Latavius Murray (born January 18, 1990) is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCF and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Murray has also played for the Minnesota Vikings.

Born in Titusville, Florida, Murray attended Onondaga Central High School in Onondaga, New York, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and track.^[1] In football, Murray was All-league and All-Central New York selection in three straight seasons. In his sophomore year, he was third-team All-state honoree following a 1,609-yard, 14-touchdown season. He garnered first-team All-state honors as a junior, rushing for 2,030 yards and 30 touchdowns. In his final year, he was named the 2007 Gatorade Football Player of the Year in the state of New York after rushing for 2,194 yards with 28 touchdowns on offense, while also recording 78 tackles, three forced fumbles and two interceptions on defense.^[2] He also was named as the Class D Player of the Year^[2] and First-Team All-State by the NYSSWA.^[3]

Regarded as a three-star recruit, Murray was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the state of New York by Rivals.com, No. 6 according to Scout.com. He chose UCF over scholarship offers from Boston College, Maryland, and Syracuse, among others.^[4]

Murray played college football at the University of Central Florida.^[5] He made his collegiate debut against South Carolina State and had 43 rushing yards and two touchdowns.^[6] In his freshman season, he finished with 132 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.^[7] Murray tore his ACL during the offseason after his freshman year while playing basketball.^[8] After redshirting in 2009, he returned to the Knights' backfield in 2010. On November 20, against Tulane, he had his best game of the season with 146 rushing yards and a touchdown.^[9] On December 4, against SMU, he finished with 94 rushing yards and 21 receiving yards in a game with his first collegiate receiving touchdown.^[10] In his redshirt sophomore season, he was named Conference USA Championship MVP and also was named AutoZone Liberty Bowl MVP for his performance against Georgia in which he rushed for 104 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown.^[11][12][13] Overall, in the 2010 season, he finished with 637 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, five receptions, 47 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown.^[14] He started his junior season with 36 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against Charleston Southern.^[15] In the next game against Boston College, he had 72 rushing yards and a touchdown.^[16] He was mostly held in check up to the end of the regular season. On November 19, against East Carolina, he had 87 rushing yards and a touchdown.^[17] In the last game of the season against UTEP, he had a season-high 233 rushing yards with two rushing touchdowns.^[18] Following the conclusion of his junior season, he was selected as the team's MVP and offensive player of the year.^[19] In his senior season, he was an All-C-USA First Team selection^[20] and was named to Phil Steele's All-C-USA First Team.^[21] He was named to the College Football Performance Awards All-Purpose Trophy Watch List^[22] and also was selected to the College Football Performance Awards Special Teams Watch List.^[22] He was named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List.^[23] On August 30, 2012, he started the season with 108 rushing yards and a touchdown against Akron.^[24] On October 20, he started a four-game stretch where he recorded 192 yards and two touchdowns, 156 yards and three touchdowns, 155 yards and two touchdowns, and 117 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in those games.^[25][26][27] Overall, in his last season with the Knights, he had 1,106 rushing yards, 15 rushing touchdowns, 27 receptions, 231 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns.^[28][29] He finished his college career with a total of 2,424 rushing yards, 37 rushing touchdowns, 50 receptions, 524 receiving yards and 6 receiving touchdowns.^[30]

Murray was regarded as a sixth to seventh round selection according to CBSSports.com.^[31]

Murray was not invited to the NFL Combine, but garnered much attention with an impressive performance at Central Florida's Pro Day. Murray weighed in at 6-foot-2 5/8 and 223 pounds, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 and 4.38 seconds, registered a 10-foot-4 broad jump and a 36-inch vertical jump, ran 4.36 seconds in the short shuttle and 6.81 seconds in the 3-cone.^[33]

Murray was selected by the Oakland Raiders with the 181st overall pick in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.^[34] He was the 15th running back to be selected in that year's draft.^[35]

The Oakland Raiders signed Murray to a four-year, $2.26 million contract on June 6, 2013. It also included $106,200 guaranteed and a signing bonus of $106,200.^[36]

On August 27, 2013, before the start of the regular season, Murray was placed on injured reserve, ending his rookie season.^[37]

After being third on the depth chart for the first half of the season behind veterans Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew, the Raiders turned to Murray in Week 11 to provide a spark after ineffectiveness by McFadden and Jones-Drew all year. He responded by totaling 59 yards on seven touches against the San Diego Chargers.^[38] On November 20, 2014, he finished with four carries for 112 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns, marking his first career touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs.^[39] It also marked the first rushing touchdown the Chiefs defense allowed all season and his 90-yard touchdown marked the longest rush for the Raiders that year. The solid performance by Murray contributed to the Raiders' first victory of the 2014 season.^[40] After having success on his first three attempts, he suffered a concussion on his fourth carry and was taken out of the game.^[41]

He returned to play against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 14 and finished the game with 23 carries for 76 rushing yards.^[42] The next week, he earned his first career start against the Chiefs and had 12 rushing attempts for 59 yards.^[43] In week 16, he gained 86 yards on 16 carries and had his second consecutive start against the Buffalo Bills.^[44] He remained the starting running back for the last three games of the season and finished his first year with 82 carries, 424 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns in 15 games.^[45]

Murray entered the season as the Raiders' number one tailback and was expected by the Raiders to receive the majority of the carries after the retirement of Maurice Jones-Drew and the departure of Darren McFadden. As expected, he began the season as the Raiders' starting running back and had 11 attempts for 44 yards in the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.^[46] In Week 3, Murray finished the game with a career-high 139 yards on 26 carries and added a touchdown in a win over the Cleveland Browns.^[47] On November 1, against the New York Jets, he had 113 rushing yards in the 34–20 victory.^[48]

On Christmas Eve, Murray became the first Raider to reach the 1,000-yard mark rushing, since Darren McFadden in 2010. His performance of 79 yards on 19 carries, 38 yards on five receptions and a rushing touchdown, helped edge a victory over the San Diego Chargers with a final score of 23–20 on Thursday Night Football in overtime.^[49][50] Overall, in the 2015 season, he finished with 1,066 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, 41 receptions, and 232 receiving yards.^[51]

Murray started the 2016 season off with a rushing touchdown in three straight games against the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, and Tennessee Titans.^[52][53][54] On October 23, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had 59 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.^[55] On November 6, in a 30–20 victory over the Denver Broncos, he had 114 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.^[56] In a 38–24 victory over the Buffalo Bills on December 4, he finished with 82 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.^[57] In a 21–13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs four days later, he had his third straight game with a rushing touchdown to go along with 103 rushing yards.^[58] Murray finished the regular season playing in 14 games and rushing for 788 yards and a career-high 12 rushing touchdowns.^[59] Murray’s pass protecting ability was rated third best in the NFL among running backs.^[60] On January 7, he made his playoff debut in the Wild Card Round against the Houston Texans. In the 27–14 loss, he finished with 39 rushing yards and his first career postseason rushing touchdown.^[61]

On March 16, 2017, Murray signed a three-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings.^[62][63] In his opening statement to Vikings fans, Murray stated on his Instagram account: "There wasn't a thought in my mind to try and wear or ask for the No. 28. I have too much respect for Adrian Peterson and so much respect for what he's done and what he means to this organization."^[64] During his first press conference as a Viking, Murray announced that he would be wearing #25 in honor of his best friend, who had died in 2016.^[65] On March 22, 2017, it was revealed Murray underwent ankle surgery.^[66]

On September 11, 2017, in the season opener against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, Murray had two rushes for six yards in his Vikings debut, ultimately being out-shined by rookie Dalvin Cook.^[67] However, Cook tore his ACL in a game against the Detroit Lions, creating an opportunity for Murray. During Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens, Murray rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown as the Vikings won 24–16.^[68] On November 19 against the Los Angeles Rams, he had 95 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 24–7 victory.^[69] In the regular season finale against the Chicago Bears, Murray had 111 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 23–10 victory.^[70] Overall, in the 2017 season, he finished with 842 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, 15 receptions, and 103 receiving yards.^[71] The Vikings won the NFC North and made the playoffs as the #2-seed.^[72] In the 29–24 victory over the New Orleans Saints in the Divisional Round, he had 50 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.^[73] In the 38–7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship, Murray was limited to 18 rushing yards on six carries.^[74]

In the first five games of the 2018 season, Murray totaled 30 carries for 106 yards and nine receptions for 60 yards in a limited role.^[75] In Week 6, against the Arizona Cardinals, he had a career-high 155 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 27–17 victory.^[76] In the next game, a 37–17 victory over the New York Jets, he had 69 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.^[77] Overall, in the 2018 season, Murray finished with 578 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, 22 receptions, and 141 receiving yards.^[78]

On March 13, 2019, Murray signed a four-year, $14.4 million contract with the New Orleans Saints.^[79][80] Murray made his debut with the Saints in Week 1 against the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football. In the game, Murray rushed 6 times for 43 yards including a 30 yard touchdown in the 30-28 win. ^[81]