5 mesmerizing red-hot position battles for the Rams in 2024

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II: Running back depth

With the news that feature veteran RB Kyren Williams will not be participating in OTAs due to a minor foot injury, the speculation over the Rams running back room has been a bit overblown recently. Kyren Williams knows the offense, flourishes in this offense, and will be the primary running back in this offense at the start of the 2024 NFL season.

#Rams HC Sean McVay on Kyren Williams’ foot:

“Kyren’s good. He had a little foot issue that we’re gonna be smart with him… He’ll be ready to go for training camp.”

McVay has a 90% reliability rating on injury coachspeak

When McVay says there’s “nothing to be concerned about,”… pic.twitter.com/j39YAsUKqr
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) May 21, 2024

The bonus to Williams sitting out in OTAs is the fact that the team can reroute his snaps to rookie RB Blake Corum, veteran RB Boston Scott, and returning RBs Zach Evans and Ronnie Rivers. The question is, will any running back on the roster leverage Williams's absence to improve their standing on the depth chart?

Initially, all eyes have turned to rookie RB Blake Corum as the most obvious beneficiary of Williams's absence. After all, the team is presumed to feature Kyren Williams and Blake Corum as a one-two punch out of the backfield, and Corum certainly can benefit from as much work in this offense as he can get in order to hold up his end of the bargain.

You could also make a case for either Zach Evans or Ronnie Rivers, two returning runners who clearly feel the heat of competition breathing down their necks. Neither running was particularly productive or effective in 2023, and they both need to show up in a big way to secure a roster spot for 2024.

But I will point to veteran RB Boston Scott as a player to keep an eye on in the Rams OTAs and training camp. He has oodles of NFL experience, is an incredibly versatile offensive weapon, and simply needs to familiarize himself with the Rams offense and personnel to showcase all that he can do. In any other NFL season, I fear that Scott would not be much more than a distant veteran presence. But in 2024, with the Rams investment in the offensive line, I see Boston Scott as a wild card variable for this team. I can envision him decimating the San Francisco 49ers defense in much the same way as he decimate the New York Giants defense for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Let the competition begin!

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