Todd Gurley was a highly rated high school prospect (7th rated RB for 247 sports) but he was overshadowed by future Georgia teammate Keith Marshall (who was the No. 1 ranked RB recruit for 247 sports) during the recruiting process. Gurley and Marshall were expected to play behind Isaiah Crowell during their freshman campaigns but Crowell couldn’t keep his act together and Gurley took full advantage of his opportunity.
Gurley burst on the scene at Georgia rushing for over 1,300 yards as a freshman. As a sophomore, he was a little banged up and came just short of 1,000 yards. He missed three games and Georgia lost two of those. Through five games as a junior, Gurley was in contention for the Heisman Trophy but was suspended due to receiving money for autographs. Gurley came back for one game (138 yards against Auburn) before tearing his ACL and ending his college career. During his college career, Gurley looked like the best player on the field.
Strengths
Has big play ability and is a threat to take it to the house whenever he touches the ball. He has an NFL build and uses that size as a tough physical runner who can beat you up between the tackles or take it outside. Gurley also has good vision, makes good cuts and has the ability to make a guy miss or run him over. Gurley can also catch the ball out of the backfield and can be a weapon in the kick return game.
Weaknesses
The biggest question-mark is with injuries. He missed time in 2013 and tore his ACL in 2014. We have the question-mark of if he’s injury prone and also how will he bounce back from his current injury. While Gurley is not afraid to get his hands dirty in blocking, he needs to improve his blocking skills at the NFL level.
NFL Fit
Gurley seems like a good fit for just about any team that is looking for a running back. Obviously, he would excel with a team that runs a more balanced approach but because he can catch the ball out of the backfield (37 receptions for 6 touchdowns in 2013), he has the ability to fit in on any roster.
Draft Projection
Mid to Late First Round Pick
Before his injury, Gurley could have been a top five pick but that’s difficult to say for sure with how running backs are regarded in the NFL these days. As it stands now, Gurley will likely go anywhere from the middle to the end of the first round which means that he should land on a contender. Arizona, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New York Jets and San Diego are all teams that I’ve seen him “mocked” to. Basically, he could go anywhere and it only takes one team to fall in love with him and based on his skill set there is a lot to love.
Conclusion
As long as he heals properly from his injury and can start off his career injury free, Gurley will have immediate impact for his team at the NFL level and he has the skill set to be one of the best backs in the NFL as a rookie. As of right now Gurley is hoping to be ready by mini-camp in July but August might be a more realistic time table. There is a lot of interest in the NFL around Gurley and it makes sense as he is the type of running back that doesn’t come around often. If healthy, he could be a game changer for the team that drafts him.
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