Everyone wanted to know how the Los Angeles Rams would deploy their three-headed attack at running back in Week 1, particularly fantasy players who own Malcolm Brown, Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson. Sean McVay indicated leading up to the season opener that all three players would be involved, and while that was true to a point, Brown and Akers dominated the workload.
Brown carried it 18 times and played 60% of the offensive snaps, while Akers had 14 carries on 24 total snaps (33%). Henderson only got on the field five times and carried it three times for 6 yards, so his playing time was limited.
Does this mean Brown will continue to lead the team in carries next week and throughout the season? Will Henderson remain the third option in the backfield? We don’t quite know, nor does McVay.
He shared his thoughts on the rotation Monday, and although Sunday was an indication of the Rams’ plan at running back, McVay did say Brown got more work than the team thought he would – perhaps a good sign for Akers moving forward.
“I think yesterday was kind of indicative,” he said. “I think Malcolm got a little bit more work just based on the flow of the game than maybe what we had anticipated, but he was rolling. He had a great feel. There was a lot of situations where he happened to be in the game and we did run it and he got some tough, hard-earned yards. I thought his fourth-down run was phenomenal where he created a lot of that on his own. You see the tough touchdown runs that he had. But I think that’s par for the course.”
The Rams were running the ball best when Brown was on the field, as he picked up 79 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. He also turned three catches into 31 yards, so he proved capable as a receiver, too.
But while Week 1 was indicative of the Rams’ running back approach, it will likely change from week to week.
“I would say this, as the game unfolds each week, can kind of present some new things in terms of what do we like, what kind of concepts in the run game do we want to be able to activate?” McVay added.
Akers was the favorite Rams running back among fantasy owners coming into the season, and he remains a great option. Just because he got fewer carries and snaps than Brown doesn’t mean he’s going to play second-fiddle to the veteran all season long, especially considering McVay’s comments on Brown playing more than expected.
It sounds like the plan was for Akers to work primarily on first and second down, but his struggles (39 yards on 14 carries) combined with Brown’s success led to the rookie playing less than planned.
“I think it was reflective of, we went into the game thinking he’d probably get a little bit more work on some of those early downs than Malcolm had. Malcolm had a big role on special teams. We knew he was going to be in there in a lot of those later down-and-distance situations. But that was really what went into it,” McVay said. “But again, that’s where it’s uncharted waters. You don’t have a lot of evaluation, especially for a rookie player. Cam is going to continue to be a big part of our offense. Last night it was Malcolm’s night and I thought he delivered in a big way. It might be the same next week in Philly. It might be different. I think each week we’ll kind of present different approaches, but we feel good about three running backs. I thought it was good just to get Darrell in there for a couple of carries as well, even though he was a little bit more limited, but I think as he continues to get healthy, we feel really good about all three of those backs.”
It’s clear McVay cares not for your fantasy football team and any conundrum he may cause. He’s focused on winning games, not fantasy leagues. So anyone who owns a Rams running back this season will have to proceed with caution each week and understand that upside will be limited with three players in the mix.