LA Rams News: 22 UDFA complete analysis post-2020 NFL Draft

Running backs

The LA Rams added running back Cam Akers with their first pick, the 52nd pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. While we are confident in Akers’s ability to be the featured running back for the offense, the talent pool from the 2020 running back class was too deep to ignore.

XXI-James Gilbert

The LA Rams added 5-foot-9 198-pound Kansas State running back James Gilbert to their competition for playing time. He was a four-year player at Ball State before transferring to the Kansas Wildcats for a final season of NCAA eligibility. His best season statistically occurred in 2016, when he rushed 251 times for 1,332 yards and 12 touchdowns. For his NCAA career, he rushed 744 times for 3,543 yards and 36 touchdowns. His average was 4.8 yards per attempt in his college career.

NFLDraftDiamonds.com Jonathan Joyce interviewed James Gilbert and the result left a reader with a good impression of a focused, work-ethic motivated young football player who is about contributing and being the best version of himself. Our initial assessment of Gilbert is someone who can become a solid contributor, but whose steady as she goes mindset may need some help attracting the attention of his coaching staff enough to get him a chance to earn a role on the team.

XXII – Xavier Jones

The 22nd player signed to the Rams’ roster after the 2020 NFL Draft is Southern Methodist University running back Xavier Jones. Jones is a solid 5-foot-11 208-pound running back who averaged 11.9 points per game to lead the NCAA in scoring. That’s as a running back, which does not happen very often. It was not a fluke, as he put up 45 rushing touchdowns over his career.

You can attribute it to his incredible senior season when he rushed 244 times for 1.276 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also caught 20 passes for 90 yards and an additional two touchdowns. His rushing average of 5.2 yards-per-carry was actually better than his receiving average of just 4.5 yards-per-reception, a statistical anomaly.  Despite that sensation senior-season scoring-fest, his draft profile was not very complimentary. Citing “pedestrian burst through the line” and “not much of a third-down factor”, you are almost tempted to ask whether the profile was written for another player altogether.

With expanded roster in 2020, the UDFA signings are more important to the team than ever. And with a surplus of talented players available in the class of 2020, the LA Rams will have a  tough time it determining which players will be cut to make the 55-man roster.