It didn’t take very long for the Los Angeles Rams’ depth to be tested this season. They were forced to play several backups in the opener against the Detroit Lions on Sunday night, including three along the offensive line alone.
Injuries have hit this team hard already and Sean McVay did a good job adapting on both sides of the ball. They were missing their starting left tackle, backup left tackle and starting right tackle, as well as their starting left guard, cornerback and wide receiver at points in the game.
Though the Rams didn’t come away with a win over the Lions, they did push Detroit to the brink in an overtime loss.
Here’s how the playing time broke down on each side of the ball, with notes about each position group – including running back, where Kyren Williams is very clearly still the top option.
Offense
Only five players on offense played every offensive snap, just three of which were linemen. That’s because Joe Noteboom and Steve Avila both suffered injuries and had to leave the game, as did Puka Nacua. Noteboom played 27 snaps, Nacua played 25 and Avila played 37.
In Noteboom’s place, A.J. Arcuri played 65% of the snaps. Beaux Limmer stepped in for Avila and played 53%, and Tyler Johnson was elevated into a more prominent role with a 65% snap share.
At running back, it’s clear who the starter still is: it’s Kyren Williams. He played 71 of a possible 78 snaps, with Ronnie Rivers playing the other seven snaps. Blake Corum did not see the field on offense, interestingly enough.
Colby Parkinson had been the top tight end all offseason but he has a strong grip on that role after one week. He played 88% of the snaps compared to 8% for Davis Allen and 4% for Hunter Long.
Despite Nacua missing most of the game, Tutu Atwell was still a complete non-factor. He played just six snaps and wasn’t targeted once, sitting fifth on the depth chart right now. Jordan Whittington played just two snaps and would’ve scored a touchdown on a jet sweep if not for a holding penalty.
Defense
It was a similarly small rotation of players on defense for the Rams. Only 12 players were on the field for more than half of the defensive snaps, with just 13 players in total playing at least 11 snaps in the loss.
Quentin Lake, Troy Reeder, Tre’Davious White and Kamren Curl were the only four players on the field for all 61 defensive plays. Sean McVay didn’t say who wore the green dot as the signal caller but based on photos from the game, it was Reeder who relayed calls from Chris Shula to the rest of the defense.
Christian Rozeboom played significantly more than expected, staying on the field 74% of the time. That’s partly because the Rams only leaned on two cornerbacks: White and Cobie Durant. Lake was the nickel defender and John Johnson was on the field 62% of the time as the deep safety next to Curl.
Jared Verse and Braden Fiske both played significant snaps in their debuts. Fiske was out there 77% of the time and Verse played 70%, so they didn’t come off the field much. Michael Hoecht was the only other edge rusher to rotate in, playing 49% of the snaps.
Kobie Turner’s stamina was excellent for a defensive lineman, playing 92% of the snaps up front. Bobby Brown III played 61% as the nose tackle, with Tyler Davis playing 11 snaps and Neville Gallimore playing just four snaps.