Falcons want to give Todd Gurley 15-25 touches per week (is that too many?)
The Falcons have a plan in mind for Todd Gurley.
The Los Angeles Rams decided to move on from Todd Gurley this offseason and the Atlanta Falcons swooped him up on a one-year deal. The three-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro took a lot of heat for a decline in production, but Gurley was not bad by any measure in 2019.
The main thing that decreased last season was his amount of touches. Gurley finished the year with 254 touches on offense after having at least 315 in each of the prior three seasons. The Falcons reportedly want to get Gurley back to his old ways, according to ESPN’s Vaughn McClure. The coaching staff wants the running back to have a “minimum of 15 touches” and potentially a high up toward 25 per game.
Todd Gurley will be a focal point on offense
The comments came from Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. Averaging 15 per week across the season would bring Gurley to a final total of 240. Reaching his max of 25 would have him at 400.
Gurley’s average was 16.9 per week last season when he appeared in 15 games. However, he still finished with 857 rushing yards and 14 total touchdowns. His 207 receiving yards were the alarming low after he had over 80 targets in both 2017 and 2018.
The main concern with Gurley is his knee. A report came out in 2019 that he was dealing with arthritis, and that should explain why the 26-year-old was handed a one-year deal by the Falcons.
The running back was arguably used too much during his years with the Rams and getting in a range of 15-18 touches per game may suit him better for the long-term. He can even focus on primarily being a runner in Atlanta to help an offense that finished with a combined 1,361 rushing yards in 2019 with only 10 touchdowns. Devonta Freeman was the leading rusher and he was not brought back, leaving Brian Hill as Gurley’s main competition for touches out of the backfield.
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Gurley wants to prove he is still the All-Pro he once was and making him a focal point on offense is a win-win for both sides. Now he has to prove his knees are in fact fine. That may be the hardest part of the whole equation.