St. Louis Rams Select Georgia RB Todd Gurley With 10th Pick of 2015 NFL Draft
The St. Louis Rams have selected running back Todd Gurley with the 10th pick of the 2015 NFL Draft. It was an unbelievable shock for a team that was widely expected to take an offensive lineman, with the wide receiver position seen as the only other semi-major need.
Gurley, a 6-foot, 222-pounder, ran for 3,285 yards on 510 attempts during his three-year career at Georgia. He was the early favorite for the Heisman Trophy in 2014 before dealing with a suspension for illegally signing autographs and then suffering a season-ending injury, but he still finished with 911 rushing yards with nine touchdowns on 123 carries over six games.
Though the Rams may be cautious with him following his injury, Gurley is also capable of being a very impactful kick returner. While returning 11 kicks during the course of his college career, Gurley averaged 38.4 yards per return with two touchdowns.
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Having suffered a torn ACL late in his junior season at Georgia, Gurley probably won’t be ready for the start of the regular season. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said that Rams head coach Jeff Fisher is willing to wait as long as he has to to unleash Gurley and is content with Gurley sitting out the season to recover if necessary.
That should be bearable since the Rams have incumbent starter Tre Mason on the roster. Mason ran for 765 yards with four touchdowns on 179 attempts in 12 games as a rookie. If Gurley ends up as the Rams’ starter in 2015, it will be the third time in three seasons that Jeff Fisher has acquired a new starting running back for the Rams. He replaced Steven Jackson with Daryl Richardson, and then Zac Stacy in 2013, before replacing Stacy with Mason this past season.
Gurley is the first running back to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since the New York Giants took David Wilson out of Virginia Tech with the 32nd pick of the 2012 draft.