Did the Rams Waste Valuable Draft Picks This Offseason?

“No, it's that we have two backs that we feel great about," stated McVay. "[Running back] Kyren [Williams] is the lead dog. I think our skill players have done an excellent job. No skill player played more than 39 snaps. I want to say yesterday Kyren had 39 and I think Colby had 39. When these guys are really able to maximize it…Blake did an excellent job. They're both going to play. I think we're at our best when you're getting tight ends, receivers and multiple backs involved."

"We have great depth. We have a lot of confidence in all these guys. Kyren is the starting running back but man, I have a ton of confidence in Blake Corum. He's only getting better. This is going to be better for Kyren throughout the course of 17 games and if you earn the right to play after, I think Blake has done a great job and [Running Back Coach] Ron Gould does a really good job with that group as a whole. If [Running Back] Ronnie [Rivers] needed to get in there, there's a lot of confidence in Ronnie. But no changes, nothing like that. I just think the coaches have done an excellent job of being able to have a rotation that's in alignment with maximizing the total group whether that's [Wide Receiver Coach Eric] Yarber, [Pass Game Coordinator Nate] Scheelhaase and [Offensive Assistant] Rob Calabrese with the receivers, whether that's ‘Scooter’ with the tight ends or whether that's Ron Gould with the runners."

"I've really been pleased with the way that [Offensive Line Coach] Ryan Wendell, Zak Kromer and [Consultant] Brian Allen have developed the depth of our offensive line. Knock on wood we've been able to stay relatively healthy, but you've seen [Offensive Lineman] Justin Dedich play. You've seen [Offensive Lineman] Beaux Limmer have to play. You’ve seen [Offensive Lineman] Warren McClendon do a good job, but I just love the depth of this group.”

If McVay's words are true, Hunter is fourth on the depth chart.

What Does The Future Look Like?

This isn't uncharted territory for the Rams, who prefer not to use rookie running backs. Both Williams and Corum did not get many carries as rookies before massively increasing their work load the next season.

The problem is that even if Hunter does play, he will get minimal opportunities to show what he can do. Williams signed a three-year extension that begins next season, the same year Corum will enter his third year in the league. The Rams love third-year players because it's the perfect combination of experience, growth, youth, and making the most of a low cap hit player.

So, where do the Rams go with Hunter?