Who Should I Start? Jarquez Hunter or Brashard Smith

Sunday, April 12, 6:00 AM

Los Angeles Rams running back Jarquez Hunter was a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and a popular traits-based dynasty stash. At 5'10" and 209 pounds, Hunter is a near carbon copy of both Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, but profiling as the most explosive of the three, there were calls for him to immediately supplant Corum on the depth chart, especially after seeing so little from the latter as a rookie. Unfortunately, Hunter's rookie season was even less eventful, seeing the field in only five games, and even then, limited exclusively to a handful of special teams snaps. The blueprint for a year-two breakout in Sean McVay's system is already on display in what Corum did in 2025. Unfortunately for Hunter, said breakout was strong enough to create a true blockade to fantasy relevance. Williams and Corum are expected to split work again in 2026, and barring injury, there is no clear path to additional involvement, considering 2025 marked the first time in four seasons that McVay gave more than 77 carries to even a second running back. Dynamic abilities are what made Hunter one of the first Day 3 backs selected in a loaded draft class, so he should still be held by dynasty managers with a deep enough bench to do so, but until the environment in front of him changes, expectations should remain low.