3 days ago
6 players who stood out in the first week of Rams training camp
Every practice counts during training camp, especially for players who might be on the roster bubble or vying for one of the few available starting spots. The Los Angeles Rams have gotten some standout performances from a handful of players already, and there's still a week of practice to go at Loyola Marymount.
Gathering reports out of camp from this in attendance, as well as reading into comments from coaches and players in their press conferences, here are six players who have seemingly stood out in a positive way during the first week of practice.
LB Nate Landman
Landman has been everything the Rams expected and more. He's stood out in practice as a leader on defense, wearing the green dot as the signal caller – and essential role on every team, one that requires a player to stay on the field for just about every snap.
Landman has a nose for the football, as evidenced during his time with the Falcons, and that's carried over to Rams camp. He made one of the highlight plays Saturday when he punched the ball out of Davis Allen's arms to create a turnover on defense.
CB Emmanuel Forbes Jr.
Forbes was on the roster bubble at the start of the offseason but he's pushing his way onto the roster. He's had a great start to camp after bulking up in the weight room, playing like the ball hawk he was in college.
The Rams' receivers are all tough assignments but Forbes has more than held his own in practice, even when getting reps with the first-team defense. If Forbes can take the next step as a defender, he'll be extremely valuable to the Rams this season, potentially even rising into a starting role.
WR Jordan Whittington
Tutu Atwell might still be the frontrunner in the race for WR3, but Whittington is seemingly neck and neck. Whittington made a catch in double coverage on the first day of camp Wednesday and scored a long touchdown on a deep pass Saturday, so he's making plays left and right.
Whittington and Atwell are completely different players in terms of their skill sets, which should allow both of them to play meaningful roles this season. But with Whittington's combination of quickness, physicality and ability to create yards after the catch, he'll be hard to keep on the bench.
RB Blake Corum
From the videos coming out of camp, Corum looks like he's got plenty of juice out of the backfield. He looks quick and explosive, which is something the Rams need more of from their running backs.
Kyren Williams remains the starter but Corum is going to push for snaps more than he did last year as a rookie. That's great news for the Rams as they try to keep everyone fresh and healthy for the duration of the season.
Here's Corum breaking off a long touchdown run with some nifty cuts in the hole.
CB Cobie Durant
Durant is a player to watch in the secondary, in part thanks to his versatility in the slot and the outside. He's off to a fantastic start in training camp, breaking up multiple passes in the first day of practice and continuing to stand out in the next three days.
Neither Ahkello Witherspoon nor Darious Williams plays in the slot, so if the Rams need a defender on the inside when Quentin Lake plays safety, Durant might be their guy. No matter where he lines up, the Landshark seems to make plays in coverage.
WR Konata Mumpfield
Mumpfield is a seventh-round rookie who plays a position the Rams are fairly deep at, so he's got his work cut out for him. He's standing out early on with some solid days of practice, including a good performance on Saturday where he was busy catching a bunch of passes.
He might need to earn his strips on special teams before getting opportunities on offense but he's pushing to at least make the 53-man roster.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams training camp: 6 standouts from the first week of practice
