LA Rams sleeper in NFL Draft Washington Huskies RB Salvon Ahmed

The LA Rams can add a dangerous offensive weapon via 2020 NFL Draft with a late sleeper Washington Huskies RB Salvon Ahmed

The LA Rams have several running back options on the teams roster today. But the right player from the 2020 NFL Draft can be a huge plus for the team.  Right now, we believe that missing player could very likely be Washington Huskies junior running back, Salvon Ahmed. Ahmed is a 5-foot-11 196 pound burst of speed,  He played behind Huskies feature running back Myles Gaskin for two seasons, but was the feature back for the University of Washingon in 2019.  He delivered by gaining 1020 yards on 188 carries and scoring 11 touchdowns.  He can also play a role in the passing game, hauling in 16 passes for 84 yardes.

The Rams roster currently holds premier rusher is RB Todd Gurley. The next one up in fifth year veteran Malcolm Brown.  Finally, the team has second year running back Darrell Henderson Jr.  But between injuries and poor blocking, they rushed for less than 1300 years altogether.

Ahmed is just that fast.  He has timed out at 4.32 on the 40, where last year’s best was 4.40. While his speed is bona fide, there are simply too many big school rushers from East coast schools getting most of the attention. Ahmed has great burst speed, but needs to develop the ability to cut and slash to make him harder to tackle.  It’s that weakness as a fully developed back which depresses his draft projection. For the LA Rams, that’s just fine.  While he was a running back for the Huskies in 2019, he also added his speed to the kick return team, where he averaged 23.2 yards per return.

Ahmed’s 2019 performance was sporadic at times because the team failed to commit to enough carries in each game.  When he did break through the line, there were few defenders able to keep pace with him.

Of course we know that the Rams have needs at a number of positions. But the key to a successful draft is to select the best player available.  A sixth or seventh round pick may find Ahmed still on the Board.  He’s worth the pick just for the runbacks he’ll generate on kickoffs and punt returns.

Ahmed projects as a round 6-7 prospect, but I expect that his stock will certainly improve after his NFL Combine stats are recorded.