Following last week's joint practice with the Cowboys, the Rams have another competitive opportunity coming their way this weekend with their preseason Week 1 game against the Chargers on Saturday at SoFi Stadium (7 p.m. pacific time, locally on ABC-7 and nationally on NFL Network).
Here are five players fans should be watching during the contest:
An undrafted free agent signee out of SMU last year, Jones' performance in intra-squad scrimmages during the 2020 preseason caught the attention of Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald. In training camp this year, he seemed to pick up where he left off – Rams head coach Sean McVay said both Jones "and (Jake) Funk have done a really nice job," and that "if they continue on this trajectory, they're going to be a part of our plans in the running back room."
Padded training camp practices in Irvine focused on a "thud" approach – making contact while keeping players on their feet – which McVay said can sometimes make it difficult to evaluate running backs, so Saturday will be an important day for Jones.
Along those same lines, that makes Funk another player to watch on Saturday. McVay said at the start of training camp that Darrell Henderson Jr. won't play in the preseason, so there will be plenty of opportunities for Funk to show what he can contribute to the running back rotation.
McVay name-dropped Harris during organized team activities this spring, but also emphasized the importance of translating that performance when the pads come in training camp. Training camp observers have seen glimpses of the athletic ability that made him an intriguing draft pick, now he'll get a chance to show it in a game setting.
While the rookie and third-round pick out of South Carolina made a mark with his tackling production in college, he has also used those instincts in training camp to show he can drop back into coverage and defend the pass.
The former Titans defensive back finished training camp at UC Irvine strong and also made the most of last week's joint practice with the Cowboys. Week 1 of the preseason marks another opportunity to build on those big plays made.
