St. Louis Rams Todd Gurley making his case for Rookie of the Year

Some fans and experts questioned why the St. Louis Rams picked running back Todd Gurley with their 10th pick in the NFL Draft, well now he is making his case for Rookie of the Year. Gurley has put all the questions aside of whether or not he would be able to come back from his Torn ACL, by having a break out performance in only seven regular season games so far. The Rams made the smart decision in waiting until Gurley was ready to play, as he started his first game as a St. Louis Rams running back in Week 4.

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The previous weeks, the Rookie of the Year mix had Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper, Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters and Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, however once Gurley was able to show his talents on the field, all the attention went towards the running back from Georgia.

In only seven games, Gurley has already broken records, and has made the Rams running game powerful once again. The numbers do not lie, Gurley right now is easily the front-runner for Rookie of the Year, and if he continues to perform at this level, he will win the award by a landslide. In seven games so far, Gurley has totaled insane numbers. 709 rushing yards, 132 receiving yards, 5 Touchdowns, in only seven games. The first game Gurley appeared in was against the Pittsburgh Steelers which he only got six carries, so technically Gurley has really played in six true regular season games. Gurley is averaging 5.5 yards a carry, along with 8.3 yards a catch.

To add onto an already impressive season, Gurley is fourth in the league in rushing, tied also in fourth for yards per carry, and fifth in total touchdowns. Remember this has all been done in only seven NFL games.

Nov 15, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley (30) leaps over Chicago Bears strong safety Antrel Rolle (26) during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

Besides the great numbers, Gurley has also set some new records. Gurley set a record for most rushing yards by a player in his first four starts since the AFL/NFL merger and his rushing total ranks behind only running back Adrian Peterson and Eric Dickerson for the most by a rookie in his first six games. Before Gurley even took the field in the NFL, some compared his skills to both Peterson and Dickerson. Well now he is right behind them in this category.

With the records and numbers to prove it, NFL Nation also selected Rams’ Todd Gurley for the midseason Rookie of the Year. Gurley totaled 25 votes, Cooper with 7 votes, and Peters with 1 vote.

Rams coach Jeff Fisher says he believes Gurley has the potential to be one of the best backs of all time. Fisher has been coaching for awhile now, and has seen a lot of great backs. Fisher went on to comment about Gurley.

Nov 8, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley (30) carries the ball during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Rams 21-18. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

“I mean, the best back when I was playing was my teammate and that was Walter ,But, there’s no resemblance there. They’re just different body styles, body types. But, as I said, it’d be unfair to compare Todd to anybody that I’ve either played against or with or coached with. He’s just different.”

For Todd Gurley to really make his case for Rookie of the year, he will be facing some pretty tough rush defenses the next three weeks. As it stands right now Gurley will face off with the 4th, 9th and 11th best rush defenses in the league the next three weeks. With the Rams making an official announcement that quarterback Case Keenum will be starting this Sunday, it will allow Gurley and the running game to once again get back on track.

With a new quarterback under center, will Gurley continue to shine? He will as the Rookie of the Year award will go to Todd Gurley. The last Rams running back to win Rookie of the Year was Jerome Bettis back in 1993. After this season, the drought will be over, as Gurley takes home the award.

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