wv wrote:

I see. Well, there’s pluses and minuses to the Rams proposed changes. I kinda like a chaotic scramble for a busted up lateral. I dont think I’d want the rule to be changed to where only the QB can recover the ball.

The issue is that the play was blown dead, ref’s whistle. The defense stopped playing at that point. They can’t be in a situation where they have to guess if a whistle is real or if counts. They risk getting flags if they contest the ball and get physical over it. This rule as written basically says the whistle didn’t count, the ball was still live.

Not every defender is in a position to see whether or not it was a backward pass. They see an incomplete and the whistle blows.

wv wrote:

Wonder what happened with Aubrey Pleasant? He didnt keep a job with McVay and he didnt get a job anywhere else.

w
v

There seems to be a shake-up in the secondary coaching. Also, of course, Pleasant was the assistant head coach and Kingsbury replaced him. So either McV wanted Kingsbury in that position and Pleasant didn’t like being replaced, or there was a coming to terms with the secondary coaching and so Pleasant was fired/or quit and KIngsbury replaced him as assistant head coach after that.

Rams’ 2026 coaching staff set

Stu Jackson

https://www.therams.com/news/rams-2026-coaching-staff-set?utm_source=sfmcemail&utm_medium=022325_Coaching_Staff_Announcement&utm_campaign=02_23_2026&utm_term=2026+Coaching+Staff&utm_id=126788&sfmc_id=00QUW00000S9vHH2AZ&aid=&CFC_RAMS=022325_Coaching_Staff_Announcement

Head coach Sean McVay’s finalized staff features a mix of promotions and new additions as well as familiar names. All told, the staff includes 16 returnees and eight new hires. Here is more about each of them.

Head Coach: Sean McVay

McVay enters his 10th year as head coach of the Rams. In 2025, Los Angeles reached the playoffs and double-digit wins for the seventh time in McVay’s first nine seasons. L.A. has also finished with a winning record in all one but one season of McVay’s tenure so far.

Assistant Head Coach: Kliff Kingsbury

Kingsbury joins the Rams’ coaching staff after serving as the Commanders’ offensive coordinator the last two seasons. He reportedly interviewed for the Ravens’ head coach and offensive coordinator openings, as well as the Titans’ and Giants’ offensive coordinator openings, before ultimately joining McVay’s staff.

Offensive staff

Offensive Coordinator: Nate Scheelhaase

Another new title for Scheelhaase in his third season on L.A.’s staff after serving as pass game coordinator last season. This promotion comes after he reportedly received multiple head coach and offensive coordinator interview requests this past cycle.

Quarterbacks/Associate Coordinator: Dave Ragone

Ragone returns for his third season as the Rams’ quarterbacks coach, but this marks his first with associate coordinator in his title as part of this staff. Working closely with Ragone, quarterback Matthew Stafford was named NFL MVP after leading the league in passing yards (4,707) and passing touchdowns at the helm of the NFL’s No. 1 total offense and No. 1 scoring offense last season.

Wide Receivers: Rob Calabrese

Calabrese gets a big promotion entering Year 3 after spending the first two seasons as an offensive assistant. The wide receivers were one of the position groups Calabrese worked closest with in his previous role.

Offensive Line: Ryan Wendell

Wendell returns for his fourth season overseeing the Rams’ offensive line. In 2025, the Rams tied with the Broncos for the fewest sacks allowed in the regular season with 23, marking back-to-back seasons where they’ve allowed the sixth-fewest sacks or better.

Tight Ends: Scott Huff

Returning for his second season on the Rams’ staff, Huff’s group collectively improved their production from 51 catches, 459 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 2024 to 103 receptions, 1,128 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns 2025, playing a key role as Los Angeles took on a 13 personnel-led offensive identity by the end of the season.

Senior Offensive Assistant/Wide Receivers: Eric Yarber

Entering his 10th season working with the wide receivers, Yarber now holds the title of senior offensive assistant/wide receivers coach. He joins assistant offensive line coach Zak Kromer as the longest-tenured member of McVay’s offensive staff.

Last season, Yarber led a receivers group headlined by Puka Nacua, whose 129 receptions led the NFL and 1,715 receiving yards were second-most in the league in the regular season. Additionally, Davante Adams led the league in receiving touchdowns with 14.

Running Backs: Ron Gould

Gould returns for his fourth season leading L.A.’s running backs. He’s been a central figure to Kyren Williams’ production over the last two seasons; in 2024, Williams set career highs in rushing yards (1,299) and rushing touchdowns (14).

Assistant Offensive Line: Zak Kromer

Kromer is one of the two longest-tenured member of McVay’s offensive staff and worked with Wendell to help the offensive line achieve the success it did over the last two seasons

Assistant Offensive Line: Brian Allen

A former Rams starting center, Allen initially began working with the team in a consultant capacity at the beginning of last season and is now on the coaching staff full-time.

Assistant Wide Receivers: Robert Woods

Fans won’t have to look far to wonder where Woods is headed in retirement. Fresh off signing a one-day contract to a retire as a Ram, Woods joins the team’s coaching staff as an assistant wide receivers coach working with Calabrese and Yarber.

Defensive Assistant: Robert Wright

This will be Wright’s first season as a defensive assistant on L.A.’s staff. He spent the last two seasons as Syracuse’s co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach, and prior to that was the University of Buffalo’s defensive coordinator in 2023, overlapping with former Buffalo standout and current Rams inside linebacker Shaun Dolac. Wright began his coaching career as a special teams quality control coach at his alma mater, the University of Miami, in 2015, and went on to have stops at Illinois (defensive graduate assistant 2016-17, defensive quality control 2018) where he worked primarily with the linebackers and nickelbacks in those roles, Texas A&M (defensive graduate assistant, 2019-20), Iowa State (special teams quality control coach, 2021), Duke (senior defensive analyst, 2022) before joining Buffalo’s staff.

Defensive staff

Defensive Coordinator: Chris Shula

Shula returns for his third season as defensive coordinator and 10th overall on the Rams staff. In his second, Los Angeles finished 10th in scoring defense and 12th in run defense.

Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line: Giff Smith

Returning for his third season on the Rams staff, 2026 marks Smith’s second with this title. Defensive ends Kobie Turner (seven) and Braden Fiske (three) accounted for 10 of Los Angeles’ 47 sacks last season.

Inside Linebackers: Greg Williams

Williams returns for his third season coaching L.A.’s inside linebackers. In 2025, Nate Landman’s 132 total tackles led the team and also set a new career high.

Pass Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs: Jimmy Lake

A senior defensive assistant last season, Lake takes over the pass game coordinator/defensive backs coaching role previously held by Aubrey Pleasant.

Safeties: Chris Beake

Beake returns for his fourth season working with the Rams’ secondary and fifth on the Rams’ defensive staff overall.

Outside Linebackers: Joe Coniglio

Coniglio returns for his fourth season as outside linebackers coach. In his third, outside linebackers Byron Young and Jared Verse both earned Pro Bowl nods, with Young getting his first after a career-high 12 sacks in 2025.

Pass Rush Coordinator: Drew Wilkins

Wilkins returns for a second season working with the Rams’ pass rush. In his first season, the Rams tied with the Seahawks and Texans for the seventh-most sacks in the NFL with 47.

Assistant Defensive Backs: Michael Hunter

Hunter is among the eight new hires, joining the Rams after serving as assistant defensive backs coach for Ohio State the last two years. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma State, doing so for two years before coaching the cornerbacks at Tula in 2023 and then heading to Ohio State.

Senior Offensive Assistant: Brian Johnson

Johnson joins the Rams’ staff after serving as the assistant head coach/pass game coordinator for the Commanders the last two seasons. Prior to that, he was with the Eagles for three seasons, serving as quarterbacks coach in 2021 and 2022 before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2023.

Special Teams staff

Special Teams Coordinator: Bubba Ventrone

After spending the previous three seasons with the Browns, and the five seasons prior to that as the Colts’ special teams coordinator, Ventrone takes over the Rams’ special teams after Chase Blackburn was let go late last season and after his assistant, Ben Kotwica, held down the role on an interim basis for the remainder of the season.

Assistant Special Teams: Kyle Hoke

Hoke previously held the same title in Cleveland and keeps it following Ventrone to Los Angeles. Prior to becoming an assistant special teams coach with the Browns, Hoke spent 13 years at the college level, with stops at Texas A&M (2024), San Diego State (2020-23), Indiana State (2019), Texas State (2018), John Carroll (2017), South Carolina (2015-16), Army (2014) and Western Michigan (2012-13).

Game Management

Game Management Coordinator/Assistant Tight Ends: Dan Shamash

Shamash is back for a second season working with the Rams’ tight ends and also educating players and coaches on NFL rules and regulations. The Rams were the least-penalized team for the 2025 regular season with just 75 penalties against them.

zn wrote:

Nate Atkins@NateAtkins_
The Rams finalized their coaching staff for 2026 season, including a title for Kliff Kingsbury:

Assistant head coach.
Nathan Scheelhaase is the offensive coordinator.
No passing game coordinator this year.

Greg Beacham@gregbeacham
Two members of the Rams’ Super Bowl championship team are now on the coaching staff: Robert Woods begins his coaching career as ass’t WRs coach, and Brian Allen gets an official title as ass’t OL coach after being around last season as a consultant.

Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
One other notable LA hiring: former Commanders assistant head coach and passing game coordinator Brian Johnson now has joined the Rams’ staff as a senior offensive assistant.

Rams Fans United@RamsFansUnited
No Aubrey Pleasant?

Rams Make Massive Changes To Their 2026 Coaching Staff
Sean McVay has freshened up his coaching staff for a Super Bowl run in 2026

Brock Vierra

https://www.si.com/nfl/rams/onsi/rams-make-massive-changes-to-their-2026-coaching-staff-01kj650vkz41

WOODLAND HILLS, Ca. The Los Angeles Rams have announced their 2026 coaching staff, saying goodbye to several notable names while officially adding others. Here’s the biggest news from the announcement.

Robert Woods

Former Rams wide receiver and Los Angeles native Robert Woods won’t have to look far for his next job. One of the pioneers behind the Rams’ receiver run blocking program, Woods has joined the staff as an assistant wide receivers coach, working with returning receivers coach Eric Yarber, who is returning for his tenth season, this time as an assistant wide receivers coach/ senior offensive assistant.

Promotions and Returns

Kliff Kingsbury has been named as assistant head coach, replacing Aubrey Pleasant. Nate Scheelhaase has officially been named as offensive coordinator, replacing Mike LaFleur. Scheelhaase’s former job as the pass game coordinator was not reassigned officially, but quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone was named assistant coordinator.

Rob Calabrese has been named wide receivers coach, advancing into the top job after serving in an assistant role last season. Eric Yarber, who held the role for the last nine seasons, has taken a step back.

Super Bowl LVI champion Brian Allen has been named an assistant offensive line coach. Allen assisted with the team last season.

On defense, Jimmy Lake returns, this time taking over for Aubrey Pleasant as defensive passing game coordinator/ DBs coach. Lake was an assistant last season.

Departures

Aubrey Pleasant, who was the Rams assistant head coach, is no longer with the team, as per the Rams’ announcement.

Mike Harris, who helped coach the secondary, is no longer with the team. Special Teams Coordinator Ben Kotwica and assistant Matthew Harper, as expected, have departed.

New Hires

As mentioned above, Kliff Kingsbury is now a member of the Rams’ staff, giving Sean McVay his first former NFL head coach as an assistant head coach ever.

Former Syracuse defensive coordinator Robert Wright has joined the offensive staff as a senior defensive analyst, giving the Rams’ offensive minds insight on up and coming defensive trends.

Mike Hunter, former Ohio State assistant, is the Rams’ assistant defensive backs coach. It is assumed Hunter will fill in for the role Mike Harris had in 2025.

Bubba Ventrone will be the Rams’ new Special Teams Coordinator, a role he enjoyed with the Cleveland Browns last season, and Kyle Hoke will be joining him as an assistant.

DoJ cases against protesters keep collapsing as officers’ lies are exposed in court
String of embarrassing defeats for prosecutors as experts condemn DoJ effort to cast people as ‘violent perpetrators’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/21/doj-protesters-federal-agents-cases?fbclid=IwY2xjawQI275leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeAsiAaB4itwWTvUlS8NBaMtwuib-ZsEWRc9OmTSaQT6ZUOcelY6C19KXABGI_aem_qbuax7Gyu8EZMRuO_IFH8A

Department of Justice prosecutors across the US have suffered a string of embarrassing defeats in their aggressive pursuit of criminal cases against people accused of “assaulting” and “impeding” federal officers.

In recent months, the federal government has relentlessly prosecuted protesters, government critics, immigrants and others arrested during immigration operations, often accusing them of physically attacking officers or interfering with their duties.

But many of those cases have recently been dismissed or ended in not guilty verdicts.

In several high-profile cases, the prosecutions fell apart because they relied on statements by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers that had no supporting evidence or in some instances were proven by video footage to be blatantly false.

Criminal defense lawyers said it was unusual for federal prosecutors to pursue a high volume of charges over minor clashes with law enforcement, and that it was extraordinary to see the DoJ lose case after case across jurisdictions.

Still, the costs for defendants, even if ultimately exonerated, have been enormous, with many having their mugshots blasted by the government and some forced to languish in jail or have criminal charges hang over them for weeks and months.

‘Casting victims as perpetrators’

The most recent significant fumble came from Minneapolis prosecutors, who last week dismissed felony assault charges they had filed against two Venezuelan men accused of “violently beating” an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer “with weapons” on 14 January.

In a press release issued after their arrest, the DHS had described the men as “violent criminal illegal aliens”. The department said officers were conducting a targeted traffic stop to detain an undocumented man from Venezuela, and as he “began to resist and violently assault the officer”, two other men came out of a nearby apartment and “attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle”. The officer shot one of them in the leg.

Two of the men were arrested and charged, with a 16 January affidavit providing a vivid account of them attacking an officer identified as ERO 1, referring to ICE’s enforcement and removal operations. But on 12 February, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss both men’s cases, saying: “Newly discovered evidence in this matter is materially inconsistent with the allegations in the complaint affidavit.”

The motion, which a judge granted, sought to have the cases dismissed “with prejudice”, meaning the government could not re-file charges.

ICE director Todd Lyons said ICE and the DoJ had opened an investigation into the case after videos revealed “sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements”, marking a rare acknowledgement of possible wrongdoing by DHS officials.

“It is very unusual for the government to move to dismiss its own case with prejudice,” Frederick Goetz, a lawyer for one of the men, said in an interview. He praised the government for launching investigations: “If you make false statements to a federal agent, that is a crime.”

Goetz said there were other similar cases stemming from the DHS’s “Operation Metro Surge” in the Minneapolis-St Paul region: “Anecdotally, you see a pattern: there are unreasonable uses of force by ICE agents and border patrol. You immediately have stories perpetuated to justify that force: ‘The officer was being attacked. This was an ambush.’ All of that spin is to cast the victims as violent perpetrators. Then the story falls apart once you get the facts.”

He said it would be difficult to undo the reputational harm done to his client: “The allegation that he was a violent criminal who attacked a federal officer with a broom – that image and association is going to live for ever on the internet. It traveled all the way to Venezuela. It’s absolutely not who he is.”

Goetz, a federal criminal defense lawyer in Minnesota for nearly 40 years, said the high volume of similar charges tied to Trump’s immigration crackdown had further consequences. It was overwhelming the federal courts in the state, diverting resources from the traditional work of federal prosecutors, such as complex fraud, drug and gang matters: “Public safety has not been served by these rash of cases.”

The case is one of several in Minnesota that has fallen apart. Earlier this year, Minnesota federal prosecutors dropped assault charges against a man, who was accused of ramming his car into agents during an immigration operation. The DoJ presented no witnesses to establish probable cause.

And on Tuesday, a judge dismissed with prejudice federal assault charges filed against a Minneapolis man accused of “tackling” an ICE agent on 15 December. The judge, Donovan Frank, noted the ICE officer was not injured and called the allegations “vague and contradictory”. Federal officers had reviewed multiple videos of the events, and, “None saw a ‘tackle’ or other kind of assault,” Frank said.

Prosecutors sought to have his case dismissed without prejudice, allowing them to later re-charge him. But the judge rejected that request, citing the defendant’s arguments that “future prosecution may be politically motivated” – a claim that, the judge noted, the government had not contested.

In Chicago, of 92 people arrested for assaulting or impeding officers last fall, 74 cases have resulted in no charges; in 13 cases, charges were filed and dismissed; and five charged cases were still pending, a recent investigation by Fox 9, a Minneapolis-based station, showed. As of the end of January, there have been no convictions.

In LA, the federal public defenders have won all six cases filed against ICE protesters that have gone to trial since June, the LA Times recently reported. Fewer than 1% of federal criminal defendants were acquitted across the US in fiscal year 2024, with US prosecutors traditionally having a roughly 90% conviction rate, the paper noted.

Juries have also issued not guilty verdicts for people accused of assaulting ICE or similar charges in Louisville, Kentucky, Seattle and Washington DC.

“That losing streak is really unheard of,” said LA-based defense lawyer Katherine McBroom. She represented Jonathon Redondo-Rosales, an LA protester who spent six months in jail until a federal judge dismissed his case with prejudice last week.

Redondo-Rosales was accused of assaulting an officer with a cloth hat. The judge noted discrepancies in the government’s account and that the alleged victim, an officer identified as ZC, had previously failed to disclose he was convicted of harassment. The DHS said last week the officer was under investigation.

McBroom said it appeared prosecutors were aware their case was weak as they downgraded charges from a felony to a misdemeanor, then repeatedly tried to negotiate pleas with increasingly favorable terms for her client: “The efforts to settle seemed desperate. It seemed like there was a concerted effort to prevent this from going to trial, because, while I can’t get into their heads, I don’t think they were confident in the case. It would take integrity to do the right thing and say we got this wrong. But they didn’t do that.”

After footage was submitted in court clearly demonstrating Redondo-Rosales had not hit the officer in the face with a “closed fist”, as the officer initially claimed, McBroom said she was shocked prosecutors continued to pursue a plea that would land her client a conviction: “We’re both looking at the video. How on earth are we interpreting it so differently?”

Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in Los Angeles, did not respond to questions about the specific cases, but shared data indicating that as of Friday, his office had filed charges against 103 people for assaulting or impeding federal officers or related allegations since last year. In addition to the six people acquitted at trial, 25 of those cases ended in dismissals and another 25 defendants pleaded guilty. The rest were pending.

Prosecutors have appealed against two of the dismissals, including in Redondo-Rosales’s case.

Representatives of the other US attorney’s offices and DoJ did not respond to detailed inquiries about the cases. Natalie Baldassarre, a DoJ spokesperson, said in an email the justice department would “continue to seek the most serious available charges against any individual who puts federal agents in harm’s way”.

“We will not tolerate any violence directed toward our brave law enforcement officials who are working tirelessly to keep Americans safe,” the statement continued. “Those who attack law enforcement will be held fully accountable for their actions, despite the best efforts of activist liberal judges who would rather see violent criminals walk free.”

The DHS did not respond to inquiries, and the White House declined to comment.

McBroom said the government was silencing free speech through a prosecution that depended on multiple officials repeating false statements. “There’s a level of terror to this, in that he was being held in jail for exercising his first amendment rights, and it was a collaborative effort to hide the truth that was keeping him in custody. It’s terrifying.”

History indicates Rams won't spend big in free agency https://t.co/uHxqTwww7K pic.twitter.com/0hLw9XRqbU

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) February 22, 2026

from 2025 PFF All-Playoff Team: The best players at every position in the postseason — https://www.pff.com/news/2025-pff-all-playoff-team-the-best-players-at-every-position-in-the-postseason

Let’s take a look at PFF’s 2025 All-Playoff Team, looking at the highest-graded players from the postseason.

WR: Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams – 86.0

Puka Nacua was the highest-graded receiver in the regular season, earning a 96.3 PFF grade while catching a league-high 129 passes for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns. That dominance continued into the postseason. Nacua was essentially the triple crown winner in the playoffs, leading all receivers in catches (24), receiving yards (332) and receiving touchdowns in three games, and his 86.0 PFF grade was third among wideouts.

Nacua garnered at least 10 targets in all three postseason games and compiled a 91.5 PFF grade against the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, hauling in nine of 14 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. The former BYU receiver has made the jump from a very good receiver to one of the NFL’s elite in 2025.

S: Kamren Kinchens, Los Angeles Rams – 84.3

Tied with Woodson with an 84.3 PFF grade, the Rams’ Kamren Kinchens had a strong postseason and has a growing reputation on one of the NFL’s top defenses. Kinchens accumulated 11 tackles across three postseason games, adding five stops, and his 88.8 PFF tackling grade was second at the position.

Kinchens really shone in coverage, though. The former third-round pick was targeted five times, allowing three receptions for 17 yards while notching a pass breakup. His 78.6 PFF coverage grade led all safeties in the postseason.

K: Harrison Mevis, Los Angeles Rams – 82.0

Harrison Mevis has fast become a reliable source of points after winning the job as the Rams’ kicker back in Week 11. Mevis made all 39 extra point attempts in the regular season and finished 12-of-13 on field goal attempts, with the lone miss coming against the Seahawks in Week 16.

Mevis was money in the playoffs, converting on 9-of-9 extra points and 6-of-6 field goals. Four of Mevis’ field goal conversions came between 40-49 yards, the most of any kicker in the postseason, and the former Missouri Tiger made his lone field goal of over 50 yards. His 82.0 PFF field goal grade led the postseason.

zn wrote:

10 Rams make PFF’s top 101 players of 2025

LAFB Network@LAFBNetwork
Most PFF Top 101 players in the NFL?

10- Los Angeles Rams
9-
8- Seattle Seahawks
7-
6-
5- Lions, Broncos, Texans, Colts, 49ers
4- Falcons, Ravens, Jaguars, Eagles

zn wrote:

Maybe it will, but if someone needs to step up on the receiver depth chart, it’s Whittington. The former sixth-round draft pick took a step back as a sophomore, coming up with just 18 catches for 171 yards.

I don’t know what will happen obviously, but this reminds me of McClendon. The new Rams ROT had a very mediocre 2nd year in the league, but then took a leap forward in 2025, his 3rd year.

Another example is Byron Young. Young was of course a starter all along, but he really took a huge step up in 2025/his 3rd year. Here are Young’s career numbers (see among other things the seasonal grade, which is the last number on the far right under “AV”):

wv wrote:

It is not lost on NFL-watchers that Nate Scheelhaase is black,
and that the owners lean toward hiring white whiz-kid Offensive Coordinators and
that McV has had a bunch of white OCs in the past
and this is his first black OC…

w
v

The issue includes the relative lack of black qb coaches and black coordinators.

McVay may very well be aware of the issue since the Rams actively pursued Scheelhaase in 24. As I understand it, they recruited him in 24, he didn’t apply per se. When they went after him, he was Iowa State’s OC. The minute the Rams hired him he was being set up to become the next Rams OC.

from the wiki:

Iowa State
On January 25, 2018, it was announced Scheelhaase was hired as the running backs coach under Matt Campbell at Iowa State. In 2019, he became the wide receivers coach for Iowa State. In 2021, in addition to coaching the wide receivers, Scheelhaase was given the additional titles of running game coordinator and running backs coach. Prior to the 2023 season, he was promoted to offensive coordinator, replacing Tom Manning.

Los Angeles Rams
On February 19, 2024, Scheelhaase was hired by the Los Angeles Rams as their pass game specialist under head coach Sean McVay. Upon his departure, Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell stated: “Nate is going and will do a great job. Honestly, an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Love him and will miss him, but truly a great opportunity for him!” On February 20, 2026, Scheelhaase was promoted to offensive coordinator, replacing Mike LaFleur.

from NFL Pro deep dive: Players you didn’t know were THIS efficient in 2025: https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-pro-deep-dive-players-you-didn-t-know-were-this-efficient-in-2025

Blake Corum
Los Angeles Rams · RB

While Kyren Williams is the guy in the Los Angeles backfield, the Rams utilized their 2024 third-round pick Blake Corum significantly more in his second season, and he was extremely efficient when his name was called. He more than tripled his production in 2025 (746 yards) compared to 2024 (207 yards) and went from zero touchdowns in his first year, to six in his second. Corum was so efficient in fact, that he led all running backs with 13.3 expected points added (EPA) on rushes and 0.09 EPA per carry. Among all running backs with at least 50 carries, he boasted 5.1 yards per carry (T-4th), a 15.9% explosive run rate (4th) and a 49.7% success rate (5th), per NFL Pro. As Corum’s efficiency skyrocketed, he helped boost the Rams from the 24th-ranked rushing offense in 2024 to 7th in 2025.

***

BobCarl

The difference that I saw between 2024 and 2025 is that Corum learned how to run with his pads low, the transformation was successful.