A Quick Note On Darren Sproles To The Eagles

Darren Sproles landed on the Eagles this morning, and while this is obviously a boost to any offense, it's worth a few seconds to look at just how big of a hole he's filling.

Last year, LeSean McCoy led the league in combined rushing/receiving DYAR for a running back, by a wiiiide margin. He ran up 478 DYAR, almost 100 more than Danny Woodhead and Jamaal Charles at 386 and 381, respectively. McCoy had more DYAR than all but two backfields, Denver and San Diego's, did with all their running backs combined. But he's also all the Eagles had. Their next most productive back was Bryce Brown, who swung a few fantasy leagues two years ago, but hasn't been great since. Brown finished last season with 35 combined DYAR.

Now the Eagles have Sproles. According to Pro Football Focus's charting, Sproles saw 84 targets last year and ran routes on 264 plays, to only 51 carries and 14 snaps on pass protection. He was, essentially, a receiver, like Danny Woodhead in San Diego. Sproles finished last year 14th in the league, with 196 DYAR, but here's where the fit comes in: He played only 384 snaps last year. He doesn't need a ton of work to be a helpful player—so he shouldn't get lost behind McCoy. LeSean could also probably use the break, as he played 890 snaps last year, second among running backs only to Matt Forte's ridiculous 940.

The Eagles' recent, shit history of assembling dream teams notwithstanding, Sproles—along with the returning Maclin—plugs the biggest hole on one of the best offenses in the league. (Well, besides the offensive line—which, yes, big exception.)