The Rams released Todd Gurley, which seemingly frees up some top production from another running back. They've got Malcolm Brown (pictured), who they liked enough to match a restricted free agency offer for a year ago, and last year's third-rounder Darrell Henderson. Which will be the better fantasy choice?
Like Gurley, neither back was effective a year ago. All three of these players averaged 3.8 yards per attempt or worse. The offensive line was a liability; that should be an area of focus in the draft.
But what's most surprising from last year was the team's inability (or unwillingness) to get any of these backs going in the passing game. At all.
The hope might have been to use Henderson in that capacity, but the rookie could barely get on the field. He caught 4 passes for 37 yards in 13 games. Brown also was a non-factor as a receiver, catching 2 passes for 16 yards on 6 targets.
The stunner is that Gurley, who averaged 62 catches for 684 yards in 2017-2018, fell off the map in that regard last season. In 15 games he caught 31 passes for 207 yards and 2 TDs. That missing production wasn't being soaked up by another running back; it just disappeared. As a team, the Rams caught 10 fewer passes for 149 fewer yards than any other team. That's a big decline from 2018, when they were middle of the pack (15th) in receiving yards by running backs.
| RUNNING BACK RECEIVING, TEAM (2019) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | YPG | No | Yds | Avg | TD |
| LA Chargers | 84.8 | 148 | 1357 | 9.2 | 10 |
| New England | 70.9 | 121 | 1134 | 9.4 | 6 |
| Carolina | 66.8 | 124 | 1068 | 8.6 | 4 |
| Minnesota | 53.4 | 98 | 855 | 8.7 | 2 |
| Green Bay | 53.3 | 101 | 853 | 8.4 | 8 |
| Oakland | 51.6 | 98 | 825 | 8.4 | 1 |
| New Orleans | 51.5 | 124 | 824 | 6.6 | 2 |
| Philadelphia | 50.4 | 90 | 806 | 9.0 | 4 |
| San Francisco | 47.1 | 77 | 753 | 9.8 | 6 |
| Cleveland | 45.4 | 91 | 726 | 8.0 | 1 |
| Tampa Bay | 45.2 | 84 | 723 | 8.6 | 1 |
| Jacksonville | 43.1 | 93 | 689 | 7.4 | 2 |
| Chicago | 41.4 | 111 | 663 | 6.0 | 4 |
| Washington | 41.4 | 75 | 663 | 8.8 | 1 |
| Arizona | 41.2 | 77 | 659 | 8.6 | 5 |
| Kansas City | 40.5 | 89 | 648 | 7.3 | 4 |
| Denver | 40.1 | 98 | 641 | 6.5 | 2 |
| Pittsburgh | 40.0 | 93 | 640 | 6.9 | 4 |
| Atlanta | 38.0 | 88 | 608 | 6.9 | 5 |
| NY Jets | 36.5 | 86 | 584 | 6.8 | 1 |
| Miami | 36.3 | 81 | 581 | 7.2 | 0 |
| NY Giants | 34.9 | 69 | 559 | 8.1 | 3 |
| Cincinnati | 33.4 | 67 | 534 | 8.0 | 4 |
| Dallas | 32.9 | 69 | 527 | 7.6 | 3 |
| Indianapolis | 31.5 | 70 | 504 | 7.2 | 0 |
| Seattle | 31.5 | 68 | 504 | 7.4 | 4 |
| Detroit | 31.3 | 76 | 501 | 6.6 | 2 |
| Houston | 28.8 | 55 | 461 | 8.4 | 3 |
| Buffalo | 28.8 | 61 | 460 | 7.5 | 2 |
| Tennessee | 26.5 | 47 | 424 | 9.0 | 3 |
| Baltimore | 25.6 | 49 | 409 | 8.3 | 6 |
| LA Rams | 16.3 | 37 | 260 | 7.0 | 2 |
So unless the Rams add another back in the draft, it will be a Brown-Henderson tandem. GM Les Snead said yesterday that the offense will utilize more than one running back. Henderson, considering where he was selected, will probably be drafted a lot earlier in fantasy leagues.
But Brown, who's a lot bigger (5-11, 222) than Henderson (5-8, 208), looks like a better bet to be the main runner, in line to pick up goal-line work (which last year produced 17 touchdowns from the running back position, behind only San Francisco). Henderson, assuming he gets more comfortable in the offense in year 2, is the better bet to play in passing situations.
The way the team neglected to use running backs in that capacity a year ago, the early lean is that Brown, not Henderson, will prove to be the better fantasy option.
--Andy Richardson