big a deal. Then when they asked, “What happens when McFadden get’s hurt again?” I told them I really liked this Murray Kid.
But I wanted McFadden to have the first crack at it because I wanted to see if he could bring back the 2010-2011 magic. Fast forward to around eight games into this year and as he’s healthy but just not doing anything with his first crack. At first, I thought it was the offensive line and while they haven’t been great, there’s always a way to make things happen as McFadden’s line was worse in 2010-2011.
But while Maurice Jones-Drew, who was brought in to start was worse because he lost his burst, it appeared that McFadden lost his vision. But the last thing I thought about was Murray because the times he did carry the ball, he averaged 1.8 per. I wanted to see more of him but was reluctant to call him any better than McFadden after four carries for 43 yards with a 23-yard run on Sunday.
Then Murray came back and convinced me in major way on Thursday against he Kansas City Chiefs that he is the guy.
Turn the page to see what the difference is between Murray and the rest of the Raiders running backs.