Todd Gurley is the Key for Atlanta

Atlanta would love to see Gurley return to his old ways. Racking up over 1,000 yards is one of the biggest reasons the Falcons took a chance on the young running back. A one-year prove-it deal will give Gurley the chance to show the NFL he is still one of the best backs in the league. More than just the yards, Gurley needs to improve on his yards per rushing attempt.

Between 2017 and 2018 Gurley averaged 4.78 yards per carry. This was a big reason that he was so successful and changed the way defenses had to game plan. In 2019 that dropped to 3.8 yards per attempt which led to such a disappointing year.

Atlanta and Gurley are both hoping he gets back up to closer to his pervious rushing averages. While most people do not expect Gurley to get all the way back to what he was, a modest increase is expected. ESPN projects Gurley to average 4.1 yards per carry this year which would be a modest increase.

Best case scenario for Gurley this year is he average north of 4.5 yards per carry with over 1,000 yards rushing on a high scoring and exciting Falcons offense. Worst case, he mimics last year and averages 3.8 yards, struggling to make a real difference in the game. The actual results will probably be somewhere in the middle.

Gurley should see his overall production increase by being more involved in the passing game, but a stat line around 900 rushing yards on 4.2 yards per carry would be a solid year for Todd Gurley and the Atlanta Falcons.