Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
NFL Network is airing its annual Top 100 Players and to many people’s surprise, Falcons running back Todd Gurley was just outside the top 50.
After two ridiculously good seasons, Todd Gurley had an off year in 2019. That paved the way for the Los Angeles Rams – who drafted Gurley tenth overall in 2015 (when they were still in St. Louis) – to cut Gurley in March.
The Falcons then scooped Gurley up in April, which made sense considering he attended Georgia for college and was incredible for the Bulldogs offense during his collegiate career.
The NFL Top 100 Players takes into account what the players think of each other. They rank the best players in the league and then it’s tallied up and revealed to us every summer.
Last year, Gurley was ranked as the fifth best player according to his peers and that checked out. He rushed for 1,251 yards and a whopping 17 touchdowns while hauling in 59 receptions for 580 yards and four receiving touchdowns, giving him 21 total trips into the end zone.
It all went downhill for Gurley in the playoffs. He did fine in the NFC Divisional Round against the Cowboys, racking up 116 rushing yards and a touchdown. The next two games, however, saw Gurley total just 45 yards off of 14 carries and a touchdown. He was essentially invisible in both the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl.
Even still, Gurley was on the Rams’ roster heading into the 2019 season, but he did not look the same, totaling 857 yards and 12 touchdowns with 207 receiving yards and two more touchdowns.
It wasn’t a bad year for Todd Gurley, but he shouldn’t be just outside the top half of NFL players from last year.
Gurley’s ranking shows that the player rankings isn’t really something the players put a lot of thought into. Former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz tweeted that he never took it seriously and that’s showcased by Gurley getting this high of a ranking.
Todd Gurley is about to turn 26 years old and that’s considered young by most people, but not when it comes to playing running back in the NFL. He’s also proof that paying a running back big time money isn’t a great idea due to how susceptible they are to injury.
Hopefully Gurley bounces back for the Falcons and can prove that his ranking wasn’t a fluke, but as of now, it seems puzzling that he even made the list at all.