Leading up to the draft this year, the Los Angeles Rams identified a weakness at running back despite already having a star in Kyren Williams. They sorely lacked big plays and long runs from the position last season, which is why they selected Jarquez Hunter in the fourth round out of Auburn.
Hunter brings a different skill set than that of Williams and Blake Corum, who are both physical runners who are better when running between the tackles. Hunter has excellent speed, as evidenced by his 4.44 in the 40-yard dash, and he was one of the most explosive running backs in the FBS last season.
His 18.9% explosive play rate was second in the 2025 draft class, behind only R.J. Harvey – a second-round pick by the Broncos. His speed has already flashed in practice, according to Rams RBs coach Ron Gould, but he brings power to the table, too.
“His superpower is his speed. He’s really fast,” Gould told Wyatt Miller of TheRams.com. “And then the second thing is, if you get the pads on you, he’s a heavier guy, he’s a guy who can go north and south, and he’s a guy who’s gonna be able to come out of a lot of tackles.”
Hunter has a lot to learn as a rookie running back, especially in a complex system like the Rams’. But he knocked it out of the park in his interviews with the team and is already showing an excellent attention to detail in practice and meetings.
“He’s impressed me (with) his attention to detail,” Gould said. “And he’s a young man that’s very focused on making sure he’s doing exactly what we need him to do in order for him to take that next step. And then I was just very surprised at how quickly he picked up everything.”
It’s encouraging to hear how well Hunter is doing so far, which could put him on track to contribute early on as a rookie. He faces some stiff competition from Corum in the race to back up Williams but it’s going to be difficult to keep his speed off the field if he performs well in practice and the preseason.