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RB, Georgia
Rankings
NFLDraftScout: #11 player overall, #1 running back. First-round grade.
Nawrocki: #7 player overall, #1 RB guard. Grade: 6.60, sure-fire first rounder who should make an immediate impact.
Mayock: #19 player overall, #2 RB.
Kiper: #10 player overall, #1 RB.
Draft Countdown: #4 player overall, #1 RB. First-round grade.
Sports Illustrated: #16 player overall, #1 RB.
Scouts Inc: #8 player overall, #1 RB. Grade: 92, rare prospect.
Biography/Honors
2014: Voted offensive team MVP. Played in six games, starting five. 123-911 rushing (7.4 ypc) with 9 TDs. 12-57 receiving (4.8 ypc). 4 kickoff returns (44.8 ypr) with a TD. Also threw a 50-yard TD. Second in school history in TDs, rushing yards and all-purpose yards, trailing only Herschel Walker.
Suspended four games for taking over $3,000 for autographed memorabilia.
2013: Second team all-SEC. Started 10 games. 165-989 rushing (6.0 ypc) with 10 TDs. 37-441 receiving (11.9 ypc) with 5 TDs.
2012: All-freshman SEC team and second team all-conference. Started 12 of 14 games. 222-1,385 rushing (6.2 ypc) with 17 TDs. 16-117 receiving (7.3 ypc). 7 kickoff returns (34.7 ypr) with a TD. First true freshman to rush for 1,000 yards since Herschel Walker in 1980.
Academics: Pre-business major. Left school with a year of eligibility remaining
Twitter: @TG3II
Injuries
2014: Tore left ACL in mid-November game against Auburn and missed final three games.
2013: Missed three games due to sprained ankle. Missed parts of two other games with hip and ankle injuries.
Combine/Pro Day
No offseason workouts; recovering from ACL injury
Scouting Report
Pluses: Big, strong, physical and explosive. Looks every bit the NFL RB, can run around defenders as easily as he runs over them. Runs through arm tackles, wears down defenses and gets better the more carries he gets. Runs with great balance and has exceptional speed and bend around the corner for a big back. Has alarming speed and acceleration to the edge. Does not go down easy. Has exceptional body control, balance after contact and leg drive. Regularly breaks losses for big gains (he'll have to). Bounces off tackles and throws a mean stiffarm. Finishes his runs and won't run out of bounds. 62% of his yards last season came after initial contact. Has the speed and suddenness to score from anywhere on the field. Doesn't dance; hits the hole hard. Presses the line of scrimmage to set up cutback runs. Gets downhill with good forward lean and knee bend and makes himself small in the hole. Keeps the ball high and tight as a runner and a receiver. Averaged 6.4 yards a carry for his career and fumbled only 3 times in 586 touches. Catches well and is dangerous on screen passes. Soft hands and adjusts to throws well. Makes sharp cuts in the open field. Alert in pass pro. Added value as a kick returner. Said to be ahead of schedule in his injury rehab. ACL clouds his near future, but taking only 40% of snaps 2014-15 means there's plenty of tread on his tires. (Nawrocki) True workhorse back who can carry an offense and has the potential to be a perennial all-pro; a top-five player.
Minuses: Durability has to be questioned. May not be at full health for his rookie season. May not get his original speed back. Takes some heavy hits. Field vision is iffy. Will cut back out of runs when he has a nice gain right in front of him. Can be more elusive in the open field and picking through traffic. Has to run with more patience. Needs to refine hand placement and positioning as a pass protector. The Miami Herald reports that he's at 80%, has not been doing lateral movements and is likely to start his rookie season on the PUP list.
Compares to: Here comes the hype. NFL.com says Marshawn Lynch; Sports Illustrated says Adrian Peterson. I'll throw in Herschel Walker.
Fun Facts
Todd played on three straight North Carolina state football championship teams. He ran hurdles on Georgia's track team and represented team USA at the World Youth Championships in Athletics in France in 2011. He has run the 60-meter hurdles in 8.12 seconds.
RamView
Todd Gurley is the stud RB of this draft and one of the best RBs of the past several drafts. I see a player with every bit the potential to become one of the NFL's elite players. He and Tre Mason should become quite a 1-2 running punch and Gurley restores the Steven Jackson element the Rams have been missing in their backfield. Everything I see about Gurley says he can do it all. He's an excellent value where he was taken and is an outstanding pick. Rams fans can get excited about this pick. It could transform the franchise. One thumb up. The other thumb's down. For a team that's 20-28 in three years under Fisher and Snead, if Gurley's truly unable to contribute until well into the 2015 season, he's a luxury pick for a team with gaping holes in its offensive line and a receiving corps that's still pedestrian. I think this pick has a good chance of becoming a great one, but it wasn't made with winning games in St. Louis in 2015 in mind. Fisher and Snead owe us more urgency than that, and without rushing back another player too soon off an ACL injury and messing up his future, either.
Sources: Georgia Athletics, NFL.com, Wikipedia
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