The St. Louis Rams surprised a lot of people when they made the decision to begin training camp with rookie running back Todd Gurley on the actice roster. Many expected him to be placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. This seemed to be an indication that Gurley had fully recovered from the ACL tear he suffered in college last season. 

However, recent suggestions from Rams head coach Jeff Fisher paints this entire situation in a new light. 

"This is going to be a process. It’s not going to be a day to day thing. We are looking at this long term process right now. By that when I say long term, I’m talking about let’s just go week to week and go through the preseason and we’ll see where we are when the season starts," Fisher said about Gurley's status, via SB Nation. 

This doesn't sound like a coach that's willing to risk an injury to Gurley by playing him in the preseason. While this would normally make a whole bunch of sense, rookie running backs need reps in order to fully understand the nuance and speed of the NFL game. Without that, Gurley could be put in a situation to get injured once he does hit the field during the regular season. 

Knowing this, it's just as likely that St. Louis will ease Gurley into the lineup when the regular season comes calling. This means he's unlikely to put up 20-plus touches out of the gate. 

Fisher continued: 

"But yeah he’s (Gurley) not had any setbacks and he’s getting walk-thru reps. He’s participating in individual. He’s doing all the meetings and he’s doing fine. If you would make it be his choice he would be out there right now. To a certain extent we kind of have to hold him back just to protect him."

It's not a bad idea to be cautious with a running back you spent a top-10 pick on just months after he suffered a torn ACL. However, this will likely have a dramatic impact on Gurley's early-season fantasy success. 

Gurley's current ADP has him as a mid fifth-round pick and the 22nd running back off the board. Unless you expect to find another RB2 immediately after picking him up or go running back twice before Round 5, that's one heck of a risk you are taking—a risk that could pay off when Gurley is fully entrenched in the lineup later in the year. 

The other option here is to pick up fellow Rams running back Tre Mason—currently 35th among running backs in ADP—as an early-season option until Gurley is inserted into the lineup.