National Football League

Todd Gurley's wish for this season isn't exactly what fantasy owners want to hear

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:22 p.m. ET

Dan Carson

Todd Gurley is arguably the most tantalizing fantasy quantity of 2016.

After flashing brilliance and steamrolling his way to Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2015, the St. Louis Rams' second-year back enters the coming season with high expectations for a breakout year.

But the fantasy owner fever dream where the Rams force-feed the ball to their 22-year-old star like foie gras doesn't appear to be on the table, according to Gurley.

In a feature published Tuesday by Bleacher Report's Dan Pompei, Gurley revealed that he would like to keep his carries between 20 and 25 per game and will be increasing his role in the Rams' passing attack.

"It's cool getting more involved in the passing game," Gurley said. "Better than having 11 guys coming straight at you when you are running the ball. You get to at least avoid a couple hits."

Rams offensive coordinator Rob Boras says Gurley is transitioning naturally into his increased role.

"He didn't do it a lot in college, but he's a natural catcher," Boras said. "He's learning a lot about protection."

"Nobody wants to carry the ball 30 times a game," Gurley said. "It's not the 1980s no more."

Indeed, it is no longer the '80s. And while they share similar frames, Gurley isn't Eric Dickerson. He's still gaining confidence after an ACL tear that wiped out the back end of his final year at Georgia in 2014, and he maintains that this year will be special because he's finally stopped worrying about his injury.

"I feel I can play a lot better than I did this year when I can focus on football and not worry about my knee swelling up," Gurley said. "Last year, I was focused more on my knee."

Now, Gurley isn't focused on swelling so much as building.

"I used to hate doing legs until I messed my knee up," Gurley said. "Now I know I need to do legs. Everybody says they hate leg day. That's my day."

Dan is on Twitter. Leg day — the vegetables of lifting.