There was little question regarding Todd Gurley and what he would bring to the table after being selected in the top 10 of this year's draft. The only issue, at least up until a cameo performance last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, was about when Gurley would make his NFL debut following an ACL tear last year at Georgia.
After putting up nine yards on six attempts in his debut, expectations were a tad muted heading into Sunday's outing against a darn good Arizona Cardinals defense. That was magnified by a low 3.2 ownership percentage in FanDuel leagues.
Gurley responded with a stunning performance in the Rams win over Arizona. He put up 146 yards on 19 attempts, including a ridiculous 100-plus yards in the fourth quarter. In fact, Gurley, acting the part of a seasoned veteran, gave up yardage down the stretch in order to preserve the Rams' control over the clock.
What made Gurley's performance so dominating is the fact that he put up negative three yards in his first six attempts, meaning that the rookie went for 149 yards on his final 13 rushes. Talk about ridiculous.
St. Louis still seems to be easing Gurley into a big workload. The likes of Benny Cunningham and Tre Mason were given full possessions with Nick Foles under center up until the final stanza that saw Gurley go off against the Cardinals. In reality, his ability to get stronger as the game went on has to be a good sign moving forward. It should also make him a legitimate fantasy threat.
Common logic suggests Gurley won't average near eight yards an attempt every time he takes the field. So unless the Rams plan on featuring him 20-plus times per game, he's still a risky proposition as a RB1 option. Though, I wouldn't have an issue recommending Gurley as a RB2 in FanDuel leagues — something that's definitely dependent on how he's valued heading into Week 5.
The next few weeks are friendly for Gurley and his fantasy potential:
Next Five Games | Week | Opponent | Fantasy Rank |
| 5 | Green Bay Packers | 15th |
| 6 | Bye | |
| 7 | San Francisco 49ers | 26th |
| 8 | Minnesota Vikings | 21st |
| 9 | Chicago Bears | 13th |
| 10 | Baltimore Ravens | 10th |
I might be inclined to take a wait-and-see approach against the Packers next week before diving head first into Gurley. After the bye, he will take on two bad fantasy defenses — San Francisco and Minnesota — at which point the Rams should be even more confident handing him the ball north of 20 times per game.