2026 draft darling compared to ex-Rams RB Todd Gurley
· Yahoo Sports
The NFL draft is all about pro comparisons, even if they never pan out. But without a frame of reference, it's almost impossible to comprehend how well a player will translate from his production in college to the NFL.
ESPN's Aaron Schatz attempted to find apt comparisons for running back prospects ahead of the 2026 NFL draft. He used his own "BackCAST projection system" to make these statements using "statistics that have correlated with success in the past," such as a good size and speed combination.
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He compared Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, who some consider to be a top-5 pick, to a "lighter" version of former Rams star Todd Gurley. For what it's worth, the other pro comp for Love was Travis Etienne.
Love is six feet tall and 212 pounds, which is slightly smaller than Gurley's 6-foot-1 and 224-pound frame. Gurley was more successful than Love on the ground on a per-game basis, though.
While the Notre Dame product rushed for 2,497 yards rushing and 35 touchdowns in his final two seasons and Gurley only had 1,900 yards and 16 scores, the Georgia star played in 12 fewer games than Love. So, Gurley's per-game average in his final two collegiate seasons was 118.8 yards and 1.18 touchdowns per game, while Love's was 89.2 yards and 1.94 touchdowns per game.
The Rams likely won't draft Love, but they did meet with him. The combination of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum worked well in 2025 and should be utilized again in 2026.
But, for a team looking at Love as their first-round pick, getting a lighter version of Gurley isn't the worst thing in the world. There was a time when the Rams star led the NFL in total touchdowns in consecutive seasons and led the league in total yards in 2017.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 2026 NFL draft darling compared to ex-Rams RB Todd Gurley