While most of the hoopla around Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay is about being a quarterback whisperer and wide open offense guru, he doesn’t stray that far from traditional offensive football values.
Over his nine seasons, the Rams have only been within the NFL’s Top 12 in pass play percentage once, 8th in 2019. He has been very consistent year-to-year, averaging around a 57/43 pass to run mix. As part of the run game, he has not been blessed with mobile quarterbacks to pump up those run play percentages.
He has though, not been afraid to mix up his run schemes. McVay definitely takes to the zone run game. With Todd Gurley, and to a lesser extent, through Darrell Henderson and Cam Akers, he ran predominantly outside zone attacking the outer edges of opposing defenses. After Gurley’s premature demise, McVay started the move towards an inside/mid zone attack and mixed in some duo (basically double teams) and power blocking concepts. Moving through offensive line coaches Aaron Kromer and Kevin Carberry before settling in with Ryan Wendell in 2023, the ultimate goal was to be more physical and push defenses back rather than getting them moving laterally and sealing them to create lanes. Now the Rams are one of the leagues biggest employers of duo.
L.A. likes to run the ball between the tackles or off tackle, not nearly attacking outside as much as earlier iterations of the McVay offense. Last year, the Rams ran inside the tackles on 60 percent of rushing plays, with many others coming through the “C” gap, between the tackle and tight end.
The running back room is now built to match the current blocking scheme. Patience, vision, and burst through the holes are the desired traits. Instantaneous reading of the flow of blockers/defenders, then making split-second decisions and cuts set the stage for losses or gains.
The 2026 Rams backs are a strong group
Kyren Williams – 5’ 9” 195 lb.
Rock solid, steady performer, has topped 1100+ yards rushing and 10+ touchdowns in three consecutive seasons. He’s been consistently productive over 45 starts in that span, gaining 60+ rushing yards in 78 percent (35 of 45) of those games and ranking behind only Derrick Henry for carries (220) earning a touchdown or first down. While many put a spotlight on his lack of breakaway speed, he shows the knack for making lemonade out of lemons, coming in fifth overall in the NFL over that same time frame for forcing 143 missed tackles and earning 2434 yards after contact. He worked to become a solid receiver and pass blocker as well.
Blake Corum – 5’ 8” 205 lb.
While not a true speed demon (4.53/1.57), Corum does add more of a breakaway dimension to the Rams run game. Watching his film, you take notice of his proclivity to break runs outside or against the grain, in the old days we called him a “slasher.” He appears best suited for the mid zone game, attacking the tackles. In space, you can see his stellar 3cone (6.82) and shuttle testing (4.07). Defenders are forced to take good angles, if not, he has the agility, change of direction, and enough burst to get around them. He’s really made strides as a blocker, but needs to show that same improvement as a receiver.
Jarquez Hunter – 5’ 9” 204 lb.
Remember that old TV show, ‘Lost in Space”? It’s hard to project the 2025 Round 4 #117 pick for much more of a role than his rookie season. He played in five regular season games, but zero after Week 6, without an offensive rep and a handful of special teams snaps. His only stat for the year was recording a tackle on 13 special teams reps in the playoff game versus Carolina. He could be in line for the Ronnie Rivers role, mostly mop up duty on offense and an expanded work on special teams (maybe kickoff returns?). Hunter’s only pro film is preseason, basic up the middle stuff. He shows good vision to follow blocks and see the holes, good burst into them and nimble feet to navigate traffic. Hunter finishes his runs with power and falling forward.
Ronnie Rivers – 5’ 8” 195 lb.
Good guy to have in the bottom half of the roster, Rivers does a lot of things well. Entering Year 5 with the Rams, his tenure could be nearing its end. Last season, with Corum’s emergence, his offensive snaps were way down, as was his special teams work. Jarquez Hunter may shut the door on him, but his all-round skills and assignment-based discipline are valuable pieces to stash on the practice squad in reserve.
Jordan Waters – 6’ 221 lb.
Brings some size to the running back room. Looked good in preseason work last year, but will likely be in competition for a practice squad role. I did a full profile on Waters college play back in May 2025 and his Rams preseason film bears it out fairly well.
Dean Conners – 5’ 11” 206 lb.
Appears to be the latest fit into the Rams mold. Not real big, but tough as nails and shows good versatility. Plays like a cross between Jarquez Hunter and Jordan Water, good straight line speed (4.48/1.57), more buildup than explosive, runs a little upright and and one-cut, but lowers for contact and keeps legs churning to run through and bounce off tackles. Although he makes deft cuts when going north/south, he’s not the type to stack a bunch of moves and doesn’t recover well when forced to move laterally. Very athletic, tested well (9.70 RAS). Good hands catcher on simpler routes and lined up outside as a receiver at times. Good body control and ball tracking to reel in off line passes. Blocking, both pass and run, needs work. Has kickoff returns in his past.
Who’s in and who’s out?
Obviously, Kyren Williams and Blake Corum present a rock solid one-two punch. RB#3 is a lock for Jarquez Hunter, unless he would somehow get himself into the doghouse. There is no logical reason to think the Rams are going to give up on him after a single season without a flameout. Beyond that, it boils down to whether L.A. rosters a fourth running back or wants to stash a couple of them on the practice squad. I would lean towards the latter. Jordan Waters and Dean Conners would likely clear waivers, while Ronnie Rivers, as a free agent, would be able to sign with any team. I’m just not sure the market for his services would be strong.
2026 outlook
With a stout offensive line, strong running back rotation, and the expectations of moving to a multiple tight end attack, the Rams could lean heavily into the run game. The pieces are there. Over the past three seasons, L.A. has been trending up in run attempts and play action rate.
It won’t be near as run-centric as Chuck Knox 1973 through 1977 average of 609 rush attempts per season, or even Ray Malavasi’s 1978 through 1981 average of 593, but it could challenge, on a one year basis, John Robinson and Eric Dickerson’s average of 519 runs from 1983 through 1989.
While calling it a “Ground Chuck” redux is getting too carried away, it is fair expect the Rams offense to utilize more rushing attempts in 2026.
