Last month, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay made some comments about his team’s backfield. These comments give us some hints at what to expect from the Rams RBs for fantasy football, which could be very different from past seasons.
Todd Gurley has been a huge reason for the success of the Rams in the past. While he wasn’t up to his normal standard last season, posting only 857 yards, he was still able to score 12 touchdowns on the ground while demanding respect from opposing defenses. With his recent departure, the Rams had some choices to make. It seems that McVay has already hinted what his game plan is for the upcoming season.
Rams Fantasy RBs 2020
It seems a little odd that McVay is a fan of this “committee” approach. Outside of rookie running back Cam Akers, his other two Rams RBs, Darrell Henderson Jr. and Malcolm Brown, combined for just over 400 yards on the ground last season, while the team as a whole ranked 25th in total rushing yards. The ground game is what got them to the Super Bowl just a couple years back and it works best with a workhorse back. It would seem to be a perfect opportunity to let rookie Akers take the reigns after the inability for either of the other two Rams RBs to produce in fantasy last season.
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The problem compounds itself unfortunately, as their offensive line was mostly to blame last year. According to Football Outsiders, the Rams offensive line ranked 29th in open field yards. If the line can’t give their RB an open field to work with, it’s going to be tough to get any production, much less from a group consisting of a rookie and two backups.
McVay did allude to the fact that the situation would “work itself out.” This seems to point to one of the backs eventually establishing themselves as the lead rusher for the team. When it comes to the fantasy aspect of this decision, McVay is telling us to stay far away from any Rams RBs for fantasy. Even if one back does rise to the top sooner rather than later, it is clear they have more kinks to work out than just their backfield. Add in the fact that they play in arguably the best defensive division in football, and it’s easy to see why fantasy owners need to stay far away from the Rams’ backfield.
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