After a miserable performance in preseason week one, the Los Angeles Rams rebounded with a win at home vs the Oakland Raiders.
Let’s take a look at who showed up to play, and who didn’t:
Stock Down
QB Brandon Allen
Allen was handed a whole half to operate and make hay, and it wasn’t pretty. Allen had a fourth-quarter touchdown to an open WR in Steven Mitchell, and threw the ball out of bounds. He also had a very bad interception staring down a WR and not noticing the underneath zone defender. Allen had some okay moments too, but it doesn’t look like he is QB2 worthy either.
OT Darrell Williams
At first glance, I actually didn’t think Williams had a terrible day. He might have had a slip up once or twice, but this is more about the other offensive lineman playing great (Joe Noteboom, Jamil Demby) and less about Williams himself.
QB Sean Mannion
Outside of one nice deep pass (47 yards) to KhaDarel Hodge, Mannion managed to complete nine passes for 37 yards. Talk about captain checkdown.
WR Fred Brown
Brown received playing time early and had multiple passes hit his hands that he couldn’t secure. He also struggled to create a lot of separation. Brown looks to be falling behind in the WR race with a few other guys performing well.
Stock Up
RB John Kelly
Although the statistics took a hit, Kelly once again had a solid day. He routinely churns his legs to create chunks of yardage, and always finishes his runs in a punishing manner. He scored his first NFL touchdown as well.
WR KhaDarel Hodge
The model-turned-WR probably had the best day of anyone in a Rams uniform on the day. Hodge had a tremendous 47-yard grab down the right sideline on a go route. With the defender draped all over him, Hodge secured the pass and survived the ground. He had another reception for 10 yards as well, and a few more instances where he was open but the quarterbacks missed him.
S Marqui Christian
Christian has separated himself as the sure-fire third safety in the pecking order. Not only that, but the Rams have had Christian on the field in dime packages as a sub-package linebacker. Christian was extremely active today, routinely making tackles both in coverage and in the run game. He’s tough as nails too, punishing whatever comes his way.
S Afolabi Laguda
The undrafted free agent had at terrific day. Laguda was solid but unspectacular in coverage, though he showed a nose for the football often cleaning up runs that broke into the second level. Laguda showed a lot of range today and the ability to play from sideline-to-sideline.