There was a time when it looked like Todd Gurley was going to be the next great Running Back, and why wouldn’t we think that?
Gurley was the first Running Back taken in the 2015 Draft (10th Overall) and the Georgia Bulldog made the Rams look like geniuses as he proceeded to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year with 1,106 Rushing Yards, 10 Rushing Touchdowns and a trip to the Pro Bowl. Gurley had a sophomore jink (885 Yards, 6 Touchdowns), but exploded in 2017 where he led the NFL in Rushing Touchdowns (13), Touchdowns (19) and Yards from Scrimmage (2,093). He was the runner-up for the MVP while winning the AP Offensive Player of the Year, and it could be argued that he was even better in 2018. This was Gurley’s second straight First Team All-Pro year, and he again led the league in Touchdowns (21), with a fourth-place finish in YFS (1,831). What transpired late that year was a beginning of a slew of knee injuries that would hamper the rest of his career.
Gurley plummeted to barely over 1,064 YFS, without missing a game and it was clear he wasn’t the same player. The Rams let him go, and he had one year with the Atlanta Falcons where he had his least productive year (842 Yards, 9 TD). No team picked up Gurley in 2021, and he retired shortly after.
Gurley might not have had the career that we thought he would have but 8,336 Yards from Scrimmage with 79 Touchdowns is a damned good career.
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