RB DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys

HT: 5-10, WT: 213, Born: 2-12-1988, College: Oklahoma, Drafted: Round 3

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: S Ridley (23), M Jones-Drew (24), DeMarco Murray (25), P Harvin (26), S Jackson (27)
Position: S Ridley (23-RB13), M Jones-Drew (24-RB14), DeMarco Murray (25 - RB15), S Jackson (27-RB16), F Gore (28-RB17)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

PPR Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: A Johnson (24), D Brees (25), DeMarco Murray (26), R White (27), S Jackson (28)
Position: M Jones-Drew (20-RB12), C Johnson (21-RB13), DeMarco Murray (26 - RB14), S Jackson (28-RB15), D McFadden (29-RB16)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - DeMarco Murray had an excellent performance against the Giants on Wednesday and was deserved to score with his effort. Murray ran shotgun draws, outside runs, power plays and was always a threat to the Giants secondary to break the big run. Early in the game, Murray was taken down early and had limited impact but his performance got better with every carry. The Giants looked tired as the game progressed and Murray took advantage. Murray is a very tough runner that is hard to tackle and always gives 100% full effort. He always fell forward on running plays, never getting pushed back when he had momentum and did more than enough to provide his team with a valuable resource like a rushing attack. Murray found the hole in the defense on running plays very well and always made the Giants pay when they made a mistake with poor gap control or tackling. Murray’s only mistake came as the ball got jarred loose at the end of a play but luckily WR Austin was able to save the turnover. Murray did have an incredulous run late in the game; Murray slipped through two tackles in the backfield and proceeded to run down the sideline for a very explosive and exciting play that left the Giants defense baffled. He is the excellent do-it-all RB that will get the workload for his team and is sure to be successful with it.

Week 2 - Like the rest of the Dallas offense, Murray’s day was a real struggle. Never able to muster anything longer than nine yards, Murray was shut down by the stout Seattle rush defense. On an otherwise listless day, Murray’s best run was probably a two-yard run on 3rd and one. Appearing to be stuffed on the stretch run, Murray was able to find space and dove for the first down. It appeared at the time to be a big conversion, but like every drive (but one) for Dallas, it ultimately fizzled out. The very next play saw a gaping hole, but as Murray burst through, a Seattle defender was able to get just enough of Murray’s foot to cut the run down a mere four-yard gain. The space was there, it was just one of those days. Murray did a nice job catching the ball out of the backfield, including a nice screen on the Cowboys’ 2nd drive, but not enough to make any difference on the score sheet.

Week 3 - Murray had a solid game against Tampa Bay considering he was not called on often in key situations. Despite having 18 carries, the Cowboys looked to run primarily to set up the passing game. And once the passing game was moving the chains Murray became and afterthought. He ran hard but the Dallas offensive line had a hard time keeping the Tampa Bay defensive ends from crashing in to the backfield almost immediately. Murray's best run came on a touchdown where he showed excellent vision and patience. Murray's touchdown came on a play to the left sideline. Upon taking the handoff, Murray appeared to be jogging slowly towards the line. However, at the last possible moment he cut upfield to weave between the defense before doing a forward dive in to the left pylon for a score. The play showed excellent acceleration and patience not displayed in the past by Felix Jones.

Week 4 - The Cowboys opened the game with a heavy dose of DeMarco Murray. But the Bears swarmed to the ball every time Murray came near it, and he finished the drive with four carries for just 10 yards. On the next series, Murray found a soft spot in the Chicago defense, and Romo dumped him the ball for a nice 20 yard catch and run. Two plays later, he took another short check-down and the ball was punched out but it was quickly recovered by the Cowboys after just a five yard gain. Murray continued to try to run the ball against Chicago, but they held him in check almost every time. He had two runs on the second drive of the third quarter for six yards – both up the gut. He also had a nice check down catch and run for 15 yards in between them. With the Cowboys falling farther and farther behind, the abandoned the run for the downfield pass, using Murray as a safety valve when the pass wasn’t there. He finished the game with seven receptions, but overall he had a pretty quiet day.

Week 6 - The Cowboys had great success running between the tackles against the Ravens, primarily to the left side. Murray looked quick to the hole and accelerated to top speed very soon after breaking through the line. His best run came on a 28 yard rush off tackle to the left. On the play Murray took the handoff from Tony Romo and bounced off two defenders near the line of scrimmage. He quickly regained his balance and motored upfield for a huge gain. Otherwise, Murray was able to use his power to turn two and three yard gains in to five and six yard rushes. Murray was in the game for a 1st and Goal situation from the one yard line but coach Jason Garrett challenged the previous play which was ruled a Felix Jones touchdown, thus robbing Murray of a potential goalline score. Murray didn't play in the second half with a foot injury, and it will probably keep him out for at least a week, although it doesn't look like a serious season-ending injury.

Week 13 - After missing recent weeks to injury, Demarco Murray returned to the field as the Dallas starting running back. He finished the day averaging just under 4 yards per attempt. That said, he looked confident in running up the middle and displayed excellent speed to the outside when the opportunity presented itself. Murray's best run came on the first drive of the second half. On third and one the Cowboys lined up in a “power” set with a fullback and two tight ends. Murray took the handoff up the middle and was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. Before his forward progress was stopped, he slid off the right side of the line and darted to the outside for a 27 yard gain. The run showed Murray has the power to try to power through the line for short yardage but also the smarts to sense when it is time to use his speed and get to the outside. Murray also ran for just over a yard on fourth and one as the third quarter was coming to an end. On the play, he took the ball off-guard to the right and managed to push forward just enough for the key first down conversion. Murray finished the day with one touchdown as well. His score came on short dash up the middle after the Cowboys had set up a first and goal situation from the one yard line. Murray also had two receptions on screen passes that garnered another nineteen yards, giving him 102 total yards on the day.

Week 14 - DeMarco Murray's stat line doesn't show it, but he ran hard and made some key plays down the stretch on a day where his offensive line was manhandled in the run game by the Bengals defensive line. Murray's long run was a mere 7 yards, and his touchdown was due to the fact that Miles Austin bobbled a would-be TD. However, this could have easily been a day where Murray toted the rock 21 times for 30 yards instead of the 53 yards he did get. Murray was also the beneficiary of some checkdowns and dumpoffs because of pressure on Tony Romo for much of the day. Murray touched the ball 8 times on the critical final drive, and all of his touches were meaninfgul.

Week 15 - Murray's first carry was stopped for just two yards over right tackle. Murray's second carry went for nine yards when he broke off left tackle on third and one. On second and one, Murray cutback when running to the left for another nine yard gain into the secondary. Murray pushed his way up the middle for a four yard gain with his next carry. Murray broke free over left guard when he bounced off a poor attempted tackle from Brett Keisel and sprinted down the sideline for a big gain. Murray bounced off another Keisel tackle up the middle near the goalline,but as he tried to escape the middle of the field, James Harrison hit him to knock the ball free and Keisel recovered it for the turnover. Murray returned to the field after his fumble, but was stopped short of the first down on second and two. He got the ball again on the next snap to fight forward for three yards and a first down. On a draw play on third and 30, Murray was stopped by Ryan Clark after a three yard gain. Murray was stopped after a two yard gain up the middle on second and three. Murray looked set to get the first down on the next play running off left tackle, but Lawrence Timmons made a very athletic play to stop him for no gain. Murray broke off another big run when he ran outside left tackle before cutting back across the field and only being stopped by Troy Polamalu. Murray was stopped by the Steelers' other safety, Ryan Clark, on his next carry, but Clark stopped him in the hole at the line of scrimmage. On his next carry, Clark was more worried about Dez Bryant at the goalline, which allowed Murray to run straight through his gap for a touchdown at the goalline.

Murray was active as a receiver, but all of his receptions came on check downs out of the backfield when he carried the ball forward as if it was an extension of the running game.

Week 16 - Demarco Murray had a fairly mediocre day on the ground, including what was potentially the biggest misstep of the game with a fumble on his own 3 yard line. There was running room at times, though the Saints defense played better than they normally do against the run. Murray ran hard as usual, but seemed to operate better catching passes versus in the running game, as his yards per carry was a mere 3.6. The playcalling also didn't do Murray many favors, as the Cowboys were extremely pass heavy on the day, especially in the 4th quarter once down by multiple touchdowns. Murray did have a few nice plays, including a huge truck of David Hawthorne for an extra 3 yards. Murray also completely reversed directions on a 9 yard run in which he should have been stuffed in the backfield. His big pass play was a 22 yarder in which he faked going out of bounds to pick up a good 10 more yards. Unfortunately, it was likely the fumble that will be remembered more than anything else from his performance.

Week 17 - Murray received the lion’s share of the touches out the Cowboys’ backfield, carrying the ball seventeen times for seventy-six yards, adding two receptions out of the backfield for ten yards. Murray made some great cuts and showcased some tremendous open-field speed on a twenty-one yard run early in the first quarter, but did little damage on the ground otherwise. Murray was the intended receiver on quarterback Tony Romo’s third interception of the evening. With three minutes remaining in the third quarter – and the Cowboys down by three – Romo floated a swing pass Murray’s way, and Redskins linebacker Rob Jackson leapt in front of Murray to pick off the pass. Jackson’s interception put the Redskins deep in Dallas territory, setting up a one-yard Alfred Morris touchdown run.