Gurley registered 80 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, also catching one of his two targets for two receiving yards during Sunday's 30-26 loss to the Bears.

EDGE Analysis

The two-time All-Pro back enjoyed an efficient afternoon on the ground, as his 5.7 yards-per-carry average against the Bears marks his best since Week 10 of last season. Gurley punched in a 10-yard TD run at the 12:34 mark of the third quarter to provide Atlanta with a two-possession lead, but for a second straight week, the Falcons blew a second-half lead of at least 16 points. He has just three total receiving yards through three games, but a workload of 16.3 rush attempts per game is enough to retain Gurley as a strong fantasy play heading into a Week 4 matchup against the Packers. Coming into the weekend, Green Bay ranked among the NFL's 10 worst defenses with 4.9 yards per carry allowed to opposing running backs.

Gurley registered 61 rushing yards on 21 carries, and he was not targeted during Sunday's 40-39 loss to the Cowboys.

EDGE Analysis

Immediate indications of Gurley's overall workload are encouraging, but the lack of passing game usage is slightly troubling in the early going of his Falcons career. That element was crucial to him becoming an All-Pro and fantasy rockstar between 2017 and 2018. Gurley did see his receiving involvement decrease substantially last year as he garnered only 49 targets in his final season as a Ram, but at his peak the two years prior, Gurley accounted for better than 60 catches per year with an average of 684 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns. Through two games in Atlanta, Gurley has just two catches for one yard, while backup Brian Hill has tallied four catches for 19 yards. Gurley does have 35 carries through his first two outings, but given that he's running behind a line that allowed the sixth-most stuffs in 2019, rushing opportunities may not be an uber-efficient route to fantasy production.

Gurley ran for 56 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries during Sunday's 38-25 loss to Seattle. He also caught two of five targets for one receiving yard.

EDGE Analysis

The 26-year-old back is extremely familiar with Pete Carroll's defense, having faced off against the Seahawks two times per year during his five-year tenure as a Ram. Gurley was held to a meager 3.4 yards per carry in two appearances against the Seahawks last year, but he was able to punch in three touchdowns during those contests. In his Falcons debut, Gurley came out swinging against the familiar foe, racking up 38 yards on his first eight carries of the afternoon and providing Atlanta's first touchdown of 2020. The two-time All-Pro averaged just 3.0 yards per attempt the rest of the way, as the game script faded his involvement with Atlanta trailing throughout the second half. Week 2 brings a matchup against a Cowboys defense that gets 2018 Pro Bowl linebacker Leighton Vander Esch back in the lineup after he missed seven games in 2019 due to a neck injury.

Coach Dan Quinn praised Gurley's performance during last Friday's scrimmage, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

EDGE Analysis

"The speed was the thing," Quinn said. "[Gurley] out-ran the leverage on one play. On another one, he got to the edge and made a big play. I felt his speed for certain." As an effort to manage his chronic left knee injury, the 25-year-old has regularly received one rest day for every four days of practice throughout training camp. "We think we've got a good plan in place of how we'd do the right thing by him to make sure that he's at his best on Game Days," Quinn said of Gurley's load management.

Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter wants Gurley to receive at least 15 touches per game during the 2020 season, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Notably, Koetter said "a healthy" Gurley will have such a workload, but his touch count could rise to as high as 25 touches per game. The latter seems like a stretch after Gurley averaged just shy of 17 touches per game in his fifth and final campaign with the Rams in 2019. That's a far cry from the 21.2 touches per game he took on over the first four years of his career, and Gurley barely eked out 1,000 yards from scrimmage (1,064, to be exact) last season. With his new squad, the Falcons also have two high-volume wide receivers to feed in Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley, so Gurley could be hard-pressed to match last season's output, even if he somehow avoids the injury bug.

Gurley was active during Wednesday's practice and looked explosive when working against the Falcons defense, Will McFadden of the team's official site reports.

EDGE Analysis

Gurley got past the defense for a long run during 11-on-11 drills, an encouraging sight after he took Tuesday's practice off for "load management". Coach Dan Quinn hinted in July that Gurley's workload would be tempered during the lead up to the regular season, a maneuver intended to increase the running back's durability once game action commences in mid-September. Though Gurley has only missed four of a possible 48 regular-season outings the past three years, his 2019 yards-per-carry average of 3.8 causes speculation about the status of his surgically-repaired left ACL. If Gurley can continue to demonstrate explosiveness during training camp, such a display may alleviate injury concerns that some fantasy GMs point out as a deal-breaker.

Gurley and Alex Mack did not participate during Tuesday's practice session because of "load management," Jason Butt of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

EDGE Analysis

The two-time All-Pro back figures to have his practice repetitions managed throughout training camp, which coach Dan Quinn eluded to as a possibility in late July. Though Gurley passed his physical with no issue upon his arrival to Flowery Branch, there still appears to be caution coming from the Falcons' coaching staff regarding his surgically reconstructed left ACL. With Ito Smith, Brian Hill and Qadree Ollison behind Gurley on the depth chart, there is an argument that he will receive a workhorse-like offensive role with his new team. On the other hand, if Gurley's practice and even game reps are limited throughout the season, Smith or Hill may become relevant fantasy options in deeper leagues.

Gurley appears to be walking with a limp, but he looks fast and explosive while going through drills, according to ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure reports.

EDGE Analysis

It's possible Gurley is dealing with soreness that bothers him when he walks but not when he runs. Whatever the case, the Falcons have essentially acknowledged that the running back's problematic left knee requires management, with coach Dan Quinn suggesting Gurley will have his reps limited throughout training camp. The 26-year-old is working on a one-year, $5.5 million contract, and while it remains to be seen if he can stay healthy and productive, there's no question the Atlanta offense provides a nice opportunity to pile up snaps and touches. The backfield depth chart behind Gurley contains Ito Smith, Brian Hill and Qadree Ollison, a trio with 243 combined NFL carries and 52 receptions.

Coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday that Gurley could have some limitations during training camp, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Quinn also mentioned centerAlex Mack and safety Keanu Neal as players who could be limited, with the former being 34 years old and the latter coming back from an Achilles tear. Gurley falls in the maintenance category, as he missed just one game last season and then passed a physical for the Falcons in June. Signed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract, Gurley will now try to prove that his disappointing 2019 campaign was mostly caused by bad Rams blocking rather than deteriorating skills. Of course, the potential for practice limitations is a pretty clear sign the Falcons have some level of concern about Gurley's oft-discussed left knee.

Coach Dan Quinn has not yet made a decision on what Gurley's workload will look like during training camp, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Gurley passed his physical upon arriving in Flowery Branch in early June, and according to statements from his head coach and quarterback appears to be in excellent shape. The two-time All-Pro missed just four games over his final three seasons with the Rams, but diminished performance during the 2018-2019 playoff run had many wondering about the status of his surgically-repaired left ACL. He was held to just 3.2 yards per carry during the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl and eventually yielded the lion's share of the workload to C.J. Anderson. With Gurley seemingly back near 100 percent and primed to rebound after an inconsistent 2019, Quinn wants to balance getting his star back up to speed without subjecting him to excessive early-season tread on the tires.