In Doug Pederson I Trust

For those that don't follow the coaching cycle in the NFL I think it's important when you get a big enough sample size of what a specific guy is capable of doing with a specific position on the field.  Doug Pederson is nothing short of a RB guru.

Pederson, in 2009 & 2010, was the Philadelphia Eagles offensive quality control coordinator and followed that up with being the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2013-2015.  He is now the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.  Under his control this is what running backs have done (fpts/gm = fantasy points per game):

2010		2013		2014		2015
24.3 fpts/gm	10th	38.2 fpts/gm	1st	30.0 fpts/gm	2nd	24.1 fpts/gm	13th
11 RB TD’s	18th	26 RB TD’s	1st	26 RB TD’s	1st	19 RB TD’s	2nd

It is clear the guy knows how to get his running backs the football and as an offensive coordinator nobody got his running backs into the end zone more frequently.  What does this all mean?  Well for me it means that I am willing to roll the dice on Ryan Mathews this year.  Mathews reputation for staying healthy isn't very good but the depth chart at RB for the Eagles consists of 32 year old 5'6" Darren Sproles along with Wendell Smallwood and Kenjon Barner who have a combined 34 rushing attempts between them.

For someone looking to go WR heavy early in drafts Ryan Mathews ADP (average draft position) in the 6th round is a complete steal.  Believing in the running game of Doug Pederson allows you to work the waiver wire or take a flier at the end of drafts and use your empty bench spots to control whoever you believe will replace Mathews if he does go down.  My high end projection for Mathews this year is:

G	Att	Tar	Rec	Yards	TD	yds/touch	FPTS
16	220	45	32	1,360	10	5.4	228

Again, it is the scheme that I believe in and being savvy enough to control the Eagles backfield should pay dividends this year in fantasy.