Photo Credit: Kyle Terada/ USA TODAY Sports
If there’s one thing that I love writing and talking about, it’s NFL rookies and who I think is going to be good and who is going to be bad and who really won’t even matter when the season finally rolls around. However this year, the NFL draft class was full of superstars, some duds and overall gave the media a lot to work with. One guy that everyone can’t stop talking about though is Rams pick Todd Gurley.
When Gurley was first drafted, it seemed like a surprise. The St. Louis Rams already had Tre Mason and while he wasn’t great, he would get the job done. There was also Gurley’s ACL injury that was supposed to make him slip down the draft boards, but the Rams thought he was worth the risk and decided to take him with the number ten pick. They knew that Gurley could miss a majority of the beginning of the season, but they never imagined what it would be like when he finally hit the field.
Gurley’s first NFL start came on September 27th against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He only had six carries for a total of nine yards and the Rams inevitably lost the game to the Steelers, 12-6. That first game seems like such a distant memory now, though, because Gurley has single-handedly shattered all expectations for him and has become one of the top running-backs in the league, as a rookie.
While he didn’t record a touchdown until the Rams’ matchup against Cleveland on October 25th, he literally turned into a machine. In his second game back, Gurley had nine rushing attempts for 146 yards, but his game against Cleveland really made him a household name. During that game, Gurley rushed for two touchdowns along with four receptions. Since that game, Gurley has logged a touchdown in every single game including their game against the 49ers and their recent loss to the Minnesota Vikings. To be on the same field as Adrian Peterson and score a rushing touchdown had to be exciting for Gurley.
At this point, it doesn’t look like Gurley will be slowing down anytime soon and if he keeps this up, he should be running his way towards a “Rookie Of The Year” award. Even if he doesn’t end up with an award, his “welcome back” to football, especially after a torn ACL certainly deserves all the praise he’s getting. It looks like the Rams made the smart decision in drafting Gurley so early because it is definitely paying off.
