After sitting out the first two weeks, Todd Gurley burst on the scene this week versus the Arizona Cardinals. Gurley totaled 146 yards rushing (an awesome 7.7 yards per carry) and two catches for 15 yards. Coming into this season there were questions about how Gurley would respond to the brutal knee injury he sustained in college. Even with the time off Gurley showed no signs of rust displaying his open-field vision and speed on numerous plays.
Now that he's shown he's back from injury can we assume he's an RB1 going forward?
First let’s look at his short term schedule. The Rams will face Green Bay (10th most points to opposing RB), Cleveland (4th most), San Francisco (12th most) and Minnesota (15th most). None of these matchups look scary but let's not forget that later in the season the Rams will be facing tough Seattle and Cincinnati defenses. Secondly, the Rams offensive line is rated in the bottom quarter of the NFL.
Gurley has the ability to make up for some of this, but likely will have an up and down year. At this time Gurley is more of a solid RB2. Keep monitoring Gurley's progress as his workload increases. It is possible he could become a RB1, but let's not get overly excited just yet.