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4 Rams who must play well vs. Saints on Saturday
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- 4 Rams who must play well vs. Saints on Saturday
The Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints will meet again on Saturday, just two days after holding a joint practice at the Rams' facility on Thursday. It's the second preseason game for each team, pitting their backups against one another after the starters went head-to-head in practice.
For the Rams, roster decisions are still waiting to be made, and every preseason game can have an influence on which direction Sean McVay and Les Snead will go.
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These four players must perform well against the Saints on Saturday to keep pushing torward securing a roster spot.
RB Jarquez Hunter
Hunter didn't play poorly in the preseason opener, breaking off a nice 13-yard run to the outside, but his performance was overshadowed by undrafted rookie Dean Connors'. Connors caught two touchdown passes from Ty Simpson and looked great with the ball in his hands, making a case for the Rams' 53-man roster.
Hunter still has two more opportunities to prove himself before the preseason ends, but after being such a big-play weapon in college, he has yet to show that ability in four career preseason games as a pro. He played zero offensive snaps last season, so there's a lot riding on the next two exhibition games.
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OL Beaux Limmer
Limmer isn't believed to be in any real danger of being cut but he did play a total of 34 snaps against the Chiefs last week, which was more than expected. Fortunately for him, he performed well, allowing zero pressures or sacks in the win.
He'll need to keep that up against the Saints on Saturday, continuing to prove that he can be a valuable backup on the interior – whether it's at guard or center. Another positive performance against New Orleans should earn him the day off in the preseason finale next Thursday.
OLB Desjuan Johnson
Keir Thomas and Wesley Bailey have both played well in practice and they impressed in the preseason opener, too. Johnson had a sack of his own, so it's not as if he fell behind either player on the depth chart, but this position battle is a tight one between those three players.
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Johnson has fully transitioned to edge rusher from defensive tackle, and it's a move that has worked better than expected. He should still be the fourth outside linebacker come Week 1 but the job isn't done.
CB Cam Lampkin
After Josh Wallace sat out the preseason opener, it became very clear that his spot on the roster was secured. That puts the pressure on Lampkin to fight for the fifth cornerback job. It's not even that he's directly competing with other corners. It's that he has to convince the Rams to keep an extra cornerback behind Trent McDuffie , Jaylen Watson , Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and Wallace.
He was a little bit up and down against the Chiefs so he'll need to be more consistent when the Saints come to town on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 4 Rams who must play well vs. Saints on Saturday
