This offseason has been difficult for NFL teams as they have been forced to hold all workouts and meetings virtually due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The timing was especially unfortunate for the Los Angeles Rams, who underwent a ton of changes to their roster and coaching staff this offseason, leaving some much to be learned before the start of the 2020 season.
One thing that the Rams have in spades though is good leaders, whether it be head coach Sean McVay, quarterback Jared Goff or any of the other numerous veterans on the roster.
It appears that Goff has been displaying that leadership by organizing some player-only throwing sessions in L.A. to get his new offensive weapons up to speed. When discussing the workouts, Goff said that rookies Cam Akers and Brycen Hopkins have been especially impressive, via Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic:
Here's Goff on Akers and Hopkins in these sessions –
"…Those two guys have been great. It's been fun to watch them learn. They're just both so smart and able to pick things up so fast." https://t.co/7hZBKykcHz— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) June 10, 2020
Wide receiver Van Jefferson is the other offensive skilled position players the Rams drafted in 2020, but unfortunately, he has been forced to only participate virtually due to travel restrictions in place with the pandemic.
Considering how many rookies and young players the Rams will be relying on in 2020, it is good to see that they are already getting up to speed on the playbook and building chemistry with Goff.
With the departure of Todd Gurley, Akers has a chance to win the Rams’ starting running back job in training camp if he can beat out Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown. The Rams used their first pick in the 2020 draft in the second round on him so obviously see something special.
Hopkins, on the other hand, is in a different position as the Rams already have two quality tight ends in Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett ahead of him. While Hopkins may not play much in 2020, Everett’s contract is up in a year so the former may take on a bigger role if the latter departs in free agency.
