9 reasons why Todd Gurley ran away with Rookie of the Year

By foxsports
Published

St. Louis Rams rookie running back Todd Gurley ran away from the pack and earned the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award on Saturday night.

Gurley finished with 27 votes compared to Tampa Bay's Jameis Winston (17), Amari Cooper (4), Tyler Lockett (1) and David Johnson (1). 

The Los Angeles Rams now have the 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year (Aaron Donald) and '15 Offensive Rookie of the Year, .

While Gurley's rookie season wasn't on the level of Hall of Fame running back and former Rams great Eric Dickerson, here are nine reasons why he took home the hardware at this season:

St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley does the dab after scoring a TD on Thursday night.

1. Welcome to the 1K Club: Gurley became the third player of the year to breach the 1,000-yard mark in December. Gurley joined three other rookie running backs -- Doug Martin '12, Eddie Lacy '13, Jeremy Hill '14 -- to do so since 2011.

2. Limited work: The 6-foot-1, 227-pound running back was able to accomplish that production in just 12 games as he began the season inactive for the first two weeks.

3. Makes the most of each opportunity: Gurley finished the season second in the league in yards per carry (5.8) for players with at least 200 carries.

4. Home-run hitter: Gurley also finished second in the league in carries of 20 yards or more with 11. His rare blend of speed and power makes him extremely tough to tackle in open space.

5. Nose for the end zone: If you credit Gurley with anything, it's his ability to push piles and find paydirt. Gurley finished in the top five in rushing touchdowns with nine. The Georgia product knows how to add an exclamation point to a drive.

6. The most prolific rusher over a four-game span: Gurley was recognized as the most prolific rusher in NFL history over his first four career starts, according to ESPN's Nick Wagoner. Gurley ran for 566 yards over that span, surpassing Billy Sims in 1980.

7. Change in coordinators: The Rams fired play-caller Frank Cignetti in early December after Gurley received just nine carries in back-to back games. Since then, Gurley ran wild, racking up 56 carries, 271 yards and 4 touchdowns in the final three games.

8. Thin competition: The first two picks in last year's draft --€“ Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota --€“ deserved to be in the conversation at different moments in the season. Winston has led to the Bucs to a revival and Mariota had an injury end his season. Gurley, however, was the centerpiece to St. Louis offense in each of their six wins.

9. Battled adversity: Gurley tore his ACL just 13 months ago and his return has been remarkable. For not being able to participate in any pre-draft festivities, Gurley went No. 10 overall to St. Louis in the 2015 NFL Draft and will be the Rams' franchise back for years to come. The scary thing? How much better will he be in Year 2?