Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has acknowledged his shortcomings when it came to establishing a consistent run game in the 2019 NFL season.
As a result, McVay expressed his desire to put an emphasis on getting running back Todd Gurley back on track this offseason. After all, a strong ground attack had been the recipe for success that sparked their turnaround on offense and led to a trip to the Super Bowl.
McVay’s recent comments indicate that Gurley could be poised for a big year in the 2020 NFL season. It seems he will not be the only one tasked with leading a resurgence in the backfield.
According to Rich Hammond of the Athletic, McVay and general manager Les Snead hinted at a potential 1-2 punch with Gurley and running back Darrell Henderson:
McVay and Snead, based on their comments on Tuesday, seem to believe that some type of rotation — Snead even referred to it as a two-headed monster — is the way to go.
“Sean, based probably on some of his Washington stuff, has always had a more change-of-pace back,” Snead said. “We just haven’t been able to find that right change-of-pace back, or in Darrell’s case (last) year, keep him healthy when we was rolling.”
McVay offered up some high praise for Henderson’s skill set, which he didn’t get to show a lot of his rookie season:
“I loved him coming out last year,” McVay said of Henderson. “You look at the things he did over the course of his career at Memphis, and he’s got an even-keel demeanor. He’s a guy that has some burst, he’s got a thick lower-half, too. He can end up going through people. He can go around them. He’s got great instincts.”
Los Angeles opted to assemble the trio of talented running backs by re-signing Malcolm Brown and taking Henderson in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, this group fell vastly short of expectations amidst the tremendous drop-off on offense during the 2019 campaign.
Henderson had generated plenty of hype with his promising showing during the preseason but failed to etch out a role during the regular season due to the Rams’ lackluster run game. Once it seemed like the rookie was starting to find his footing, he had to be placed on injured reserve and wound up finishing the year with 147 rushing yards on 39 carries along with four catches for 37 yards in 13 games.
Regardless, it is clear that Henderson still managed to make quite the impression on McVay and Snead with his skill set as a viable pass-catcher out of the backfield. This could pay huge dividends for his future as a complementary piece to Gurley.
Although there is no question that the Rams have a surplus of talent in the backfield to get the run game going again, any chance of establishing a strong run game will need to begin with some improvements up from along the offensive line.
