Throughout the first five weeks of the season, the Los Angeles Rams have been forced to use lesser-known players to fill holes on their roster due to various injuries. The offensive line and secondary have been particularly banged up, which has led to problems in both areas.
In Sunday’s 22-10 loss to the Cowboys, the Rams mixed things up once again – mostly out of need. The offensive line had Jeremiah Kolone starting at center, while the secondary was without both Taylor Rapp and Jordan Fuller at safety.
At running back, Malcolm Brown joined the rotation, though he didn’t contribute much behind Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson Jr. Let’s dig into the snap counts to see how the playing time percentages broke down.
Offense
Akers only played 20 snaps against Dallas, which was 17 fewer than Henderson played. Brown was on the field for eight snaps in his first game of the year, too. However, Akers was the only one to get a single carry. He had 13 rush attempts compared to zero for Henderson; his only rush was called back due to penalty. Akers was only targeted once as a receiver, while Henderson had five (four catches). So it’s clear the Rams like Akers as an early-down runner and Henderson as a third-down back.
David Edwards was unable to finish the game due to a head injury, getting evaluated for a concussion late. Bobby Evans stepped in and played the final 12 snaps at left guard.
Ben Skowronek actually played more snaps than Allen Robinson and was targeted three more times, which is an interesting and also somewhat concerning trend. Brandon Powell played 11 snaps and Tutu Atwell was on the field for nine plays, catching his first NFL pass.
Kendall Blanton was the No. 2 tight end behind Tyler Higbee but he played just two snaps. Higbee played the other 63, so the Rams didn’t mix up their personnel much.
Defense
Nick Scott and Terrell Burgess were the starting safeties with Fuller and Rapp out, and they each played every snap. Russ Yeast was the only other safety who played, getting just one rep on defense.
Derion Kendrick played three more snaps than Jalen Ramsey, but they were both on the field for just about every play. Grant Haley was the No. 3 cornerback, ahead of Robert Rochell, who has played sparingly in Year 2.
One thing that really stood out on defense was Aaron Donald’s snap share of just 71%, by far his lowest of the season. Greg Gaines played 11 more snaps than Donald, which typically isn’t the case.
Marquise Copeland ate into the defensive line rotation, playing 42% of the snaps – and only five fewer plays than A’Shawn Robinson. That’s something to monitor.
Terrell Lewis is starting to separate from Justin Hollins, playing eight more snaps than Hollins on Sunday. Leonard Floyd remains the top pass rusher, and Takk McKinley only played five snaps as the fourth option.
