Getty Cam Akers dives for the end zone on December 4, 2022 in Inglewood.
The Los Angeles Rams are giving off the idea that they will be drafting a running back between April 29-30.
Already during the final week of March, they had a meeting with University of Pittsburgh running back Isreal “Izzy” Abanikanda — which was before he blazed his 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds at his Wednesday, March 29 Pro Day at the alma mater of Aaron Donald. But now, a much more physical back who scored 17 touchdowns has a meeting with the Rams in the works.
Per NFL insider Aaron Wilson of NBC 2 Houston on Saturday, April 1, Texas Christian running back Kendre Miller has a visit with the Rams being set up soon.
Miller is best known for being the ground-based touchdown machine for a high-powered Air Raid/Run Pass Option (RPO) offense ran by head coach Sonny Dykes and the national title game runner up TCU Horned Frogs.
Kendre Miller Miller Has Impressive Average in 1 More Area
Miller is a more imposing back at approximately 6-feet, 220 pounds and brings a brutal pads-first style of running.
And even though he was in an offense that was predominantly pass-oriented and once produced future Rams No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff (who played for Dykes at Cal), Miller still put up an impressive average in one crucial area for running backs.
In each season at Fort Worth, Miller averaged more than six yards per carry — 7.2 during the truncated 2020 season, then 7.5 in 2021 followed by the 6.2 he averaged as more of the feature back for the Horned Frogs.
Miller put forth his best outing during the Frogs’ march to SoFi Stadium for the national title — delivering 1,399 yards on 224 carries and crossing the end zone 17 times. The native of Mount Enterprise, Texas even had a stretch of five consecutive 100-yard games between October 15 to November 12.
He scored twice in four games during the Frogs’ 13-2 season. He also scored in every game except the 51-45 shootout win over Michigan during the College Football Playoffs when he sustained a medial collateral ligament sprain during the second quarter. He finished that contest with eight carries for 57 yards and was averaging 7.1 yards per carry.
Miller was unable to compete in his Pro Day with TCU on Thursday, March 30. However, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport captured video of him performing squats — indicating he’s well ahead of schedule for his rehab.
Kendre Miller Would be Reliably Effective in Needed Area for the Rams
Say the Rams decide to take in the TCU star and place him in a room with Cam Akers and 2022 rookies Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers…Miller would bring this needed element in the room: An extra short-yardage grinder.
Miller’s physical style was on display against rival SMU — pointing to his ability to drag defenders with him on plays designed to go inside:
Just Kendre Miller dragging people for 5+ yards…
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Don’t fade Kendre Miller.
He does show some burst, though, especially when he turns the corner as seen here against Big 12 rival Texas:
Writing up Kendre Miller & he is fun.
Kendre Miller ranked 37th in YAC/Att (3.3) & 15th in broken plus missed tackle rate (29.5%).
Miller posted a quality Stuff Rate of 12.9% (No. 36 out of 200), meaning under 13% of his carries went for zero or fewer yards.
But with his knee injury, teams are facing the fact that he likely won’t have the burst he developed before the MCL sprain — which places him as a potential RB3 option to start in the league. And with his size, he noticeably runs with high pad level which will only make him easier to bring down before reaching the linebackers.
However, for a Rams offense that needs an extra short yards/goal line option, Miller could fit there to start and add needed depth in the backfield. He may not be considered the highest option on the Rams’ draft board, but he’s at least an option.