Les Snead didn’t waste any time finding a complementary running back to pair with Darrell Henderson Jr. this season by conducting a trade for Sony Michel last week. The Los Angeles Rams sent multiple draft picks to the New England Patriots to acquire the former first-round pick out of Georgia.
Michel is expected to shoulder a backup role behind Henderson, but Kevin O’Connell has been dazzled by what he’s seen from the newly acquired running back thus far.
“Obviously, as advertised from a standpoint of his balance and you can just see his contact balance and he’s got a very powerful presence when he’s got the ball in his hands. We’re still trying to – he’s still learning. It’s completely different. In a roundabout way, I’ve been in that offense before, so I know how much different that verbiage is,” O’Connell said, referring to the Patriots’ offense. “He’s going to be working through it. He’s out there right now, right over your shoulder with Thomas Brown working on some things and it’ll just be incrementally better every day for him. And just talking to him, once things start to slow down mentally, I think we’re really going to start to see him get comfortable and take off.”
Michel has two 900-yard seasons under his belt that came in 2018 and 2019 before he dealt with an injury that limited him to nine games in 2020. When Michel is healthy, he’s at his best running between the tackles and when he’s able to survey the field. His ability to maintain balance through contact is something that has caught the eye of O’Connell already.
With the emergence of Damien Harris, along with the presence of Rhamondre Stevenson and James White, Michel was far from a lock to make New England’s roster. But with the Rams, he’ll instantly become the backup to Henderson amid the unfortunate season-ending injury to Cam Akers.
The good news is that Michel has already made a fantastic decision to switch from No. 14 to No. 25 upon arriving in Los Angeles. With a new jersey number in place and O’Connell’s remarks, Michel seems on track to be a short-yardage back while Henderson handles the larger workload. It remains to be seen if their roles are altered throughout the course of the season.
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Projecting Rams’ depth chart with initial 53-man roster set
