Last Offseason Case Study

Last offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles were able to move DeMarco Murray's contract and pawn him off to another team. With the departure of Murray, the Eagles were left with a hole at the lead running back spot heading into NFL draft with only Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, and Kenjon Barner on the roster.

The Eagles addressed the position in the fifth round selecting West Virginia's Wendell Smallwood. Smallwood, who showed that he could run and catch the ball in college was a factor in Doug Pederson's offense this season.

However, it looks as if last offseason's scenario may be playing out this offseason as the Eagles will most likely move on from Mathews, who has had trouble holding onto the ball and with injuries.

Whenever the Eagles do release Mathews, they will be without a starting, workhorse running back. Luckily for them, this year's draft class is loaded with running backs and the Eagles can wait until the later rounds to grab one. A few weeks ago, I wrote about how Florida State running back Dalvin Cook is a perfect fit for what the Eagles do offense.
In a draft that is top-heavy with cornerbacks, the Eagles may have to go that direction. If they do, it opens up the door for them to draft a running back in either Day 2 or 3. One running back, who will be there in the later rounds and fits what the Eagles do on offense is Toledo's Kareem Hunt.

Hunt is a physical running back, who does not go down on the first hit, rather he is delivering the hit. The 6-foot, 215-pound back is a workhorse. Over his four-year career at Toledo, Hunt carried the ball 782 times for 4,945 yards and 44 touchdowns.

Did I mention, he only fumbled the ball once in his four-year career and he recovered