This time last year, there were rumors swirling about the Los Angeles Rams taking a running back early in the draft. Those whispers turned out to be true, as the team traded up to select Darrell Henderson Jr. out of Memphis in the third round.
Why on earth would the Rams take a running back that early with Todd Gurley and Malcolm Brown already on the roster? That was a question many folks asked, and I was among those who questioned the Rams’ decision to take Henderson at that point.
Yet, here we are again with Los Angeles seemingly poised to use a Day 2 pick on a running back. This year, it’d be more reasonable for the Rams to use one of their four second- and third-round picks on a running back, since Gurley is gone and Henderson isn’t a proven starter.
You could argue that if someone such as J.K. Dobbins, D’Andre Swift or Jonathan Taylor is there at No. 52, the Rams should take him. After all, running back is a secondary need for L.A. They should not bite on one of those players, though.
In fact, they shouldn’t take any running backs in the second round.
Henderson may not be a proven player yet, but the Rams drafted him to be an Alvin Kamara-type player, as Les Snead put it last year. He spent his rookie season as Gurley’s backup, but now he’s ready to be unleashed as a starter.
It’s hard to doubt his ability after he got just 39 carries in 13 games. That’s a tiny sample size in the grand scheme of things, and not enough proof that he can’t be a workhorse.
When you compare him to the incoming class of running backs, you’d have trouble making a strong case that any of them are noticeably better than Henderson. None of them averaged 8.2 yards per carry in their college careers like Henderson. None of them fit an outside zone scheme as well as Henderson does.
And last season with the Rams, Henderson led all NFL players (with at least 35 carries) with an average of 5.6 rush attempts per broken tackle. For comparison, Gurley averaged 10.6 attempts per broken tackle in 2019 (13th in the NFL).
Taylor’s 4.39 40-yard dash time was impressive, and better than Henderson’s 4.49, but Swift barely edged out Henderson at 4.48. From an athleticism and speed standpoint, Dobbins and Swift don’t offer much more than Henderson does.
Taylor would bring an element of size and power to the backfield that the Rams might lack, but that doesn’t make him worth taking at No. 52 overall. The Rams can find that in free agency with someone such as Isaiah Crowell or Carlos Hyde.
Which brings me to my next point: running back isn’t a premier position and can be filled with cheap talent. Remember when the Rams signed C.J. Anderson off the street in 2018 and he went on to carry the offense into the playoffs? I’m not saying the Rams can do that again with a current free agent, but that signing proved running backs don’t matter much.
Devonta Freeman, Hyde, C.J. Prosise and Chris Thompson are all still available and offer a variety of skill sets. Freeman is a slasher, Hyde can do just about everything, and Thompson and Prosise are good receiving backs.
A backfield consisting of Henderson, Brown and one of those four free agents is more than capable of working in L.A.
If the Rams would prefer not to leave the draft without a running back, there are good players who can be had later on. Zack Moss and Darrynton Evans could be options in the third or fourth rounds. Joshua Kelley in the sixth is also an option. The Rams don’t need to take a running back in the second.
There’s always an element of taking the best player available in the conversation, but drafting a running back would be more of a luxury pick at a position that doesn’t need to be addressed this early.