One prospect who could interest the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft is former Georgia Bulldog running back Todd Gurley. He is a 6’1″, 222lb running back who is considered the top running back prospect in the entire NFL Draft. Gurley is ranked as the 14th overall prospect in the 2015 NFL Draft according to CBS Sports, and is ranked as the top running back in the entire draft.

Todd Gurley played three seasons at the university of Georgia and put up some solid numbers. During his three-year career at Georgia, he totaled 3,285 yards rushing(6.4 YPC), and 36 touchdowns. He also added 65 receptions for 615 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Todd Gurley

Running back, Junior, Georgia

Height: 6’1″ Weight 222lbs 40 time: N/A

Bench Press: 17 reps

* Didn’t participate in any other drills because he was recovering from a torn ACL

Film Room:

Todd Gurley vs South Carolina (2014)

Todd Gurley vs Auburn(2014)

Scouting Report:

Strengths:

• Rare blend of size, power, and speed
• Strong legs
• Keeps balance through contact
• Built for the NFL
• Natural low pad level and squares his shoulders
• Very very hard to tackle
• Is an explosive downhill runner
• Great vision
• Attacks defenders
• Runs well inside and outside
• Finishes his runs and rarely runs out of bounds
• Runs and plays pissed off
• Shifts his weight very well for a man of his size
• In 2014, 61.9 percent of his rushing yardage after contact
• Only three career fumbles in 510 carries
• A willing and good pass blocker
• Has a nasty jump cut
• Has long break away speed
• averaged 7.4 yards per carry in 2014
• Was a very good kick returner in college

Weaknesses:

• Tore his ACL in November, but recently had a medical check up on his knee and is “good to go”
• Durability will always be a concern because of his physical running style
• Needs to work on his patience
• Sometimes too locked into looking for cutback lanes when play-side run is open

Does Todd Gurley fit with the Broncos?:

Oh my god yes.

Todd Gurley is a special talent. He’s the best running back prospect to enter the draft in a long time. If he wasn’t coming off an ACL injury he would be a lock to go in the top 10 of the draft.

First let’s talk about the ACL injury. He recently had it checked up, and everything came back fine. He should be good to go by camp. I have no worries about him returning to his prior dominate state. The Broncos have three key players on their team who have suffered ACL injuries during their career and have returned to form(Von Miller, Demaryius Thomas, and Chris Harris Jr.). So it wouldn’t be anything new to see Gurley return to form.

#Georgia RB Todd Gurley (ACL), who had medical rechecks yesterday & today, checked out fine, source said. Viewed as good to go for the draft

Now I understand that we have C.J. Anderson in our backfield. I totally expect him to do great things in Denver under Kubiak this season. My stance on this is why not pair C.J. with a back like Gurley? This would give the 39-year-old Manning potentially one of the better running back tandems in the league. This would take a ton of pressure off Manning, and give the Broncos(hopefully) a dominant running attack under Kubiak.

Remember John Elway didn’t win a Super Bowl until he had a dominant back in Terrell Davis leading the way. I could see Elway trying to give Manning this type of running game in the twilight of his career.

Another reason I’m all for this is the immediate impact. I understand we have much bigger needs(offensive tackle, edge rusher, nose tackle, etc), but a first round pick at these positions will not have the immediate impact on this team that Gurley would provide us. The Broncos have been checking in on other running backs, so why not consider the top guy?

Many teams that will be standing between the Broncos and a chance to play in the Super Bowl have their eyes set on Gurley, so why shouldn’t the Broncos? New England is visiting with Gurley, Baltimore has been connected, and if the Chargers do not trade up for Marcus Mariota, they will also be considering Gurley.

I understand this whole scenario is probably highly unlikely, but I would not be upset to see the Broncos add a talent like Gurley to their offense.