Rams position group stealing show at training camp (and it's not what you think)

The Los Angeles Rams offense has been getting paid very well of late. In recent years, this offense has been one of the most expensive groups in the NFL. Unfortunately, highly compensated has not translated very well into high productivity. Were that the case, the Rams might have won Super Bowl LIX rather than the Philadelphia Eagles. But let's not exhaust our mental energy on what might have been.

Not while the Rams what might be is still so exciting.

The team is not just patching the offense with plug-and-play veterans. If you examine the Rams newly assembled roster, you'll find that many things have changed with the group. This is no longer a Star Wars clone army, neither at the wide receiver nor running back positions. And the team has selected rookie TE Terrance Ferguson, a rookie that is getting a lot of HC Sean McVay's attention so far.

The offense has had enough time to get the new plays and strategies to work with. Soon, it will be about putting that understanding and knowledge to the test on a football field. That's after the pads go on, and that's when plenty of questions will need to be answered. We posed many of those vital questions already, naming the top five questions that this team must answer in training camp. But we want to circle back to one of those questions and ask it differently.

Can the Rams restore the running game for 2025?

While the future is best left to fortune tellers scrying what will happen from a crystal ball, there are plenty of signs that the Rams are taking the running game very seriously for the upcoming 2025 NFL season. After all, the Rams offense is not about one player. It's not even limited to a highly sophisticated aerial assault.

It all starts with an effective running game that sets up play action passes that dismantles defenses. And to get the ball rolling, the Rams offense has to have success at running. That is easier said than done. But it is something that must be done this season. So how can the Rams improve from the 24th ranked rushing offense? So glad you asked.

(3) Rams have a fun group with different skills

There was nothing too inspiring about the Rams running backs in 2024. They were all a similar height, weight, and speed. That allowed a seamless transition for the offense to mix and match players in offensive plays. But it also allowed a seamless transition for defenses to know how to defend the run.

The offense was not merely cursed with four players who were vanilla in their ability to run with the football, but the lack of variety allowed the offense to fixate on using Kyren Williams almost exclusively for the entire season. Despite sitting Williams in Week 17, he handled 80 percent of the carries last season, generating nearly 81 percent of the rushing yards and 100 percent of the rushing touchdowns.

But the Rams running back room appears a bit different in 2025. What do I mean? Check out this data table of the Rams running backs in 2025, complete with their 2024 rushing stats:

• RB Blake Corum | 5-foot-8 | 210 pounds | 4.53 seconds 40-yard dash | 58 carries | 207 yards | 0 TDs | 14.6 % carries | 12.9 % yards
• RB Ronnie Rivers | 5-foot-9 | 192 pounds | 4.60 seconds 40-yard dash | 22 carries | 99 yards | 0 TDs | 5.5 % carries | 6.2 % yards
• RB Cody Schrader | 5-foot-9 | 214 pounds | 4.61 seconds 40-yard dash | 1 carry | 3 yards | 0 TDs | 0.8 % carries | 0.2 % yards
• RB Kyren Williams | 5-foot-9 | 202 pounds | 4.65 seconds 40-yard dash | 316 carries | 1,299 yards | 14 TDs | 80.0 % carries | 80.8 % yards
• RB Jaquez Hunter | 5-foot-9 | 204 pounds | 4.44 seconds 40-yard dash | Rookie
• RB Jordan Waters | 6-foot-0 | 225 pounds | 4.57 seconds 40-yard dash | Rookie

While the 53-man Rams roster is not set by any means, the arrival of both rookies Jarquez Hunter (speed demon) and Jordan Waters (power personified) brings entirely new dimensions to this team's rushing attack.

(2) Coleman Shelton is back at center

The ascension of data analytics that allows even the less statistically-gifted fan to develop rudimentary cause-and-effect relationships has been one of the true hallmarks of the modern-day NFL. But sometimes, the magic only truly happens by sitting back in wonderment and accepting the full effect of being dazzled. Such is the case with Rams veteran center Coleman Shelton returning to reclaim his role as the lynchpin of the Rams offensive line of scrimmage.

When Coleman Shelton plays center, the Rams run effectively. We pointed that out in 2023. Even though Shelton was fighting for the right to start at center over teammate Brian Allen, the Rams only sprang a running back for 100+ yards in games where Shelton was playing at center. Need proof? I listed every 100+ rushing yards performance by a Rams running back, and Coleman Shelton was the center on every occasion.

• Week 13, 2021 - vs. Jacksonville: RB Sony Michel rushed for 121 yards
• Week 16, 2021 - @ Minnesota: RB Sony Michel rushed for 131 yards
• Week 16, 2022 - vs. Denver: RB Cam Akers rushed for 118 yards
• Week 17, 2022 - @ Los Angeles Chargers: RB Cam Akers rushed for 123 yards
• Week 18, 2022 - @ Seattle: RB Cam Akers rushed for 104 yards
• Week 4, 2023 - @ Indianapolis: RB Kyren Williams rushed for 103 yards
• Week 6, 2023 - vs. Arizona: RB Kyren Williams rushed for 158 yards
• Week 12, 2023 - @ Arizona: RB Kyren Williams rushed for 143 yards
• Week 14, 2023 - @ Baltimore: RB Kyren Williams rushed for 114 yards
• Week 15, 2023 - vs Washington: RB Kyren Williams rushed for 152 yards
• Week 16, 2023 -vs. New Orleans: RB Kyren Williams rushed for 104 yards.

Of course, Shelton was not aboard in 2024, and Kyren Williams managed to rush for 100+ yards four times. Those occasions were:

• Week 5, 2024 - vs Green Bay, RB Kyren Williams rushed for 102 yards
• Week 13, 2024 - @ New Orleans, RB Kyren Williams rushed for 104 yards
• Week 15, 2024 - @ San Francisco, RB Kyren Williams rushed for 108 yards
• Week 16, 2024 - @ New York Giants, RB Kyren Williams rushed for 122 yards.

Still, you cannot help but wonder if the Rams left yards on the football field that they may have gained had Coleman Shelton been the starting center. This is not to claim that rookie Beaux Limmer did not do a fine job. He did. But the Rams want to do better in the ground attack.

And history proves that center Coleman Shelton has allowed the offense to gain yards by running the football.

(1) Jarquez Hunter is going to electrify coaches and fans

There have been occasions in the past where Rams HC Sean McVay has admitted in post game press conferences that he had hesitated to call running plays because the offense was simply not getting the job done on the ground. Whether that was true of 2024 or not, the Rams struggled to get big plays by running the football.

So how can the Rams hope to fix that?

A great first step would be to land a guy that the Rams are excited about. Someone who Rams GM Les Snead describes as his "favorite running back," and a player who Rams HC Sean McVay names as "There's no question. That's who I want," during the 2025 NFL Draft. If a player gets both Snead and McVay excited, you know he's going to be good.

Get ready fans, because I just described Auburn rookie running back prospect, Jarquez Hunter.

Of course, the Rams have been enamored with swift rookies who have struggled to get on the football field. Fans only have to dial back to the 2021 NFL Draft and the selection of Louisville WR Tutu Atwell to understand what I mean. But there is a distinction to be made here. Atwell is a fast wide receiver who arrived with a limited set of scenarios that he could successfully impact on offense.

But Jarquez Hunter is robust in virtually any scenario. He is fleet-footed, sure. But he is a dense running back who is surprisingly powerful too. He doesn't just outrun defenders, he can outpower them too.

The Rams' running back room has an entirely different composition for 2025, and it's already starting to steal the show. As long as the powers that be understand that this offense needs to use every weapon at its disposal, this offense will do well this season.

As always, thanks for reading.

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