None of the Los Angeles Rams' starters or primary backups saw the field in the preseason this summer, so it was difficult to gauge where some players were on the depth chart. But after Thursday night's opener against the San Francisco 49ers, we got a little bit of clarity on each side of the ball.
Using snap counts from the 27-7 loss, we can take away quite a few things – like the planned running back rotation, the WR3 situation and the cornerback pecking order. Below is a breakdown of the Rams' snap counts from Week 1.
Offense
Kyren Williams still clearly RB1: Williams only had one more carry than Corum, but the gap in playing time was significant. Corum played just 14 snaps, carrying the ball on 10 of those plays; he only ran one route and was not targeted.
Williams, meanwhile, played 39 snaps and was clearly the Rams' choice on passing plays. Both guys played well but Williams has a firm grip on the RB1 role thanks to his pass protection and receiving skills.
No one separating at WR3: The Rams currently have a committee at wide receiver with Konata Mumpfield, Jordan Whittington and Xavier Smith. They all played between 16 and 25 snaps, with Whittington playing the most of the three. But Whittington only made one catch for 8 yards, while Mumpfield and Smith were held catchless. CJ Daniels was a healthy scratch.
Tight end usage eats into WR snaps: Davante Adams only played 54% of the snaps, which would've been his second-lowest usage last season, excluding the game he got hurt in. Even Puka Nacua played just 70% of the snaps on Thursday night, which is lower than his 2025 average. The reason? 13 personnel. Colby Parkinson played 77%, Terrance Ferguson played 51% and Davis Allen played 34% before getting hurt. It's surprising to see Parkinson on the field more than Nacua.
Defense
No rotation at cornerback: The Rams only ran seven plays with three cornerbacks on the field, heavily utilizing their safeties instead. That's bad news for Emmanuel Forbes Jr., who didn't see the field on defense and was behind Josh Wallace in the rotation. Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson played all 65 snaps alongside Quentin Lake.
Myles Garrett still isn't fully healthy: Garrett played just 62% of the snaps on Thursday in his Rams debut, well below his average of 82.3% with the Browns last year. He said after the game that he's not 100% healthy, despite Sean McVay saying that "to (his) knowledge," Garrett is fully healthy. Byron Young played the most snaps of any edge rusher with a 72% snap share, while Josaiah Stewart played 43% and Desjuan Johnson played 23%.
Jaylen McCollough heavily involved: McCollough's playing time was likely inflated due to Kam Curl's early exit, but even still, he played 60% of the snaps and was out there for a lot of the Rams' nickel and dime packages. He's the team's fourth safety but even being that low on the depth chart yields plenty of playing time because of how often they're in nickel and dime.
Linebackers banged up: Omar Speights left the game briefly before returning, which meant Shaun Dolac filled in for him. Then at the end of the contest, Nate Landman injured his shoulder and did not return. That's the reason for Landman falling below 100% and Speights playing just 46% of the snaps, yielding 19 snaps to Dolac as the third linebacker.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams' Week 1 snap counts: Breaking down rotations at RB, WR and CB
