Communication is one of the things tested in our current world. Getting people together in a room isn't happening, so there's some guesswork involved in any situation where ideally there'd be some physical contact. But it's a little surprising that the offensive coordinator for the team that signed Todd Gurley says he doesn't know if he's healthy.
"The main question, that no one seems to know, is what is his health status?" That's a quote from Falcons coordinator Dirk Koetter in a conference call with the media.
Since the Falcons signed Gurley to a one-year, $5 million deal, you'd think they have some idea of where he's at physically. Perhaps somewhere everyone else connected with the organization is shaking their heads at Koetter's words.
Gurley has supposedly been dealing with some sort of knee issue since late in the 2018 season, described (and denied) as an arthritic knee. He was the 14th-ranked PPR running back last year, so it's not like he wasn't a significant fantasy player despite the uncertainty. But now it's May and people are participating in best-ball drafts (and the Falcons have only Ito Smith, Brian Hill and Qadree Ollison on the roster aside from Gurley). Looks like Gurley will need to be drafted, or not drafted, with little clarity on his 2020 outlook. If even his coordinator doesn't know, difficult for anyone else to have a good answer.
Gurley averaged just 3.8 yards per attempt last year, which is a yard per carry less than what he averaged in each of the two previous seasons. The offensive line was certainly part of the issue. It's not as if the team's other backs fared any better. Malcolm Brown (3.7 yards per attempt) and Darrell Henderson (3.8) were also under 4 yards per carry.
Where Gurley's dropoff last year was most apparent was in terms of explosive plays -- runs or receptions of 20-plus or 40-plus yards. In the 2017-2018 seasons, he had 42 such big plays; 17 and 25 in the two years. Last year? Just 8, including zero 40-yard runs or receptions.
| GURLEY EXPLOSIVE PLAYS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 20+run | 40+ run | 20+rec | 40+rec | Tot |
| 2015 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| 2017 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 25 |
| 2018 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 17 |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
Gurley loyalists can point to 2016, when he also had only 7 such plays, as evidence that it's not all on him -- the offense and the line in front of him were a large part of the problem last year. Maybe being in Atlanta's offense behind a line loaded with first-round talent will free him up for some more big plays.
In any case, it's worrisome that the guy running Atlanta's offense this year concedes he doesn't know how healthy his new starter is. Hopefully we'll get some form of training camp and preseason where that can be cleared up. Difficult, I think, to draft him with any kind of premium pick without that information.
--Andy Richardson