round 4 pick 117, after trade up Rams take RB

Warren Sharp@SharpFootball
new Rams RB Jarquez Hunter from Auburn was the Rams top rated offensive player on the board entering Day 3

Les Sneed had an eye on him since fall.

After a zoom call before the draft with Sean McVay & Sneed, they immediately said:

“that’s our guy if he’s still there on day 3”

per Peter Schrager

Jarquez Hunter
Auburn, 4SR

BACKGROUND: Jarquez (jar-KWEZ) Hunter, one of eight children, grew up on his family’s farm with his grandmother (Shelia Murrell, who played basketball at Jackson State), and mother (Kenyatta Ragsdale) in the small town of Philadelphia in central Mississippi. He also has a relationship with his father (Kenshay Hunter), who lives in Texas. Described as a “country boy,” Hunter played multiple sports throughout childhood, along with riding horses, fishing, hunting and riding four-wheelers. Hunter grew up idolizing Walter Payton and started playing football at age 6. He worked his way from a backup to be one of the top youth football players in the area. Hunter attended Neshoba Central High, where he was a four-year varsity letterman on the football team, playing on offense (running back) and defense (linebacker). His breakout season came as a sophomore, when he rushed for 1,986 yards on 231 carries (8.6 average) and 26 touchdowns, adding 81 tackles, eight sacks and two interceptions. As a junior, Hunter led Neshoba Central to a 10-win season and the 2019 regional title. He earned district MVP honors with 2,088 rushing yards (9.8 yards per carry) and 29 touchdowns, plus 234 receiving yards and a pair of touchdown grabs. He also had 72 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, seven sacks and four interceptions (three returned for touchdowns). As a senior, Hunter rushed for 1,687 yards and 22 touchdowns in just eight games, which earned him the 2020 5A Mr. Football award. He finished his prep career with 5,834 rushing yards and a state-record 93 touchdowns, breaking the previous mark of 92 held by former Oklahoma, USFL and NFL running back Marcus Dupree, who is Hunter’s distant cousin. Hunter’s 93 total touchdowns came in six different ways: rushing, receiving, fumble return, interception return, punt return and kick return. Hunter lettered in basketball and track at Neshoba Central and qualified for states as a sophomore with a personal best in the 100 meters of 11.04 seconds. As a senior, he also won the 5A powerlifting championship (198-pound weight class) with a 300-pound bench press, 576-pound squat and 575-pound deadlift. A three-star recruit, Hunter was the 43rd-ranked running back in the 2021 recruiting class and the No. 12 recruit in Mississippi. Following his breakout sophomore season, he received his first scholarship offer (Ole Miss) in February 2019. Several schools followed, including Louisville, Memphis, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Virginia. Hunter was considered an Ole Miss lean until Auburn, his favorite school from childhood because of Cam Newton, entered the mix late. Newly hired offensive line coach Will Friend, also a Neshoba Central alum, convinced the Tigers’ staff to offer Hunter a scholarship a few weeks before signing day. Hunter was the 10th-ranked recruit in former head coach Bryan Harsin’s first class at Auburn. He made the SEC Academic Honor Roll four straight seasons and graduated (in three years) with his degree in natural resource management (May 2024). He accepted his invitation to the 2025 Senior Bowl.

YEAR (GP/GS) CAR YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD NOTES
2021: (13/2) 89 593 6.66 3 12 61 5.08 1 SEC All-Freshman; enrolled July 2021
2022: (12/1) 104 668 6.42 7 17 224 13.18 2 20-yard passing TD
2023: (12/12) 159 909 5.72 7 18 118 6.56 0 Led team in rushing; missed the season opener (suspension)
2024: (12/12) 187 1,201 6.42 8 21 155 7.38 1 First Team All-SEC; led team in rushing
Total: (49/27) 539 3,371 6.25 25 68 558 8.21 4

STRENGTHS:
● Densely built with bricks and mortar
● Teammates tell tales of his legendary weight-room work ethic (squatted 600 pounds as freshman)
● Led SEC with 6.4 yards per carry in 2024
● Terrific run balance to drop pads and keep feet through contact
● Defenders better finish him to the ground, because he won’t surrender easily
● Hits burst button when given a lane
● Ability to slash angles leads to chunk runs (42 carries of 10 yards or more sixth most in the FBS in 2024)
● Caught ball well as a screen target
● Regular on kickoff coverage all four seasons (10 career tackles on special teams)
● Also has experience returning kicks — averaged 20.7 yards per return (25 attempts for 517 yards)
● Rushing production improved each of his four seasons

WEAKNESSES:
● Inconsistent vision working through all the smoke at line of scrimmage
● More likely to barrel into first-level bodies than show patience for developing holes
● Setting up moves at second level isn’t natural for him
● Struggles to quickly regain speed after being slowed down
● Fumbled three times on 187 carries in 2024
● Missed assignments in pass pro and communication needs to be better
● Has projectable frame as blocker, but blitzing linebackers can give him the shake
● Scouts say there are “no concerns” about his character, but Hunter was briefly suspended from the team during 2023 offseason

SUMMARY: A two-year starter at Auburn, Hunter was the featured back in head coach Hugh Freeze’s RPO-leaning offense. After backing up Tank Bigsby for two seasons, he led the Tigers in rushing as a junior and senior and left the Plains fourth on the school’s all-time rushing list (behind Bo Jackson, Cadillac Williams and James Brooks). A weight-room demon and state champion powerlifter in high school, Hunter has a cut-up physique, and his physical, balanced run style makes him a chore to tackle (ranked No. 2 in the FBS with 36.6 percent of his 2024 carries resulted in a first down or touchdown). He isn’t the most creative or elusive runner at the line of scrimmage or in space, but he keeps his legs pumping to carry tacklers draped on his back. Overall, Hunter’s vision and tempo tend to run hot and cold, but he is a hammerhead with downhill burst to run through holes and into contact without gearing down. Along with his hungry run style, his impact on special teams will separate him on an NFL depth chart.

GRADE: 3rd-4th round

Adam GrosbardAdamGrosbard
Per PFF, new Rams RB Jarquez Hunter averaged 4.1 yards *after contact* per carry in 2024