Todd Gurley projected as first round pick by CBS Sports

Much has been made of former Georgia Bulldogs running back Todd Gurley and his quest to return from an ill-timed knee injury that cost him the final moments of his collegiate career in Athens. With Gurley’s injury woes and the recent trend toward downgrading the running back position across the board in the NFL Draft, there has been real worry that Gurley would slip out of the first round, but Pat Kirwan of CBS Sports has projected the dominant running back to slide back into the back half of the first 32 picks.

In his latest mock, Kirwan projects that Todd Gurley will land with the Indianapolis Colts with the 29th overall selection:

"The Trent Richardson experiment probably is over and Gurley balances this offense. A defensive lineman like Arik Armstead could get consideration here, but Gurley would touch the ball 20 times a game for the Colts."

If there is a team in the back half of the first round that needs running back help, it is probably the Colts, as the aforementioned Trent Richardson acquisition did not go as planned. Still, it would be risky for Indy to grab any running back in the first round given their recent track record of offensive focus, and that could open the door for teams like Seattle to put in a claim on Gurley.

Todd Gurley seems to be running neck and neck with Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon for the honor of “first running back taken”, and hopefully for fans of his collegiate performance, that will mean a first round paycheck.