The Philadelphia Eagles' running back situation remains a mess.

Last offseason, the team traded LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills and signed Ryan Mathews days after it seemed like Frank Gore had agreed to terms with the team. Oh, and then they brought in DeMarco Murray, too, because of Chip Kelly reasons.

On top of this, they had Darren Sproles in the mix all the while.

Entering the 2016 season, the names to know on the depth chart include Mathews, Sproles, fifth-round pick Wendell Smallwood, and Kenjon Barner.

Mathews, it would have seemed, was the obvious choice for lead back duties this year -- and is still worth the risk -- but some offseason news is making another back an intriguing fantasy football target.

The Buzz

According to Eagles beat writer Jimmy Kempski, new head coach Doug Pederson wants his running backs to move around the formation to create mismatches.

Mathews doesn't exactly thrive in the passing game, according to our Reception Net Expected Points (NEP) metric, which compares a player's performance relative to expectation-level in terms of adding points to his team's offensive drives. You can read more about NEP in our Fantasy Football Calculator. In PPR formats, he bumps up to the 11th.

Sproles' other competition for snaps, Smallwood, doesn't appear ready to take on a three-down role, and if Mathews' pass-catching shortcomings continue, he can't be trusted as a three-down player, either.

That leaves, by default, Sproles to earn a crack at some extra work.

For a pick as late as the 13th round, you've got really nothing to lose. Don't ignore Sproles on draft day.