This offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles swapped the franchise's all-time leading rusher for a guy who led the NFL in yards gained on the ground by a very wide margin last year.
While the jettisoning of LeSean McCoy no doubt left many Eagles fans scratching their heads - or screaming at their computer screens - the later addition of DeMarco Murray in free agency probably eased more than a few concerns.
Murray, set to embark on the second phase of his NFL career, now as a member of Chip Kelly's new-look Eagles, seems to be impressing his Philly teammates with his approach to the game thus far.
"The first day we were out here, the team run [period] didn't go as well as we wanted it to," center Jason Kelce said, per Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com. "And he was out here the next day saying, 'Hey, that was my bad yesterday, guys. I didn't hit the hole the way I should have. I didn't do this the right way.' And that's the type of guy you want. Those are the type of people that take it upon themselves to make an actual difference. It's not this guy, it's not that guy, it's not on the superstar doing it one way. He's the guy that's taking accountability."
Behind the vaunted Dallas Cowboys offensive line last year, Murray racked up 1,845 rushing yards on a whopping 392 carries for a 4.7 yards per carry average.
While the strength of a Cowboys line built on the backs of three former first-rounders certainly aided Murray, the hulking ballcarrier has also averaged 5.5, 4.1 and 5.2 yards per carry over the other three seasons of his NFL career since entering the league as a third-round pick for Dallas out of Oklahoma.
Kelce, who has become something of an unspoken leader for the Eagles up front, has predominantly blocked for the shifty McCoy to this point in his career. Murray brings a more north-south running style on the field and a more straightforward, understated approach off of it.
Kelce seems intrigued by what he, the also recently-acquired Ryan Mathews and the diminutive, but electrifying Darren Sproles, can do out of the backfield for the Eagles next season.
"I think we have three tremendous backs," said Kelce. "I'm excited to work with each and every one of them. But so far, DeMarco's been absolutely great. He's been motivated to learn, motivated to be a part of this offense and a part of this team."
With Kelly building a bigger wide receiver corps and looking at either a second season with Mark Sanchez under center - or, more accurately, in shotgun - or a first, career-resurrecting year with Sam Bradford, the run game figures to feature prominently in Philly.
Murray seems to set to carry the bulk of the load in 2015 and if the early returns are any indication, it could prove to be a perfect fit between the former Cowboy and his new Eagles teammates and coaches.
