Dynasty Scouts Player Spotlight: Todd Gurley

Russell Clay

gurley

The terms “elite” or “once in a generation” get thrown around a lot these days, which tends to dilute their meaning. Everyone has different preferences and everyone has different belief systems about who is going to be the next elite or once in a generation prospect. In 2006 and 2007, we had a consensus with Calvin Johnson. While you could get upset about where he got drafted or his lack of college production, it seems everyone was aligned that Johnson was the next big thing. And you know what? He was. While I wouldn’t suggest always following the pack, sometimes talent is obvious enough for everyone to agree on. There are certain players who define generations, players like LeBron James or Kevin Durant in basketball. Not only do they make a spectacle of every game with their exceptional abilities, they change how the game is played. When at the top of their game, opposing teams throw up their hands because they know there’s nothing they can do.

Over the past ten years or so, there have been a few of these prospects, at least in my opinion.

  • Andrew Luck
  • Adrian Peterson
  • Trent Richardson
  • Calvin Johnson
  • AJ Green
  • Julio Jones
  • Dez Bryant

A couple of points about this list:

  • I’m completely aware this is a “which one of these is not like the other” situation. But trust me on this, Trent Richardson was absolutely a generational PROSPECT, and I fully expect him to turn his career around.
  • Dez Bryant wasn’t a high first round pick, so how could he be considered a generational prospect? Well, it was the off field concerns that caused Bryant to fall in the draft. When you look at players like Josh Gordon and Justin Blackmon, you start to realize just how lucky we are Bryant decided to turn his life around. If Bryant didn’t have to sit out his junior year, he would have, without a doubt, been a top ten, if not top five pick.

After I made that very short list, I wanted to shout, “THAT’S IT!!” because well, that is it. This is a select group of players, the best of the best. If we start saying everyone is the best, what does it really mean?

Lucky for us, we have a new addition to that list, Georgia running back Todd Gurley.

The first live game I watched of Gurley was in the middle of Georgia’s 2012 season against Florida. That year Florida allowed one player to rush for 90 or more yards and that one player would be Todd Gurley, who had 118. Other running backs Florida faced that season include Christine Michael (13 carries for 33 yards), Zac Stacy (24 carries for 86 yards), Mike Davis/Marcus Lattimore (nine carries for 33 yards) and Devonta Freeman (eight carries for 37 yards).

Let’s take a look at a few plays in that game:

:03 mark

Gurley takes the ball and runs into a complete mess, Florida had the perfect play call and should stop him for no gain. He makes a beautiful cutback and easily avoids an off balance #34. After that he keeps his eyes forward and makes another ridiculous cut back inside, avoiding another oncoming defender. To cap it off, he breaks two arm tackles and basically walks into the end zone. After this play was over, I was in love. Not only does he have the vision and instincts to see where the running lanes are going to be, but he also has the speed and quickness to get there. In all of that, I didn’t even mention he’s 230 pounds. That’s a great run for a sub-200 pound back, never mind 230.

:46 mark

Freeze the video at the :49 mark and tell me how he turns this into an eight yard run. Don’t get it twisted, this is all him. The amount of explosion in his cuts is what will consistently get him positive yards, even on plays when the offensive line fails him.

2:10 mark

There’s nothing here! Two Florida players are two yards beyond the line of scrimmage when Gurley gets the ball and the rest of the defensive line has held their ground, there’s nowhere to go, unless you’re Todd Gurley. Not only does he have the patience to wait for something to open up with defenders baring down on him, but when he finds the opening and makes his cut he has the discipline to cut it right back inside where a few guys are blocking for him. Florida had ten men in the box, they knew Georgia was running, and they fully committed to stopping it.

While I showcased the Florida game, it was far from his only impressive performance. Gurley ended the 2012 season with 1,385 rushing yards at 6.2 yards per carry and 17 touchdowns. Enough said!

There was also this…

While Buffalo is hardly a powerhouse, this play is truly incredible. I’ve never seen a 230-pound running back return a kickoff for a touchdown so emphatically. He can catch the ball as well. In 2013, Gurley had 37 receptions for 441 yards, which is a ridiculous 11.9 yards per catch. Oh yeah, he also had six receiving touchdowns, with three of them going for more than 30 yards. It’s truly breathtaking to watch Gurley run the football. Not only does he have extremely fluid movements and some of the sharpest and most decisive cuts I’ve ever seen, but he’s also 230 pounds and runs an estimated mid-low 4.4s in terms of 40 time. Gurley is the type of player who embodies what I was talking about earlier with the elite category, players who have a combination of amazing abilities and can put them together on a consistent basis.

I’ll leave you with this for your viewing pleasure:

If nothing else, it’s a fun watch and will give you a few more plays to check out.

Player Comparison: Somewhere between Adrian Peterson and Steven Jackson