8 Fantasy Football Winners From the 2016 NFL Draft
Ryan Mathews, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
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)