Tre Mason had his moments with the Rams as a rookie, enough so that the Rams were a mild surprise in selecting Todd Gurley with the 10th overall pick. Didn't they already have a decent young running back in Mason? But there's little doubt now that they made the correct choice.
Gurley's rookie campaign, of course, was outstanding, quickly shunting Mason to the sidelines. Mason was then arrested this past weekend, charged with multiple traffic and drug violations; not much doubt he'll face a league suspension.
And in any case, when Mason did get on the field in 2015, he was awfully ineffective. He averaged just 2.8 yards per carry. Among all the second-year running backs in the league last year, only undrafted Juwan Thompson and James White -- neither of whom carried the ball even 25 times -- were worse.
Second-year running backs last season, sorted by yards per carry, are presented below.
| SECOND-YEAR RUNNING BACKS, 2015 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Jerick McKinnon | Minn. | 52 | 271 | 5.2 | 3 |
| Charles Sims | T.B. | 107 | 529 | 4.9 | 4 |
| Bishop Sankey | Tenn. | 47 | 193 | 4.1 | 2 |
| Carlos Hyde | S.F. | 115 | 470 | 4.1 | 3 |
| Devonta Freeman | Atl. | 265 | 1056 | 4.0 | 14 |
| Charcandrick West | K.C. | 160 | 634 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Isaiah Crowell | Clev. | 185 | 706 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Alfred Blue | Hou. | 183 | 698 | 3.8 | 3 |
| DeAnthony Thomas | K.C. | 9 | 34 | 3.8 | 2 |
| Terrance West | Clev. | 62 | 231 | 3.7 | 0 |
| KaDeem Carey | Chi. | 43 | 159 | 3.7 | 3 |
| Damien Williams | Mia. | 16 | 59 | 3.7 | 1 |
| Antonio Andrews | Tenn. | 143 | 520 | 3.6 | 3 |
| Lorenzo Taliaferro | Balt. | 13 | 47 | 3.6 | 1 |
| Jeremy Hill | Cin. | 223 | 794 | 3.6 | 12 |
| Branden Oliver | S.D. | 31 | 108 | 3.5 | 0 |
| Andre Williams | NYG | 88 | 257 | 2.9 | 1 |
| Tre Mason | St.L. | 75 | 207 | 2.8 | 1 |
| Juwan Thompson | Den. | 18 | 48 | 2.7 | 0 |
| James White | N.E. | 22 | 56 | 2.5 | 6 |
--Andy Richardson

