Jarquez Hunter is a perfect scheme fit for the Rams, but what can be expected in his rookie season?
The Los Angeles Rams will be looking to get more out of their run game this season, especially from an explosive play standpoint. While Kyren Williams has been one of the more productive running backs in the NFL, his lack of big play ability has limited the Rams rushing attack at times.
To help address that lack of explosiveness, the Rams drafted running back Jarquez Hunter out of Auburn in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. While Hunter is a perfect fit for the Rams offense, he is still a rookie and likely starts the season behind both Williams and Blake Corum.
In past seasons, rookie running backs have had limited carries in the Rams offense. Darrell Henderson had just 39 rushing attempts during his rookie season as he shared time with Todd Gurley. Blake Corum had 58 carries last year, but some of those came in garbage time at the end of games. Cam Akers in 2020 was the exception and almost 60 percent of his rushing attempts came in the final five weeks.
Reception Perception
Hunter should be able to provide an element to the Rams run game that they currently lack. However, it all comes down to how much the Rams and head coach Sean McVay utilize a running back by committee. Given the talent in the running back room, the Rams may divide the carries more than they have in past seasons. Still, it’s uncertain what that will look like.
James Koh of Reception Perception and RotoWire recently charted Hunter’s 2024 season at Auburn. Said Koh,
“I mean this in the best way possible but Jarquez Hunter is a really nice straight-line player…If there are positive plays and yards in front of him, he’s more than happy to take it. This isn’t to say he’s a bad athlete…It’s just that he’s not one of these guys constantly hunting for cut backs or big plays…So much of the pro game is doing exactly what Hunter does best: find some space and take positive yards. This mentality helped Hunter post the 3rd highest success rates in both man/gap and zone concepts last year. Among the charted prospects, he was the only player to be a top-5 guy in both categories. Where he really thrived was on inside zone plays… And kudos to the Rams scouting department because they got a guy that is literally PERFECT for what the Rams do…I don’t think he’s the most explosive athlete that’s for sure, but when you look up, Hunter managed to post the 3rd best explosive play rate…He doesn’t have as many 50 or 60 yard runs as the top prospects but his ability to plow forward for chunk runs was a real strength. When you add it all up, Hunter was arguably the most well-rounded prospect that I charted. He was above average on dang near every metric. There is A LOT to be excited about with Jarquez Hunter, I just wonder if we’re a year or two away from seeing it come to fruition.”
Reception Perception
Following the 2023 season in which the running game struggled without Williams, the Rams have continually added to the position over the last two years. Corum was drafted last year as a Williams clone and someone with a similar running style. Meanwhile, Hunter was drafted to give the running game more juice and provide a strong scheme fit.
This has gone from a position group that needed to sign Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson off of the couch to one that has a lot of depth and variety. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Williams as the starter and Corum as his immediate backup as they are similar. Hunter would then be the change of pace player to add a different element to the offense.
Hunter’s fit in the offense is obvious. The Rams have done a good mixing in both zone and gap concepts in the offense. From Weeks 10-17, the Rams ran zone of 44.6 percent of their rushing attempts and gap concepts at a 41.4 percent rate. Last season at Auburn, Hunter was at a near 50-50 split. Hunter’s 75 percent success rate on inside zone was best in the class and the Rams ran between the tackles at the third-highest rate last season.
What the Rams run game looks like in 2024 and how the carries are divided up is something that everybody will be watching once the season begins. If Hunter can carve out an early role, his straight-line speed could give the offense an element that they’ve missed. It may take some time, but the Rams may have found the spark that they’ve needed in the run game.