College:
2012-14 – Georgia
Career:
2015-19 – St. Louis/ Los Angeles Rams
2020 – Atlanta Falcons
One of the most talented athletes playing three sports in high school, Todd Gurley was destined to be great. After once being seen as the best running back in the league and, since 2020, nowhere to be seen, where did it all go wrong for Gurley?
Gurley was an offensive powerhouse in high school, and in his final game for Tarboro High, he led the team to a state championship with four touchdowns and 242 rushing yards. After this Gurley took his talents to the Georgia Bulldogs where he had up and down career. In Gurley’s sophomore year, he battled against injuries meaning that he spent an abundance of time on the sideline. Then in his Junior year, Gurley missed four games because he was investigated for illegally taking money for signed memorabilia and autographs. Despite this, Todd Gurley still left as one of Georgia’s best, finishing second in both touchdowns and rushing yards, behind the legendary Hershel Walker. This led the St. Louis Rams to select Gurley with the tenth overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft as the first running back taken off the big board.
In his rookie year, Todd Gurley set the world alight recording, ten touchdowns and 1,106 rushing yards after missing the first two games due to injury. He went on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year as well as being selected All-Pro and making the Pro Bowl game. After an electrifying first year, Gurley experienced a sophomore slump. However, this could be seen as a blessing in disguise, as the Rams’ lack of success during the season led to the firing of John Fassel and Jeff Fisher, which meant that during the offseason the Rams brought in Sean McVay as their new head coach for the upcoming season.
Gurley that following season would go on to have the best season of his career. He finished second in MVP voting, was a pro bowler, was selected to an All-Pro team and helped lead the Rams to eleven wins on the season. McVay used Gurley in every possible way as he recorded nineteen touchdowns, a combination of six receiving touchdowns and thirteen rushing touchdowns. He also amassed 1,305 rushing yards along with 788 receiving yards, with many considering Gurley the best and most complete running back in the NFL. Although the team lost in the Wild-Card round to the Matt Ryan-led Atlanta Falcons, the future in Los Angeles was looking bright.
In the 2018 NFL season Gurley started the year as he ended it but throughout the season the workload, he was doing was beginning to take a toll on his performances. Gurley still ended the year leading the NFL in rushing touchdowns for the second consecutive season collecting seventeen on the year, but it was the playoffs where it all began to crumble. Gurley was elite against the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Rounds running for 115 yards in the game. However, in the following game in the NFC Conference Championships Gurley only ran the ball four times and it was clear something was wrong with the superstar running back. Even though the Rams won the game there was a lot of speculation surrounding Gurley and his fitness heading into the Super Bowl. The Rams without their best player fit were suffocated by the Patriots' defense, meaning that the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots lifted the Vince Lombardi trophy ending the Rams season in heartbreak. In that offseason, Gurley came out publicly and said he had arthritis in his knee which is injurious to a running back at the height of his career.
With Gurley’s athleticism derailing, McVay’s offence seemed to have been found out as Gurley did not break 100 rushing yards in a single game during the 2019 NFL campaign. As Gurley at this point was the highest-paid running back in the league and the Rams were dealing with salary cap issues, on March 19th, 2020, the Rams released Gurley to clear up money. The Atlanta Falcons took a gamble and signed Gurley for the upcoming 2020 season, but it was clear that the injuries had slowed down his production. This was an underwhelming year for Gurley as he still managed to record nine touchdowns but his low yards per carry and his loss of explosion was clear to see. This resulted in the Falcons not re-signing Gurley and ended up being his last season in the league.
Todd Gurley was a game-changer, with great speed and agility, Gurley was able to evade tackles making him a defender's nightmare. Along with his great football IQ, which allowed him to analyse defences and pick the right areas to attack when running. That said, what made Gurley unique was his versatility as he was able to contribute both as a runner and as a receiver. He was the true definition of a dual-threat back making him a handful for opposing defences. In only six seasons, Gurley registered 67 touchdowns along with 6,082 rushing yards, along with numerous individual awards. Although he had a short prime due to injuries, his dominance during this stretch is the reason why Todd Gurley is one we shall never forget.
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