I like him too but be ready to be disappointed.

 

We don't need to spend the 14th pick on a RB. Here is why...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aLXkNnbn1o

 

If I Had to choose its Gor don..

That upright style, at his height, with that knee, to risky for my blood.

 

I see the #13 spot as the prime spot for a team trading up to nab Gurley.

 

Agreed. Just when I thought we'd learned our lesson with Daniel Thomas re: upright runners.

 

Not a big fan of taking a RB that high. You can find good RB's in the 2nd round or later.

 

Is Gurley even going to be ready for this season? Can the Dolphins afford to use a 1st round pick for a player that might not be ready for the start of the season, might not even play into half of the season if at all?

 

Yeah I saw that quote before. Still, it leaves the matter very much in the air. Gurley could very well not be ready to start the season. Can the Dolphins afford this?

 

Legitimate concern. Melvin Gordon in his Wisconsin career fumbled once every 54 or 55 touches, including 7 fumbles on 362 touches this year.

Todd Gurley at Georgia fumbled once every 192 touches, including 0 fumbles this year on 135 touches.

You can bet teams are aware of this.

 

What that shows me is that unlike many posters here, teams have considered it more likely than not that Gurley will start the year on PUP...and are only now thinking he COULD be active immediately.

 

Gurley has been my #1 pick for the Dolphins all along. I know they need to add another WR, but I was hoping that WR would be a veteran or perhaps a second round selection.

I think Gurley can come in and instantly make a huge impact on the offense, if he is fully recovered from his knee injury. Even if he is not 100% right away, I still think that by mid season he will have more of a positive impact on the offense than any WR they will be able to get with the 14th pick.

 

I agree that this team is being rebuilt for 2016 and beyond. It is going to take two solid drafts and a coaching change to get this team where it needs to be. I see 2015 as another 8-8 season and then with a new HC and possible GM in 2016, the Dolphins should be ready to be a legitimate contender in the AFC, if Tannehill continues to improve.

 

I just think durability concerns with Gurley are too prominent. If all of what you said is pertinent, why not get Melvin Gordon instead. Not only would he give you a similar elite type of player for the position, but added not having the durability question marks on top of the fact he'll be ready from day one.

 

Don't know if you're being sarcastic or not, but Thomas, even after 4 years of NFL experience, isn't half the back that Gurley is right now.

Here is some pretty good film analysis on Todd Gurley, by the way, if you guys haven't seen it already...
https://youtu.be/rvpgQGH1v0E

They do talk about him running upright, but that he gets low just before contact, and pretty much runs upright when there's no one around him, which is obviously much better than doing it the whole time.

Here's another one on Melvin Gordon, also, for comparison's sake...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZBAiMabQQY

 

Comparing Gurley to Thomas is like comparing Marino to Tebow.

 

Lots of backs look good in college. Replicating any of the same success in the pros is a much bigger challenge.

Trent Richardson looked pretty good to scouts at one point too.

 

A lot of WR's and players at every other position looked good in college and then failed once they got into the NFL.

I think Gurley will be the best running back to enter the NFL since Adrian Peterson, but you are certainly entitled to you own opinion on this issue.

I like him a lot more at the RB position than I like any of the WR's, except Cooper at the wide receiver position. If it was a pick between Gurley and Cooper, I would take Cooper. Yet if it came down to Gurley and any other WR in the draft, I would take Gurley and not even think twice about it.

 

I understand. I'm just not ready to buy into the hype surrounding Gurley.

 

I'd put (a healthy) Gurley and Gordon a little above Jeremy Hill whom I loved last year (and thought should have been 1st back taken; though character probably hurt him), but I don't think I could take Gurley much higher than the 20's given the injury concerns. I also don't see Gurley as on a different level than Gordon. They're just different runners is all.

 

If you do draft Gurley you cannot have a passing game that passes almost 200
times more than the run game.Running the ball 399 times versus passing the ball 595
times would be a waste to have Gurley, unless our offensive mindset changes

 

all that is great Aqua, but if we don't solve the problem at the guard positions and the #2 CB, we're not competing for much of anything. Even if Turner does take it up a notch and fills the LG position, we still need someone to fill the other 2 major holes on this team. If we could somehow get Waynes in the 1st round and a serviceable starter at RG then we are cooking.

 

It isn't about the 2015 season. It is building for 2016 and beyond. With this years draft and next years draft, along with one more year for Tannehill to improve, the Dolphins should be able to fill those holes and become a legitimate threat for the division by 2016.

Most fans don't want to accept the fact that 2015 is probably just going to be another mediocre season record wise. Yet they don't have the right head coach at this time and they can't fill all the holes in this coming draft.

With a new and hopefully better HC in 2016 and more high draft picks added this year and in the 2016 draft, the Dolphins should be a team other teams will not want to play starting in 2016.

 

Being active and being football-ready are different. he's a rookie. With a ton to learn, who needs training camp and pre-season before a staff like this would trust him out there.

Even if he is physically healthy, he'd be inserted slowly, as he proves he knows the plays and executes his responsibilities.

 

I'll make two points here:

Ricky Williams was banged up as hell when he was in New Orleans and people hated him. Then he got healthy, came to Miami and remains the best RB I've ever gotten to see play in my life. Then again, Ricky didn't have injuries at Texas to my knowledge, not the way Gurley has had at Georgia. Nevertheless, missing time during your rookie year is meaningless if you're actually a great player.

The second point I'll make is that Melvin Gordon has spent his entire career running through the huge holes provided by Nebraska's dominant O-line and out-running smaller LBs and DBs. That's wonderful but in the NFL he's going to get bruised up just like everyone. In my view, Melvin Gordon hasn't gotten hurt because he hasn't been tested very much. If Jamaal Charles can blow an ACL, so can Melvin Gordon. If Jamaal Charles and Adrian Peterson can come back from them, so can Gurley.

I don't care if a players first season (or two) are hampered by injuries. What I'm concerned about it long term. Can the guy have a 10-year career and be the kind of RB Miami needs.

Melvin Gordon is probably better than Lamar Miller but they are too similar. Todd Gurley would certainly be a complimentary piece to what the team already has in Miller.

It's definitely an option Miami has to consider--taking Todd Gurley that is.

 

Of course the "statistic" or I don't know if you want to call it that but whatever it is, the point that might trump all points is this.

1. Todd Gurley missed almost a half of a game in Week 1 of 2013 with a hip flexor injury which went on to affect him the whole year.
2. Gurley then took an ankle injury in Week 5 of 2013, missing half of the game as well as the following 3 games.
3. He missed almost a half a game in his Week 10 return from the ankle injury with "nausea that accompanied his return from injury".
4. Fast-forward to preseason 2014, there's rumor Gurley dealt with a knee injury during the preseason.
5. Then even though he hadn't played in a month due to suspension, he was seen wearing a huge elbow brace in his return against Auburn.
6. Finally he takes the ACL injury with 5 minutes left to play in the Auburn game in 2014.

When Todd Gurley returned from the ankle injury in 2013, the Bulldogs had him averaging less than 15 yards per carry after returning from injury, admitting they were trying to strike a balance between his impact and getting him to be healthy into the fourth quarter.

As of December 30th, 2013 his coach Mark Richt noted "He's still not where he was the first time he galloped down the field at Clemson (Week 1). Remember that vision and that look? I don't think he's there."

Gurley himself hinted that the Week 5 ankle injury was so bad it threatened to see him shelved the rest of the year: "I missed some games, but I could have been out the whole year. I guess I'm lucky I was able to come back and still play"

Four of Georgia's five losses in 2013 came with Todd Gurley out, sidelined for a significant chunk of the game, or limited due to injury concerns. The strained quad in Week 1 against Clemson caused him to sit the rest of the game after his 12th carry. They lost the game 35-38. Then they lost to Missouri (26-41) and Vanderbilt (27-41) while he sat out with the ankle injury. They lost to Auburn 38-43 with Gurley limited to 15 carries due to not wanting to wear him out.

How was the feel of Gurley's season to teammates? “I feel like this year sort of got taken from him because of the injuries,” (Jordan Jenkins).

How about some subtle hints from teammates that Gurley needs to prepare better if he wants to make it through the season healthier?

Or...

How much was the "injury prone" label stuck onto Todd Gurley BEFORE he tore his ACL in 2014? Two things. Georgia took out an insurance policy on his behalf which pays up to $5 million should he get injured in a way that affects his draft status ("loss of value"), and another $5 million if he never plays again. You can also find articles dated August 2014 titled "Todd Gurley takes offense to being called injury-prone".

So how about Melvin Gordon?

1. Can't find any talk of any injuries to Melvin Gordon in 2012. Didn't miss a game.
2. Gordon suffered an ankle injury during Spring football prior to 2013, limiting his participation.
3. He suffered a knee scare that caused him to miss the 4th quarter of Week 5 in 2013. He came back the next game no limitations.
4. Fast-forward to 2014 and he suffered a hip flexor injury against LSU that caused him to miss the second half.
5. Against Rutgers, Gordon had a player's helmet hit his knee cap during garbage time. They sat him as a precaution. No limitations following.

This is about as clean an injury history as you can imagine. It's not that he doesn't suffer little nicks and bruises, it's that they're never bad enough to see him limited or missing time.

The biggest scare was very likely the knee injury he took on the final play of the 3rd quarter vs. Ohio State in Week 5 of 2013. Gordon said he couldn't move his knee, and this is the first time he'd EVER felt an injury like this. He had tweaked an ankle early in the game and banged up his shoulder, but none of that qualified as a real injury. This knee injury was a real injury. But he said, like magic, his knee "popped back" into place and then he felt fine. He was running and cutting on the sidelines, trying to go back into the game. The coaches held him out for the fourth quarter as a precaution, trying to look out for his future. But he swears he was alright to go back in. And the next time he suited up for Wisconsin against Northwestern, he had the 2nd most touches of the entire 2013 season. So he clearly was not limited in any way.

Then in 2014 when Gordon suffered the hip flexor in the second quarter of the LSU game which they lost 24-28, he blamed himself for the loss saying that he should have stepped up and let the coach know he wanted back in the game. Gordon busted out a 63 yard run in the third quarter despite the hip flexor injury, but it was clear he was lame at the end of the run. They know what Melvin Gordon is supposed to look like on those runs and that wasn't it. Hilariously he broke the 60+ yard gained regardless. But the trainer diagnosed the hip flexor and told the RB Coach, and they made the call to keep Gordon out the rest of the way.

He didn't suffer another injury the rest of the 2014 season that I can tell.

 

Gurley is a game changer. The guy is a beast and I would be absolutely ecstatic if he were to become a dolphin.

 

What RB led all of college football in rushing yards last year?

What RB weighs 239 pounds, has quick feet, ran a 4.49 at his pro day, and runs over defenders like they aren't there?

The real deal: http://rotoviz.com/2015/01/terrell-watson-best-rb-prospect-youve-never-heard-of/

 

Hmmm

Ricky was "hated"?? By who? He became a better back because he shed weight and in turn was able to stay healthier while becoming more agile.

Melvin Gordon didn't play for Nebraska.

WISCONSIN'S OL wasn't nearly as good as in years past and certainly not as good this year as Georgia's.

People never seem to bring up the fact that Melvin Gordon was hands down the gameplan for opposing defenses. Ever seen his QB play?? It's quite pathetic. He was basically the only threat on that offense, and yet he still dominated. He is a special player, and I would be more than happy to hear his name called at 14.

 

Me neither. If we go RB in the 1st, I want Gordon. Otherwise wait until the 3rd day and take Josh Robinson.

 

You mean Wisconsin I know, but their line in 2014 was not the typically dominant OL that the Badgers have lined up in previous seasons. There were no studs like Joe Thomas, Travis Frederick, Kevin Zeitler, Gabe Carimi, etc, on the 2014 line. Their 2014 line was not bad, but closer to average compared to what they usually had in past seasons. Gordon made their line look better than it is.

 

So avoiding hard hits and eluding people to gain yards is not equal to gaining the same yardage by means of embracing contact?

To me, being able to squeeze through holes that others can't seems as desirable an ability as being able to power through them, and one obviously has less wear on your body.

If Gurley is Calvin Johnson, does that make Gordon into Antonio Brown (arguable the better WR last year)?