Los Angeles Rams need Todd Gurley to be the feature back

Todd Gurley’s knee has become an evergrowing saga for the Los Angeles Rams with reports that he may no longer be the team’s bell cow moving forward.

After a stellar 2017, Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley started the 2018 season on a tear and looked ready to replace Le’Veon Bell as the best running back in the NFL with Bell sitting the season out.

And with all things considered, Gurley probably is the most talented running back right now. He is a massive threat in both the running and the passing games and is so naturally gifted that he can make plays anywhere on the field.

The one asterisk for Gurley is his knee. The same knee that reportedly is arthritic and he has had surgery on before. The same knee that caused his production to dip massively and for him to practically be a non-factor in the playoffs.

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The same knee that is worrying every single Ram fan after the team signed him to a lengthy, and expensive, contract extension prior to the 2018 season. The same knee that reportedly will strip Gurley of his “bell cow” duties.

NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said that Gurley is not expected to be the same every down back that takes on a big workload for the Los Angeles Rams. That is part of the reason why the Rams selected a running back in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft (h/t NFL.com).

Third-round pick Darrell Henderson is talented and it definitely is better for Gurley’s long-term production and health for him to take less of a workload. Because of that, this is the right long-term move for the team to make.

However, in terms of the current status of the team and the chances of contending for a Super Bowl, the team needs Gurley to be the feature back. It does not need to be every single week and can be reserved for the end of the season and the playoffs but the Rams are much better when Gurley is in for nearly every snap.

The Rams offense certainly is talented but the notion that it will be just fine without Gurley is a bit too optimistic. There are still some learning curves with Jared Goff and Gurley is someone that opens the field for Goff and makes the decision-making process that much easier.

It is much easier to go over the top for big plays when the opposing defense has to worry about the run and make that the emphasis. With Gurley doing Gurley things, play action becomes immensely effective and that is why the Rams relied on it so heavily last season.

And that is part of the reason why the team fell so flat in the Super Bowl. The rushing game was virtually nonexistent and as a result, Goff really struggled.

Will the Rams still be a great team if Gurley takes a reduced role? Absolutely. Will they still be a playoff team? Most likely.

However, if the Los Angeles Rams want to make another deep run at the Super Bowl, the team is eventually going to have to let Gurley run full steam ahead. It does not have to be the entire season but it is critical to the team’s success.