Mending Gurley rocketing up NFL draft charts

Former Georgia tailback Todd Gurley, shown here in last season's win over Tennessee, has vaulted up the various NFL draft projections in recent days.
Former Georgia tailback Todd Gurley, shown here in last season's win over Tennessee, has vaulted up the various NFL draft projections in recent days.

Todd Gurley's stock is rapidly rising, and just in time for next Thursday night's first round of the NFL draft in Chicago.

The former Georgia tailback had been viewed all winter as a wounded star who may not get selected within the first 32 picks due to the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered in November against Auburn. Multiple media outlets have reported that Gurley received good news on his medical re-check late last week in Indianapolis, which has catapulted the 6-foot-1, 222-pounder comfortably into the first round.

ESPN analyst Todd McShay released his latest mock draft Wednesday, and it has Gurley going sixth overall to the New York Jets.

"I think he is one of best five, six or seven talents in this entire draft," McShay said late last week on a conference call. "I would draft him and keep him for five years, and I would think you would have great success with him, because he's just as good with power as he is with straight bursts through the line. Once he gets going with his head of steam, he's an absolute freight train as a runner, and I think the most underrated part of his game is in the passing game.

"He's good in protection, and he's so natural at catching the football."

A running back has not been selected during the first round in either of the last two drafts.

McShay previously had Gurley projected to go 17th overall to San Diego, which assumed the Chargers don't trade veteran quarterback Philip Rivers to move up. Fellow ESPN analyst Mel Kiper has Gurley going 19th to the Cleveland Browns.

"I know they took (former Alabama tailback) Trent Richardson at three (in the 2012 draft), but this would be at 19," Kiper said this week. "Gurley would have been a top-10 pick had it not been for the injury."

Kiper believes Gurley could go as high as eighth to Atlanta or as low as 27th to Dallas. He added that Miami, San Diego, Arizona, Baltimore are potential destinations as well.

Dallas no longer has DeMarco Murray and would be one of Gurley's best fits, according to Kiper.

"The Cowboys don't need a dancer," he said. "They need a player who will get downhill fast and can turn a crease into a big run because he's so hard to get to the ground when he gets to the second level."

Gurley rushed for 3,285 yards in 30 career games with the Bulldogs (109.5 per game), and he had a pair of 100-yard kickoff returns. His 6.44 career yards per carry set a Georgia record.

Through five games last season, Gurley had rushed for 773 yards and 8.2 yards per carry. He was averaging a staggering 10.6 yards a carry in the fourth quarter and was the favorite for the Heisman Trophy, but then he was suspended four games by the NCAA after the university learned that he had signed memorabilia over multiple months and received roughly $3,000.

Gurley called it a "dumb mistake" last month at Georgia's pro day, which followed numerous questions about the suspension and his injury at February's combine.

"I know what I can do," Gurley said at the combine. "I'm a strong-minded person. I've been through a lot of stuff to be the type of player I've become."

Wisconsin tailback Melvin Gordon could get selected in the first round as well. In last year's draft, running backs were not picked until deep in the second round, when the Tennessee Titans selected Washington's Bishop Sankey with the 54th overall pick and the Cincinnati Bengals followed by taking LSU's Jeremy Hill with the 55th pick.

"I'm not a big fan of spending early picks on running backs, and I certainly wouldn't re-sign them and dump a boatload of money into them on a second contract," said McShay, who has Gurley rated much higher than Gordon. "Recent history of the league and salary-cap restrictions have shown that you just can't afford to pay too much at the running back position because you have to free up money for quarterbacks, offensive tackles, pass rushers and cover guys."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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