Turf Show Times
With Blake Corum on the mend, Hunter has a solid chance of backing up Kyren Williams
During the past two NFL drafts, the Los Angeles Rams have invested in their backfield. This year, the Rams selected Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter with the 117th overall pick. TST’s own Steven Ridings said that Hunter has a limited chance of cracking the starting lineup—but could he emerge as RB2 in his rookie year?
Seven backs have been drafted by L.A. since Sean McVay took over in 2017. Cam Akers was the lone rusher from that group to have any sizable production. Akers amassed 625 yards on 145 carries in 13 games in Year 1. Williams and Corum were the other notable RBs taken in that span, yet neither did anything of note early in their NFL careers.
The odds of Hunter making an impact in ‘25 are low, but not impossible. He had a gradual uptick in yardage and rushing attempts in his four seasons with the Tigers, especially in his final two campaigns:
It would be great to see Hunter attempt to carry over that momentum to the pros. That will be difficult with Williams as the workhorse back and a contract season. Corum was expected to possibly eat into Williams’ carries, and we all saw how that ended up. Even then, Hunter was mentioned as having more pop coming out of college than Williams and Corum.
Since Corum is on the mend while he recovers from a season-ending injury, that could be Hunter’s chance to move up the depth chart. There’s a long summer ahead for him to make it happen, and even if he misses out on being Williams’ backup, the future remains bright for the first-year player.
Moe Moton of Bleacher Report said in a recent column that “no one can assume Corum will be the No. 2 running back with Hunter in the mix.” Again, the summer months are long, which is plenty of time for a hungry rookie on the hunt to make a name for himself.
