The St. Louis Rams shocked quite a few people when they chose to select Georgia Bulldogs running back Todd Gurley with the No. 11 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. They didn’t have to have a running back with the emergence of Tre Mason at the end of last season, but they felt that Gurley could take their offense to the next level. He has been rehabbing a torn ACL that he suffered late last season, but appears to be getting back to full strength.
Despite the recent videos of him on-the-field working out, the Rams are expected to hold Gurley out of preseason action. It is a very smart move for them, and it will help him in the long run as he continues working hard to get back to 100 percent for the regular season.
Jeff Fisher to @AndrewSiciliano: Unlikely you’ll see Gurley in preseason. Even if he’s 100%, he’ll rotate with Tre Mason, who is “special.”
— Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) August 7, 2015
During the 2014 season at Georgia, Gurley was only able to play in six games. He still rushed for 911 yards and nine touchdowns on 123 carries, and averaged 7.4 yards per carry. There aren’t many running backs in the nation that looked even close to as dominant as Gurley did throughout his career, and he has received some glowing comparisons since he declared for the NFL Draft.
Marshawn Lynch and Adrian Peterson are the two names that he has been compared to most, which obviously would be ideal scenarios for the Rams.
Needless to say, getting Gurley back to full health for the regular season is the priority. Playing in practice games is always a plus, but Gurley has played in enough football games to know what he needs to do to be successful. Allowing him to continue his workouts outside of an actual game is the right way to handle things, and it decreases the chance of him re-injuring himself in a meaningless game.
While he won’t be playing against other teams in preseason action, Gurley is going to be pushing himself harder each and every day in practice. That is how he will get his knee back to full strength and get back to dominating opposing defenses on the field each week.
If the Rams truly want to contend for a playoff spot in a very tough NFC, they are going to need Gurley at full strength fairly early on in the season. He has the ability to completely change their offense, and open up the passing game for quarterback Nick Foles. Jeff Fisher is obviously excited to have his new running back, but he wants him to be at 100 percent before stepping foot into a game against another team.
