Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has held workouts at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California, this offseason as he has in previous offseasons. One of the players he has worked with “a handful of times” is new Falcons running back Todd Gurley.
Gurley has remained in Southern California since the Rams released him and the Falcons signed him.
“I’ve gotten to work with Todd, and he’s awesome,” Ryan told ESPN. “Really, really good guy. A hard worker. He’s super smart. The stuff I was telling him one day, the next day he had it down. I was really impressed with his ability to retain information. You don’t have to tell him twice. He’s on it.’'
Gurley’s left knee issues the past two seasons are well documented and played into his release. The Falcons, though, don’t need Gurley to carry the load with Brian Hill, Qadree Ollison and Ito Smith sharing in the work.
But Gurley clearly is the leader of the group.
“I think he’s going to be an awesome fit for us,” Ryan said, “and I’m glad we have him.”
Gurley averaged 57 offensive snaps and 18 touches in the final six games last season.
In 15 games in 2019, Gurley played 787 snaps, or 71 percent of the team’s total offensive plays. He saw 825 snaps in 14 games in 2018 (75 percent) and 788 snaps in 15 games in 2017 (76 percent).