Saints Player Rankings: The first and only backup comes in at No. 23

Although Taysom Hill has yet to be named (is he really a backup?), Latavius Murray, the only backup on the list, comes in at No. 23 on our Saints rankings.

Last offseason, the New Orleans Saints saw Mark Ingram head to Baltimore. They replaced him with former Vikings running back Latavius Murray who signed a four-year deal to stay in the Big Easy.

After 2019, they better be thankful they brought him in as well. Murray wasn’t overly terrific because he wasn’t really given the opportunity to do more. But, when called upon, Murray rose to the challenge.

Having an experienced running back like Murray behind third-year pro Alvin Kamara was crucial given that this was the first season Kamara really struggled with injuries. Lingering lower-body injuries hurt Kamara’s effectiveness, opening room for Murray to show of his talent.

When he started and was given over 20 touches, Murray put up over 100 yards. Not much was expected of him entering the season, and Murray must have used that fuel to the fire because he lit up opponents when head coach Sean Payton opted to utilize him.

Murray ended the season with eight starts, having played all 16 games for the third straight season.

He notched 637 yards on the ground, more than he totaled in 2018. What was nice to see from Murray is the 4.4 yards per run, the most of his career in any season which he’s been given at least 100 rushing attempts.

It’s not that Murray’s role will improve ten-fold this season, but he should see steady plays designed for him due to his success in 2019. Although a backup to a three-time Pro Bowler, Murray will continue to see work.

He’s important to the team, and the security that he gives the Saints is not something many other teams have. That said, for all that and his success in 2019, Murray, despite being a backup, came in at No. 23 on our list.

Of our dozen writers, Murray was, on average, ranked 20.9 and was left out of the top 25 twice.