Atlanta Falcons: 5 Burning questions for the 2020 season
2. Will Todd Gurley be able to return to dominance in Atlanta?
For both running back Todd Gurley and the Atlanta Falcons, a new era in the backfield will be underway in Atlanta during the 2020 season.
This offseason, the Falcons parted ways with long-time running back Devonta Freeman, later wasting no time in filling that sudden hole by signing Gurley in free agency to take things over in the ground game.
Gurley, who is 25 years old, signed a one-year prove-it-type deal with Atlanta this offseason and could provide the Falcons with a top-tier running back to counter its potent passing game during the regular season.
Gurley, who has spent the entirety of his NFL career up to this point with the Los Angeles Rams until he joined the Falcons, is a three-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro running back who will get the chance to prove he can return to form in Atlanta and get back to the early-career dominance he displayed while with the Rams.
This biggest question is if Gurley will be able to do just that while returning back to the same state that he spent his college football playing career at the University of Georgia.
If Gurley is able to stay healthy and put together a consistent year, the signing of the running back could prove to be a solid offseason move for Atlanta while it tries to get back to the postseason this year and he could be a candidate to have a breakout season here in 2020.
In 2019, Gurley wrapped up his fifth season in the NFL and Los Angeles after he was selected out of Georgia with the No. 10 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. In 15 regular-season appearances last year, the young running back finished with 857 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 223 carries, also hauling in 207 receiving yards with 31 catches and two touchdowns.
His best season to date came in 2017 with the Rams when he finished with career-best marks of 1,305 rushing yards and 788 receiving yards.
The running back will immediately have an opportunity to have a bounce-back campaign this year and could be poised for a nice season, especially given the fact that the Falcons consist of a high-powered passing attack that could open up the field even more for Gurley out of the backfield.
If Gurley is able to return to his type of play he displayed earlier on in his professional career, he will be a nice pairing alongside Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and the rest of the offensive unit and could make the Atlanta offense even scarier during the upcoming year.