The Los Angeles Rams have no shortage of players at the running back position, with a solid starter in Kyren Williams and a backup they just drafted last year, Blake Corum. However, that didn’t stop them from using one of their picks to draft Jarquez Hunter in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL draft.
The Rams only had six draft picks to use in this year’s draft, so the fact that one of them was spent on a position they didn’t need goes to show how much faith they have in Hunter as a prospect. Though they have plenty of running backs already, Hunter differentiates from them in a big way.
Corum and Williams are physical running backs who pick up more speed as they run downhill. They don’t go down easily and fight for every yard after contact. In contrast, Hunter is much more shifty and agile, and has moves he can use to juke out a defender at any given moment
This may explain why the Rams opted to draft him, as he’s a different kind of running back and has many more applications he can be applied to. He may not see many carries in his rookie year, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him used in the screen game more often than Corum or even Williams.
I believe that throughout the course of the next season, Hunter should eventually be the primary backup and take reps over Corum. Sean McVay sounded off about what he liked about Hunter leaving college and why that influenced them to take him in the draft.
”I think when you look at it, really all six of our picks, we had a real appreciation for. I think that’s what lessened his group in collaboration with our coaches, they did a great job with having a vision for how these guys fit.
Let’s play the game in terms of, alright, where do we think the rest of the league sees these guys? Jarquez was a guy, in addition to some other running backs that we had real appreciation for, there was a vision for how he fit.
We got a chance to have a Zoom meeting with him as coaches, just liked his demeanor. I think when you look at the production that he had at Auburn going against the caliber of players that he’s going against, he’s a guy that can hit home runs and so there was a lot to like about him, but the other five guys and really a lot of these undrafted free agents felt the same way”.
McVay has done a good job steering the Rams in the right direction this offseason, and Hunter will play a huge role for them for now and in their future. He might not see much playing time during his rookie year, but they have a vision for him, and that’s a good sign for his future.