From now until the start of free agency, on March 7, we'll take a position-by-position look at the Los Angeles Rams in eight installments. The Rams -- coming off a 4-12 season that prompted the hiring of rookie head coach Sean McVay -- have about $40 million in cap space but do not have a first-round draft pick. They also have a lot of needs, all of which can feel a little overwhelming without breaking it down by section. We'll do that here. Next up: running backs. (Previous: WR/TE, DL, OL, LB)
Key returnees: Todd Gurley, Cory Harkey (FB), Malcolm Brown, Aaron Green
Notable free agents: Benny Cunningham, Chase Reynolds
Top free agents available (for now): Le'Veon Bell, Latavius Murray, Eddie Lacy, Kyle Juszczyk (FB)
Key stat: Gurley averaged 3.18 rushing yards on 278 carries, 41st among 42 qualified running backs this past season. Among those with at least 275 rushing attempts, Gurley's 3.18 yards per attempt is the fifth-lowest average in history. The only ones lower: Eddie George (2.98 yards on 315 attempts in 2001), Lamar Smith (3.09 yards on 313 attempts in 2001), Karim Abdul-Jabbar (3.15 yards on 283 attempts in 1997) and Ottis Anderson (3.15 yards on 1,023 attempts in 1989).
Gurley went on "The Rich Eisen Show" in late January and called the 2016 season "a nightmare." There's no better way to put it. Gurley was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2015, a year that saw him get drafted 10th overall out of Georgia, return from a devastating knee injury that he suffered in college, and gain 1,106 yards on the ground -- third-most in the NFL -- despite starting only 12 of 16 games. His second season was the Rams' first one back in Los Angeles, and the expectation was that Gurley would take his game to another level; that he would solidify himself among the game's elite runners and, with Kobe Bryant retired, emerge as a new star in the country's second-largest media market.
Now what?
Well, McVay has to figure out a way to fix it all. Gurley was held to a mere 885 rushing yards despite starting every game this past season. He somewhat made up for it with 327 receiving yards -- 139 more than he had as a rookie -- but the Rams were never able to get anything going on the ground. Gurley averaged 1.59 rushing yards before first contact (41st among 42 qualified rushers) and 1.59 rushing yards after first contact (26th). His season finished with two runs of 20 or more yards, 10 fewer than the prior one. And he has now failed to reach 100 yards on the ground in 23 of his past 24 games.
McVay couldn't establish an ideal run-pass balance as the Redskins' offensive coordinator the past two years, but quarterback Kirk Cousins had developed enough to shoulder a heavy burden. Jared Goff, still only 22 years old, needs an effective Gurley to be successful. And Gurley needs an effective Goff in order to find space. And they both need a revamped, much-improved offensive line to stand a chance.
A stacked box and a shaky offensive line caused Gurley to get hit almost as soon as he touched the ball on most carries. But at times, Gurley himself -- a downhill runner -- either missed clear holes or didn't let them develop. Overall, Gurley stumbled often and did not display the elusiveness and the balance that made him so successful as a rookie. Perhaps getting back to using Tavon Austin more frequently in the backfield can help keep opposing defenses off-balance and open up more holes for Gurley, but he needs to take advantage of what few running lanes are presented to him.