When is Ryan Mathews going to get the love he deserves?
Success Rate, as I've mentioned already, is a great way to gauge how well a running back performs. Typically an average back will hover the 40% mark, meaning 4 out of 10 runs made by the back are successes.
Mathews hasn't dipped below the 42% mark since his rookie year, and he's getting better with time (or lack of injury): last year his Success Rate was 46.30%, and in 2014, his rate was 45.33%.
For reference, DeMarco Murray had a 33.51% Success Rate behind the same offensive line last season.
Mathews has consistently been the best running back in his team's backfield -- arguably each year he's played in the league -- but because of his injury woes, fantasy owners are always afraid to draft him.
The Eagles only spent a fifth-round pick on a running back (Wendell Smallwood), paving a path to a lot of touches for Mathews this season. There's a chance Mathews becomes one of the more polarizing fantasy football assets as we get closer to the season, but given his past performance, I'll be on #TeamMathews.
Honorable Mentions: Jay Ajayi (Dolphins), Michael Thomas (Saints)