Todd Gurley now in the lead for NFL Rookie of the Year

Nov 1, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley (30) carries the ball to score a seventy one yard touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

St. Louis Rams No. 10 overall Todd Gurley is having the most immediate of impacts on the teams. On Sunday, the running back rushed for 133 yards on 20 carries, making him the first rookie to open his career with four consecutive 100-yard games. His 566 rushing yards are the most in a player’s first four NFL starts in the Super Bowl era.

These are all very impressive numbers for anyone but Gurley is doing this inside of a year after tearing his ACL. On his 71-yard touchdown run, once he got past the linebackers, he pulled away from the defense. So any thoughts of him losing a step before he got to the NFL were put to rest right there.

To go with that speed, he’s also showing great vision, power, balance and agility to make you miss. Every thing you want a running back to have is what this young man is putting on display already. Speaking of already, you can already see the value that his tremendous skill-set has brought to the team.

The Rams smartly brought Gurley along slowly, not playing him in the first two games and giving him very little action in the third. The Rams were 1-2 in those games and in the four games he started, the Rams are 3-1. Two of those wins are in the division, helping the Rams start 3-0 against the NFC West, their best since they won seven in a row from 2003 to 2004.

This is one good pick the Rams made at No. 10 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. Gurley is a rare talent doing things that rookie running backs rarely do in the NFL. The last rookie with a starting streak of four straight 100-yarders at any point in the season was Edgerrin James of Indianapolis in 1999.

And for that, he is now the leading candidate for NFL Rookie of the Year.