5 urgent questions the Rams must answer as 2025 OTAs arrive

(4) - Can RB Jarquez Hunter make any impact as a rookie?

When the Rams drafted Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter, the team was not simply checking a box of adding another rookie runner to the roster who will take up bench space. This was a deliberate effort to add a new dimension to a Rams rushing attack that has grown a bit stale.

Whether deliberate or not, the team's 2024 running back room was a bit - clonish. That is, no single running back was particularly big, powerful, or fast. And in the NFL, one of the key areas that offenses can leverage is tempo. Of the four running backs on the Rams roster in 2024, none were faster than 4.53 seconds in their 40-yard dash timed runs. And the Rams featured rusher was Kyren Williams, who was the slowest of the four.

• Kyren Williams - 4.65 seconds 40-yard dash | 5-foot-9 | 202 pounds
• Blake Corum - 4.53 seconds 40-yard dash | 5-foot-8 | 210 pounds
• Ronnie Rivers - 4.57 seconds 40-yard dash | 5-foot-9 | 197 pounds
• Cody Schrader - 4.61 seconds 40-yard dash | 5-foot-9 | 214 pounds

It's not that Kyren Williams is not a productive running back. He is. It's simply that the team put too much emphasis on adding similar players to the point that there is very little difference to distinguish RB1 from RB4. That is not a problem if they are all fast. But the Rams got stuck in the mud with too few explosive plays and no other option to do better.

With no viable option to change tempo, the offense ran Williams into the ground.

Now the Rams have other options. The team traded up to get Auburn RB Jarquez Hunter. And based on the second episode of Behind the Grind, he was a favorite rookie running back of both GM Les Snead and HC Sean McVay. You can see the resolve of both Rams' key decision-makers when Jarquez Hunter fell within reach of the Rams.

The Rams did not hesitate to trade up. 'That's one we wanted,' was the instant reaction from Sean McVay at the 23:56 mark. So, why were the Rams' staunch NFL draft veterans so enamored with Jarquez Hunter?

The Rams saw a young man who was as tough as nails. While he played in the SEC, he was one of the few running backs who chose not to wear gloves. And he is a powerful runner, too, often capable of running through defenders. But the key to Jarquez Hunter's fit on the Rams is the fact that he is one of the most explosive running backs up for grabs in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Jarquez Hunter is more than just rote speed. He has a NASCAR-quality clutch that allows him to downshift in traffic, while kicking in the overdrive when he sees daylight. To see what I mean, just check out his 2024 Auburn highlights at this link. He is a speed runner who can run into and through defenders.

No wonder HC Sean McVay described Jarquez Hunter as the type of running back who can run through or away from defenders. The question is, will the Rams give him any carries? If they don't, that's a huge mistake.