If you drafted Todd Gurley this year on your Fantasy football team, there is a pretty good chance you used your first round pick on him. Here we are in week three, and some may be questioning that pick given how poor the Rams offense has looked to start the season. Over the course of two weeks, the Los Angeles Rams have scored a combined nine points.
To make things even worse, the team has yet to score a touchdown. Gurley’s personal stats are not much better either. In week one in San Francisco, Gurley ran for 47 yards and hauled in one pass for negative five yards. In week two, the star running back put up 51 yards and hauled in another pass for 19 yards. In other words, Gurley has been held under 10 fantasy points in both week one and week two. Not exactly the type of numbers you would expect from your first round pick.
Week three will see Gurley on the road, as the Rams head down to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Will this be the match-up Gurley needs to get himself going finally? Well, that is going to depend on your opinion of the Buc’s defense. Over the first two games, the Bucs have not allowed a runner to cross the 60-yard mark yet on the ground. Week one saw the Falcons leading rusher against Tampa Bay, Tevin Coleman, rush for 22 yards. Week two, Chris Johnson of the Cardinals had a little more luck, leading the Arizona backfield with 54 yards.
But while the running backs have not been producing on the ground against Tampa, they have been hauling in the passes. Falcons running backs, Coleman and Devonta Freeman, combined for nine catches and 115 yards through the air. Meanwhile, in week two, David Johnson and Andre Ellington put up four for 107 in the receiving department.
The Tampa defense may be doing the job against the run, but the passing game they cannot stop. If the Rams are smart, they will utilize Gurley in that fashion this week to get the offense going. Their offense runs through Gurley, and if they keep dumping his passes, they are going to move the chains. So that is what you need to bank on this week when you place Gurley in your lineup.
Because if you drafted Gurley, he is clearly one of your studs. And you do not bench your studs. The reason: You will be sick to your stomach if you bench Gurley, and he puts up 30 fantasy points this week. And if the Rams study the film and numbers, Gurley should see plenty of short passes that he can turn into big plays against the Bucs. When all is said and done, I am predicting 60 rushing yards, plus five passes for another 50 yards, and a score.