Los Angeles Rams: Expect a statement game from John Kelly

One of the most interesting draft picks the Los Angeles Rams made in the 2018 NFL Draft was John Kelly, who will make a statement in his second preseason game.

The Los Angeles Rams have one of, if not the, best running backs in the game in Todd Gurley. Gurley was the only player to reach 2,000 yards from scrimmage last season and did so in just his third season.

Being such a huge threat in both the passing and the running game, Gurley obviously is going to receive a ton of snaps in the regular season with limited playing time for whoever gets the role as his backup.

That has not stopped the Los Angeles Rams from filling the position though and will not stop John Kelly from proving how good he really is.

The Los Angeles Rams lost Lance Dunbar in the offseason but retained Malcolm Brown to fill his role. With a particular thinness at the position behind Gurley and Brown, the Rams turned to the draft and selected Kelly with one of four sixth-round picks.

Kelly, coming out of Tennessee, shared snaps with Alvin Kamara before he was drafted in the 2017 NFL Draft and took over the starting gig last college football season. While Kelly did not receive national attention, he came into the draft as one of the best sleeper picks to make.

Rams’ fans got a firsthand taste of that promise in the team’s opening preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. Kelly rushed for 77 yards on 13 touches, which included a 40-yard gain.

Kelly is likely going to see even more snaps after his first preseason performance before the starters start to play multiple drives in weeks 3 and 4. Thus, it is safe to say that Kelly will rush the ball at least 20 times against the Raiders.

It is going to be 20 great snaps for Kelly, who will cement himself as the primary backup to Gurley and will eventually force his way onto the field in two-back sets during the regular season. While the Raiders are no slouches in stopping, the team certainly is not great at it and Kelly is going to appear far more advanced than his fellow second-string players.

We have been excited about John Kelly being on the Los Angeles Rams since the team called his name in the draft. Last week was just an appetizer for what Kelly is capable of and on Saturday afternoon he is going to prove why he could be a huge difference maker for LA — even behind Todd Gurley.