THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Yes, Todd Gurley knows all about your fantasy team.

"That's the only thing you hear these days is fantasy football," Gurley said, laughing. "Don't nobody care about nothing else anymore."

The improvements the Rams made around Todd Gurley look to have kept the running back from falling too far on fantasy draft boards. Daniel Gluskoter/Icon Sportswire

Gurley, heading into his third season as the Los Angeles Rams' primary running back, was a very popular first-round pick in fantasy drafts last year after being named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2015. His average draft position in ESPN fantasy leagues was fourth overall. But then he gained only 885 yards on the ground, the fewest ever for someone with at least 275 carries in a single season. Predictably, his stock fell.

But not by much.

Gurley's average slot in ESPN fantasy leagues heading into this season is 20th overall, as the 10th running back taken. While it's hard to put him among the elite running backs in the league after such a substandard second season, fans seem to believe he will nonetheless be a lot better.

For one, Gurley will get a lot of touches. He had 321 of them last season -- fifth-most in the NFL -- and should be in that neighborhood again if he remains healthy. He's a talented receiver, as he showed while catching 43 passes for 327 yards in 2016. And his supporting cast is better. Gurley will now run behind an offensive line that improved significantly with Andrew Whitworth replacing Greg Robinson at left tackle. The passing game should also improve, with coach Sean McVay calling the plays and Jared Goff, in his second season, throwing to a deeper group of receivers. And that should prevent defenses from stacking the box so aggressively.

"I'm very, very excited," Gurley said when asked how the offense looks heading into Sunday's regular-season opener against the shorthanded Indianapolis Colts. "I'm pretty sure everybody's anxious to see how we're going to do, just like we are."

For what it's worth, Gurley looked good throughout training camp and in the preseason. He torched the Los Angeles Chargers' defense during a joint practice, prompting McVay to call him "a violent runner." And he needed only eight carries to gain 38 rushing yards against the Oakland Raiders in the second preseason game, which saw him receive his largest workload.

Gurley burst onto the scene as a rookie, gaining 566 rushing yards in his first four starts, and maybe it's time to believe in him again.

Just don't tell him about it.

"It's always annoying," Gurley said of fans telling him where they drafted him. "I mean, I don't really care about it. But that's just how it is now, you know? It is what it is.”