5 LA Rams players who need to show up vs. Raiders

II: Running back

When the LA Rams added SMU running back Xavier Jones, few gave him a chance of even being on the Rams roster in 2021. But here we are, and there he is. But the journey has just begun. You see, the goal is not to be a Rams running back. The goal is to be a great Rams running back. He’s not close just yet.

Los Angeles Rams

Even though I know Xavier Jones will be a key cog in the Rams offense this year, I hoped he might show up in a big way against the Chargers. Of course, that didn’t happen. With the absence of Cam Akers this year, and with the limited usage of Darrell Henderson so far, the running back room is wide open. Since undrafted free agent, Xavier Jones is the remaining player with the most seniority on the Rams roster, he must lead the charge.

This vanilla offense is not going to give the runners much help, so it will be up to Jones to squeeze all of the juice out of the shriveled oranges that he’ll be given in the running game today. Get as much as he can from whatever blocking he can cobble together, maintain ball security, and be sure to fall forward for the extra two-three yards whenever possible.

Ideally, he averages 4.5 yards-per-carry and rushes for a pair of touchdowns on the day. A nice 80 plus yards outing would be incredible. That likely won’t be the case today, but it’s a target to shoot for. Clearly, discussions among fans are no longer about IF the Rams add a running back to the roster, but when. Those same discussions are probably happening among the coaches too. A good game by Jones can transform the talk from adding a new player into how to get the most out of what the Rams have on the current roster.