Sean McVay: Darrell Henderson Pick Had Nothing to Do with Todd Gurley's Injury

The Los Angeles Rams' third-round selection of Memphis Tigers running back Darrell Henderson is not a reflection of Todd Gurley's injury situation, according to head coach Sean McVay.

He said the following Friday night:

"This had to do with his skill set. He was a player that we identified as a unique playmaker. He can obviously so some things as a runner, but the versatility that he provides and some of the things that he can do are what was so enticing about him for us.

"You see the explosiveness—over eight yards a carry. There's a lot of good things that you'd seen with what he's done and his resume at Memphis. We're excited to get him in here and get to work and really learn under Todd [Gurley] and Malcolm [Brown]."

There's a lot to like about the rookie's game.

Henderson averaged 8.2 yards per carry over his three-year career at Memphis (8.9 YPC the past two seasons). He carried the ball 214 times for 1,909 yards and 22 touchdowns as a junior last year, adding 295 receiving yards for three scores.

The 5'8", 208-pounder also ran a 4.49-second 40-yard dash at the 2019 combine, and all of that contributed to Los Angeles taking him 70th after trading up.

"Being able to add a playmaker is the biggest thing," McVay added.

Gurley's health was a major storyline late in the 2018 season.

He missed the final two games of the regular season with a knee injury before returning in the divisional round following his team's first-round bye. After piling up 118 total yards in the divisional round, the three-time Pro Bowler was held to just five touches in the NFC Championship Game and 11 touches in Super Bowl LIII.

While both Gurley and McVay downplayed any potential injury, then-Rams running back C.J. Anderson went on FS1's Undisputed in mid-February and said Gurley was "more hurt than what we thought":

Anderson later took to Twitter to clarify that Gurley was "healthy" during the postseason.

Gurley told ESPN.com's Lindsey Thiry earlier this month that his knee is feeling "pretty good" at this point in the offseason.