LA Rams RB Malcolm Brown may need new zip in 2020

Must get touches

Many draft profiles seem to miss the mark for players after they land in the NFL. But even five years later, the NFL.com draft profile for Malcolm Brown still seems bullseye accurate. A solid running back with the ability to “wear down defenses” with heavy use. A capable receiver. Can break arm tackles, but has no turbo, no zip, in his tank. He gets only the yards he is supposed to get.

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Brown has value for the right team. If he is given the chance at 20 plus carries in a game, he has the dig-down-deep mentality to get 100 yards rushing in him.  However, that opportunity will likely not happen at the LA Rams. If not Gurley under head coach Sean McVay, then nobody will carry the ball.  2019 was a test of the offense to manage Gurley’s workload. The outcome was disappointing for virtually everyone.

While the team did successfully reduce running back Todd Gurley’s workload in 2019, the carries were not transferred to another running back. Instead, the Rams simply assumed a pass heavy offense. For Brown, the 2019 season could not have been a worse message.  The team eliminated rushing opportunities rather than hand  the ball off to Malcolm Brown.