Mark Richt on Todd Gurley: ‘I’d enjoy it if he was a Falcon’
Todd Gurley has positioned himself to be a first round draft pick this week, and his coach would apparently like it if he went just down the road to play in the NFL.
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Ok, we can stop the speculation, mock drafts, and big boards now. Mark Richt has spoken, and Todd Gurley’s place in the NFL is now just a matter of waiting for the announcement. The All-American running back’s coach wants to see him head about an hour east to Atlanta.
“I’d enjoy it if he was a Falcon. I could go see him play.” Richt told the media this week during a q&a session.
I’m sure most Georgia fans who live in the Peach State would join in a chorus of that song with Richt. There has been some speculation about Gurley possibly going to Atlanta, but a lot of different things would have to fall into place, despite Richt’s fondest wishes.
The Falcons hold the eighth overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, and the chances that Atlanta will take a running back with that pick are pretty slim. Then again, Falcons (paper) general manager Thomas Dimitroff has made a draft day trade every years since coming to Atlanta, so there exists a possibility of Atlanta actually trading down for more draft picks, in which case grabbing Gurley late in the first round isn’t out of the question.
This will be the first draft the Falcons have with their new shared power structure when it comes to the draft, combining (according to owner Arthur Blank) the input of Dimitroff, new head coach Dan Quinn and assistant general manager Scott Pioli.
Will they lean more towards need-based draft picks, or taking the best player available on the board? If it’s the latter, then Gurley could indeed be trading one red and black uniform for another.