Will Darrell Henderson make Todd Gurley expendable this season?
By Bryan Perez
Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley is facing a somewhat uncertain future because of a left knee injury that forced him out of two games and kept him limited in several others last year. The injury news didn’t get any better this offseason when it was revealed he’s dealing with arthritis in that knee. Not good.
Gurley’s workload in 2019 is expected to be reduced, even if it’s just based on snaps per game. While he still may get 20-plus touches per week, he probably won’t see as many in-game reps in an effort to limit the wear and tear on his left knee.
Former NFL running back and current NFL Network analyst Maurice Jones-Drew suggested Gurley will still get his touches but lose snaps last week, a theory that makes a ton of sense after the Rams’ selection of Memphis running back Darrell Henderson in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft.
Los Angeles was one of the few teams that didn’t deploy a running back by committee approach in its backfield when Gurley was healthy, and why would they? He was the best player at his position in the league before the injury.
But with Gurley’s uncertain health and a good depth chart that includes Henderson and Malcolm Brown (who the Rams re-signed to a two-year, $3.3 million contract), Los Angeles will join the long list of teams with a three-headed monster behind quarterback Jared Goff.
Henderson has the best chance to emerge out of Gurley’s shadow, however, and become a star in his own right.
Here are three reasons to be excited about Henderson’s upside in 2019.