If things go south for the Los Angeles Rams–specifically with Pro Bowler Kyren Williams and fellow running back Blake Corum–head coach Sean McVay said that Ronnie Rivers would be RB1, making it quite clear where things stand for Jarquez Hunter.
Williams and Corum form one of the most potent 1-2 punches in the NFL, while Rivers is a former undrafted free agent who also contributes on special teams.
Hunter, at least for now, continues to look like an afterthought for the Rams.
Rams’ Jarquez Hunter Gets Eyebrow-Raising Update
GettyJarquez Hunter may have learned the unofficial depth chart is more legitimate than it is framed.
The Rams list Rivers as RB3 on the depth chart on their official website. Hunter, whom the Rams drafted 117th overall in 2025, is a fourth-stringer. He joins fellow former UDFAs Dean Connors, a rookie who has shined in the preseason. However, LA frames that depth chart as “unofficial.”
There was nothing unofficial about what McVay said regarding the Rams’ RB pecking order.
McVay said that Rivers’ versatility was “huge,” before offering what might be the most telling explanation for why Hunter has failed to live up to expectations.
“Trust is a big word. I trust Ronnie Rivers, I trust that he knows what he’s doing, I trust his instincts, I trust his ability to be able to be effective in pass protection, get the ball where it’s supposed to go in our different run schemes, and be a functional extension of the pass game,” McVay told reporters on August 25. “Whether he’s on a scat release, or whether he’s a checkdown, he’s got a good feel in the screen game. Ronnie Rivers is a guy that you’re very appreciative of.
“We got two great running backs in Kyren and Blake that are going to be building on what they’ve done. But if for whatever reason they need to be supplemented, Ronnie Rivers is the guy that I trust.”
Those comments were about Rivers, and they drew attention, but they loom large for Hunter.
Jarquez Hunter Put Polarizing Play on Tape vs Saints
GettyJarquez Hunter has not carved out a role in the NFL just yet.
“So much for the Rams’ RB3 competition,” LA Football Network posted on X on August 26 in reaction to McVay’s comments. “Despite Jarquez Hunter producing in the preseason, McVay says Ronnie Rivers is the guy behind Kyren and Corum.
“Will Hunter ever get his shot in the Rams offense?”
The problem for Hunter is that he has failed to show what kind of positive impact he can have consistently. He logged 22 snaps as a rookie, all on special teams.
“If Jarquez Hunter has a case to make the Rams’ roster, it’s this,” Rams On SI’s Blaine Grisak posted on X on August 23, including a clip of the RB blocking on a pass play. “Hunter is the top-graded RB in pass protection during the preseason. This play stood out live…had to grab it.”
In that same game, against the New Orleans Saints, Hunter’s shortcomings also showed.
“Jarquez Hunter has questionable problem solving on this run,” 32 Beat Writers’ Zareh Kantzabedian posted on August 25, calling it “bad football.
Kantzabedian explained “a gap play,” saying, “At the snap, there isn’t a single defender in the box for 14 yards to the safety,” adding, “Center, #66 snowplows his man out of the box. Hunter decides to go completely horizontal four yards before the line of scrimmage.”
That inconsistency has Hunter looking like a cut candidate for the Rams.
Notably, though, ESPN’s Sarah Barshop projected Hunter making the roster as RB4 for the Rams. That is not what anyone had in mind, but it allows Hunter to continue proving himself.
Sean McVay Puts Recent Draft Pick on Notice With Eyebrow-Raising Comments