LA Rams News: Who wins backup quarterback role in 2020?

LA Rams news: John Wolford is the presumed backup. Now the team added 2 undervalued quarterbacks Bryce Perkins and Josh Love after the 2020 NFL Draft

The LA Rams backup quarterback position is up in the air for 2020. The reason for that is the fact that the team is committed to young and untested QB John Wolford, who must now fend off challenges by two undrafted free agent quarterbacks, Bryce Perkins and Josh Love. For the 2020 NFL season, the Rams have opted away from maintaining an NFL veteran on the roster.

While that may be a simple cost-cutting measure for the team, the implications for the competition for backup are anything but simple. While QB Wolford knows the LA Rams offense and should be able to fend off any offseason competition, the role of a backup quarterback is certainly not decided at this point in time. Should either Perkins or Love demonstrate a solid command of the offense if Wolford struggles, that could be enough to launch either into the number two guy on the depth chart.

Josh Love

The first quarterback for this discussion is Rams’ newly signed pro-style quarterback Josh Love out of San Jose State. Love is a 6-foot-2 199-pound quarterback who played big-time for a small school. Despite the lack of headlining national sports media, Love was ranked a very respectable 140 on Pro Football Focus’s 2020 NFL Draft Big Board. That places him as the 10th ranked quarterback from the 2020 NFL Draft class.  To place that ranking in perspective, the Rams 57th pick WR Van Jefferson was the 106th ranked player on PFF’s Big Board., running back Cam Akers was the 108th ranked player, and tight end Brycen Hopkins was the 109th ranked player.

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A nice analysis of the new quarterback can be found by Riley Gates from 247Sports.com. In the article, Gates cites a PFF sleeper of the draft as well as 247Sports analysis of Love, both of which giving Love a resounding endorsement.

Bryce Perkins

The second quarterback is Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins. Perkins is a 6-foot-3 215-pound dual-threat quarterback who had found his stock rising in the second half of the 2019 NCAA college season. He broke a 15 game losing streak to the Virginia Tech Hokies, which in itself is a masterful feat.  But he did so almost entirely on his own incredible play, throwing the ball for 311 yards and 3 TDs and rushing for 169 yards and 2 more TDs.

Perkins is a bit of an odd fit with the Rams, as he is as dangerous and explosive as a runner as he is as a pocket passer.  When the pocket breaks down, he can use that scrambling ability to force defenses to defend the quarterback as well.  He may simply be one more arm for training camp, but keep an eye on Perkins to land on the team’s practice squad if he shows any flashes whatsoever. He is a new toy for head coach Sean McVay. If McVay likes what Perkins offers, the Rams may use him in a number of ways in the Rams’ ever-changing offense.

Whether Josh Love or Bryce Perkins earn a spot on the LA Rams 55-man roster is a difficult call at this point. But the Rams certainly need to invest time and energy into developing future talent for the offense, and both young quarterbacks are worthy of the designation. It seems that the Rams now view veteran quarterback Jared Goff as good to go, and backup John Wolford as a suitable backup. But anything can happen in an NFL training camp. With a new offensive coordinator on the coaching staff, the Rams may be open to adding a dual-threat quarterback to the roster. After all, that feels like something head coach Sean McVay might do.