Rams' Jarquez Hunter is the Key to the End Zone

Hunter has a will like no other with the heart of a great and the mindset of a warrior. The man does not flinch at the idea of contact; he actively looks for it and sees every chance, not as a chance to gain yards but as an opportunity to inflict his will on a defender.

“I want them (defenses) to say ‘dang, this boy, he's hard to tackle, he don’t want to go down’," stated Hunter when asked what allows him to run as hard as he does. "It’s just a mentality, I want you to quit by the 4th quarter.”

Well, that mentality has put Hunter in a prime position to make him the team's number one option inside the red zone, especially inside the five-yard line.

After practice, Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur spoke about Hunter.

“Do you want to tackle him? I sure won’t (laughter). It’s not live right now," said LaFleur. "They're thudding and stuff like that, so in some aspects that's disadvantage defense because of obviously the target point and stuff like that and protecting your teammates. But, man, this guy's got a great body lean to him. He's got a great demeanor back there. I don't know if he's mad at me or if he just likes football and wants the ball in his hands.

"He’s another guy, like a lot of these rookies, you just can't wait to see when the bullets are live come August in those preseason games, especially for backs, right? Because again, [you] get a feel for what receivers and stuff are going to be, but for backs, they're carrying it between those tackles more than they're not right. That’s not always a fun place unless you like that life. So he likes that life.”

In red zone situations, Hunter was the Rams' most effective running back, not only using his physicality but also the way he gets low would allow the offensive linemen to push him into the end zone when called to do so.

Hunter also has the speed and explosiveness to cut outside as well. If things hold, Hunter would force defenses to load the box, giving Stafford passing lanes to Davante Adams and Puka Nacua on the outside.

Jarquez Hunter. The key to the end zone.