Has Todd Gurley been a good signing for the Falcons thus far?

Of all the recent free agent signings the Falcons have made, few have come with the built-in excitement of Todd Gurley. The former star at the University of Georgia was an absolute stud in college and looked like a revelation in his first few years with the Rams. However, as his knees have worn down so too has his productivity. Enough so that the Rams felt compelled to move on from his big contract after 2019. His eventual signing with Atlanta felt like “coming home.”

And yet, after 3 games, the Falcons are 0-3 and Gurley has carried the ball just 49 times for 197 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also has just 3 receptions over those games. For a back that is able to do it all, that kind of usage is criminal.

I went to twitter to see how fans felt about the signing so far. The results, as you can see below, are quite interesting.

The majority of fans think the signing has mostly been “meh” with roughly 20% considering it a great signing. Less than 6% consider it a bad move, though.

The most interesting thing to me were some of the comments that were left. It’s clear that - while Gurley hasn’t exactly lit it up with Atlanta - most fans think he’s not the one to blame.

And to be clear: I agree.

Let’s be honest: it’s hard to evaluate a running back in a system being run by a coordinator who has never had a good running game over the past decade. Dirk Koetter doesn’t seem to understand that Todd Gurley is a legitimate weapon in the passing game, even as he schemes deep routes for Luke Stocker. His run designs for Gurley seem to scream “run play” to the opposing defense, while Brian Hill and Ito Smith get different variations to run out of.

Todd Gurley may not be the explosive back he used to be, but he’s simply not being used in any sensible way with the Falcons. Dirk Koetter can’t figure out how to use his talent and Todd can’t be blamed for that. There’s still a lot of football left for the Falcons, so this may seem like a moot point after a few weeks. The early returns, though, have been somewhat underwhelming.

What are your thoughts on Gurley with the Falcons?