Despite tearing his ACL against Auburn in his final season at Georgia, Todd Gurley rebounded and looked unstoppable during his rookie NFL season. The back who tore through SEC defenses didn’t appear to have much resistance from professional players, either.

Things were not nearly as easy for Gurley in his second season, however. After gaining 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns in just 13 games as a rookie, Gurley’s stats plummeted to just 885 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 3.2 yards per carry in 2016. Many noted that the Los Angeles Rams back was getting virtually no help from his offensive line and was consistently being hit in the backfield.

While that is undoubtedly true, ESPN did a bit of research and discovered that fault did not solely lie on Gurley’s offensive line. Using a stat called “good blocking yards per attempt,” ESPN NFL Insider K.C. Joyner tracked how Gurley fared at times when the offensive line did not allow defenses to disrupt a rush attempt.

En route to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, Gurley was sensational when given space up front. He averaged 10.9 yards per attempt on 73 good blocking plays, which was the highest average in the NFL. Last year, the number dropped to 6.8 good blocking yards per attempt on 101 such carries. Joyner noted that Gurley’s average was 38th among the 43 running backs who had triple-digit carries with good blocking.

It’s possible that Gurley’s low average was the result of him not trusting his offensive line or trying to make too much happen instead of waiting for the play to develop. Whatever the case, Gurley is too talented a running back to be down for long. If he can get back into a rhythm, he should once again be an incredibly exciting player to watch.