The Los Angeles Rams have had to overcome injuries to their skill players early in the year, and they will have to do that again moving forward. Running back Kyren Williams (ankle) has been spectacular to start the year for the Rams, but he is out this week. His backup, Ronnie Rivers (knee), was also hurt in the game against the Arizona Cardinals, leaving the Rams in a weird situation at running back.
They signed Myles Gaskin from the Minnesota Vikings practice squad and brought back Darrell Henderson Jr., and they already had Zach Evans and Royce Freeman on the roster.
Should fantasy football managers consider any of the Rams running backs, and if so, which one?
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Zach Evans’ Fantasy Outlook This Week
Early on, it felt like Evans was probably the guy atop the depth chart, but that has changed as we near kickoff. The noises coming out of Los Angeles are that they are going to lean on their experience as opposed to the rookie.
Evans was drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft after playing his final collegiate season at Ole Miss last season.
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He played in the game last week and had four carries for 10 yards. He has potential, as his 6.5 yards per carry last year was the 10th-best in FBS.
The other running backs have more NFL experience and have been in situations in which Evans hasn’t. That being said, there is more of an unknown with Evans, which will make it a little tougher for the Pittsburgh Steelers to have a scouting report on him. The Rams could be pointing in the direction of the other backs before unleashing Evans.
Royce Freeman’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Freeman started his career in Denver after a successful career at Oregon. In his rookie year with the Broncos, he rushed for 521 yards and five touchdowns but lost his job to Phillip Lindsay.
Since then, he has bounced around the league, playing with the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans before signing with the Rams practice squad this year.
The Rams signed Freeman to the active roster when they placed Rivers on the IR. That meant he could have been in line for some touches this week, and those recent reports suggest he could be in line for significant touches in Week 7.
The big positive for Freeman is that he has been on the Rams this year in a practice squad capacity. Freeman was active for Weeks 2 to 4 but did not touch the ball. That should change this week.
Myles Gaskin’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Gaskin is a former seventh-round pick who surprisingly broke out in his second season with the Miami Dolphins. He rushed for 612 yards in 2021 while also catching 49 passes for 234 yards.
That was the highlight of his time in Miami, as the Dolphins continued to bring speedy running backs in, ultimately cutting him.
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Gaskin has spent the first six weeks of this season on the Vikings practice squad. He has shown that he can be a running back who can contribute at the NFL level. Right now, that is a big part of what the Rams are looking for.
However, he was the fourth and final guy the Rams brought in, which could make it more than likely he won’t even be active for the game.
Darrell Henderson Jr.’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
This one just made the most sense because Henderson has already had success as a member of the organization.
He rushed for 624 yards in 2020 and followed that up with 688 yards the following year, including 50 total yards of offense in the Rams’ Super Bowl win against the Cincinnati Bengals. Henderson averaged 13.9 fantasy points per game in 12 games that season, finishing inside the top 20.
Henderson has played on the highest platform with the Rams, the Super Bowl. He knows the system and has a familiarity that just can’t be emulated.
Which of the Rams RBs Should You Start?
If you are counting on one of these guys to be the difference in a win this week, you may not have a ton of success. There are so many question marks, as it will be unknown up to kickoff who is going to get the ball.
The safest bet is Henderson, with the experience of playing for the Rams. Coach Sean McVay knows what he is going to get with Henderson, while the other players have more question marks.
If there are other options to look at for your running backs, do that, but if you have to use a Rams running back, Henderson is the guy to go with.
