The talk of the offseason surrounding Todd Gurley is not about his past success. It’s about how his “arthritic knees” will slow him down this year. It’s about the unknown of switching teams during a year in which the offseason isn’t just any normal offseason. The once fantasy stud has been buried in the depths of ADP in a tier with RBs like Leonard Fournette, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and David Johnson. His new team, the Atlanta Falcons, has sustained an elite fantasy running back in the past. What is holding us in the fantasy community back from drafting him as a top running back this year? It is Gurley’s injury history. Gurley’s injury history, however, is not worth his free fall from years past.
Injury History
College
Todd Gurley attended the University of Georgia, where his injury history starts. In 2013, Gurley sprained his ankle, causing him to miss a total of three games that season. In 2014, Gurley’s history of knee injuries began. Gurley tore his left ACL in a game against the University of Auburn and missed the rest of the season. He entered the NFL without playing another snap at the collegiate level.
NFL
Gurley was eased into action when he was drafted as the 10th overall pick in the 2015 draft by the then St. Louis Rams. While in the NFL, Gurley has not missed as many games as many think due to injury. He played a total of 13 games in his rookie season while the Rams eased him back from his college ACL tear. He missed a single game in 2015 with a turf toe injury that he was able to recover quickly from. In 2018, Gurley suffered an unspecified knee injury that ended up being labeled as a knee sprain that he dealt with throughout the season that forced him to miss the last two games of the season. Finally, in 2019 Gurley sustained a quadriceps strain that left him out of the lineup for a single game.
In total, Gurley has missed seven games in his five year career. He has played in 73 of the possible 80 games in that span, coming to a rate of 91 percent. Five of those total seven games missed in the NFL were due to his knee. On average, he missed a single game in each year due to his “arthritic knee”.
See Where Todd Gurley Lands In Our Dynasty RB Rankings!
What Having Arthritic Knees Means
Let’s dive deeper into what it means to have arthritis. Arthritis is defined as the wearing down of cartilage tissue found in joints throughout the body. Cartilage has a relatively limited healing capacity, causing constant pain if not regularly being treated. With arthritis, there is nothing structurally wrong with the affected area and pain tolerance is the barrier when playing. Arthritis is commonly found in the knee joint along with the joints in between the vertebrae of your back. However, any joint that is subjected to acute or chronic trauma can develop arthritis. With this information, it is likely Gurley has been dealing with arthritis in this knee shortly after he suffered his ACL tear in college.
Outlook
Knees are extremely important for any professional athlete, specifically a running back. The wear and tear a knee takes during cutting, turning, and acceleration is tremendous. People don’t need to have a medical degree to know that. There is no denying a single cut could cause enough pain and inflammation in Gurley’s knee that could take him out a game or two. But his average draft position as the RB15 takes into account the risk of missing a game or two.
Gurley’s knee is structurally sound, and isn’t more of a risk than any other running back for a significant knee injury. He isn’t rehabbing from a recently torn ACL. Gurley has dealt with his arthritic knee for years, so why is it now that we are more worried about it hurting his fantasy stock? Atlanta gave Gurley a one year, prove it type deal. The team isn’t committed to him for the future. There is no indication they won’t give Gurley the workload he has received in the past on the Rams. Gurley has the talent of a top five running back in the league. He is now in an offense that has supported 1,000-plus rushing yards and 500-plus receiving yards from their running back. Best part is, Gurley will only be 26 years old when the season starts.
Gurley is ranked as the RB16 in Yards Per Fantasy composite running back rankings. RB16 is Gurley’s floor and should be taken higher. Give me Gurley over Fournette and the other running backs listed above. I am not worried about his knee, and you shouldn’t be either.
