Why the Rams' backups are the real story of camp

LOS ANGELES—Harrison Mevis isn't a household name. Many of them aren't. He places his toe on his spot, extends his left hand, then takes his steps. Three steps back. Two towards the left. 

He rocks in place, bounces, and twists to the right at the waist and gives a nod. The "Thicker Kicker" takes two steps forward, BOOM! Up the ball sails, towards the truncated uprights, and he splits them. Each time.

The day was ruled by names that aren't quite household, but the Rams will rely and need them all to play well if they're to win a title. There are no weak links in this chain. 

One through 53 will all be relied on and counted on to push, to prepare, to play.

Sean McVay knows it. Matthew Stafford knows it. The stars shine bright—Davante Adams, Puka Nacua, Trent McDuffie, Myles Garrett—but the championship machine runs on the parts you don't see in the commercials.

"The best part of the team is the team," McVay said. "The humility that our guys have, but they also understand we've got to earn it every single day."

David Quessenberry got the nod at left tackle with the first team.

Alaric Jackson sat out to manage a medical issue. Next man up. That's the philosophy. That's the reality. Quessenberry stepped in and held his own against a defensive front that features names that make offensive coordinators lose sleep.

McVay noticed. "I think David Quessenberry did a really nice job stepping in playing left tackle,"* he said. *"Alaric, you know, consistent with kind of last week in the block where he missed with taking his medicine."

Taking his medicine. That's the quiet dignity of the backup. No complaints. No excuses. Just work.

Tyler Scott beat Alex Johnson along the right sideline for a pass from Stetson Bennett, who dropped it in a bucket.

The throw was perfect. The catch was better. Scott climbed the ladder, extended his arms, and plucked it out of the air like he was picking fruit from a tree. Two plays later, Bennett connected with Xavier Smith, whose afterburners carried him down the right sideline for a huge gain.

"I think everybody's done a nice job," Stafford said when asked about his receivers outside of Adams and Nacua. *"We have done a really great job as an offense just kind of rotating guys in. Jay Wit's done a hell of a job. Mump's doing a great job, too. Those are the guys that have really kind of taken the majority of the reps with me."

Smith's feet are remarkable. Impressive even.

He slipped coming on an out-breaking route, managed to get up and to the ball and got both feet in bounds. The afterburners? Real. The hands? Better. The feet? Felonious. Smith concluded practice with a touchdown catch in the back of the end zone on a crosser from Bennett.

The man is making his case. Rep by rep. Catch by catch.

Blake Corum's change of direction and balance truly is remarkable.

The offseason battery of drills is yielding dividends. Corum looks leaner, meaner, more explosive. Williams noticed. McVay noticed. The defensive backs noticed when they tried to tackle him in space.

"I think Blake Corum's only getting better and better," McVay said.

The running back room is deep. Kyren Williams is the starter. Corum is the change of pace. But the line between them is thinner than you think.

CJ Daniels catches everything. He's Ron Burgundy on a teleprompter.

His lone drop drew a pass interference call on Emmanuel Forbes Jr. Had he caught it, I'd lobby and start a campaign for an induction to Canton. His lone mistake of camp was a false start penalty. It can't be all good. It can't all be perfect.

Daniels is a rookie. He's learning. He's growing. And he's catching everything in sight.

Cam Lampkin continues to showcase sticky coverage, physicality and toughness.

Although he drew a holding call covering Smith, you'd live with it. The cornerback is playing with an edge. He's playing with a chip. He's playing like a man who knows his opportunity is now.

McVay sees it. "Cam Lampkin is a guy, he's got just a great spirit," McVay said. "He seems to be like he's always in the right place at the right time."

Trent McDuffie sees it too. "Me and L were talking about Nickel today, and I watched him three reps in a row do exactly what I told him," McDuffie said. "Even though it might have not been perfect, you can see him trying."

Trying. That's the word. Trying to be perfect. Trying to be ready. Trying to be the next man up.

Konata Mumpfield has the bounce of Tigger the Tiger.

Mumpfield climbed the ladder on a throw from Bennett, and exhibited Adams-like body control to secure and haul in the catch. The play drew the adulation and applause from the crowd.

"Mump's doing a great job," Stafford said.

The man is earning his stripes. Rep by rep. Catch by catch.

OLB Desjuan Johnson continues to showcase his versatility along the defensive line.

His violent hands made him a force to reckon with on the interior, knocking RT Bryce Henderson to the ground. Johnson has set great edges and shown the ability to drop into coverage. With the possible return of Aaron Donald looming, Johnson's ability to play multiple positions bodes well for him and the team.

McVay has been pleased. *"Dez has been a guy I thought, transitioning to the outside, he's done an amazing job,"* McVay said. *"Been really pleased with him."*

Isaiah Stewart made his presence felt throughout practice.

The second-year man punched the ball out of Corum's grasp, and Quentin Lake scooped the ball and returned it for a would-be touchdown. Stewart is making plays. He's making noise. He's making it impossible to ignore.

"Josiah Stewart, you felt his presence," McVay said. "I could go on and on. I mean, I really love the makeup of this group."

Emmanuel Forbes Jr. is building confidence.

The cornerback has length. He has speed. He can challenge guys at the line and play off. And he's getting better every day.

"Eman's been awesome," McVay said. "When he's tapped in, you look at his top-tier plays. He's got the length. He's got the confidence to be able to come up and challenge guys. He can play visual and off. I've been really impressed with him."

McDuffie sees it too. "You see Eman confidence building," McDuffie said. "Just being around guys that trust you, guys that are going to build you up, there's not a single ego on this team that I have come across. It gives you this special place to want to get better."

Stetson Bennett is taking advantage of his reps.

With Stafford resting on scheduled days, Bennett is running the offense. He's making plays. He's showing growth. He's earning respect.

"He really has taken advantage of his reps," McVay said. "He's aggressive. He's a playmaker. He's aggressive but not reckless. He can make some things happen off schedule. The way that we're able to get in and out of the huddle in terms of just his overall command has been significantly improved upon."

McVay saw it last year. Bennett might not have gotten the physical reps, but he was walking the field with quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone, going through the script as if he were taking those reps on air.

"He's trying to make sure that he can get better even if it's in the absence of some of the physical repetitions," McVay said. "It's cool to be able to see a lot of the work that he's put in paying off with the way that he's playing and the respect he's got from his teammates."

The continuity matters. The chemistry matters. The depth matters.

Stafford was asked about Coleman Shelton's role in the offense, about the communication, about the importance of the guys up front.

"He's vital," Stafford said. "His ability to communicate in loud environments what we want to get done, quickly, concisely, and clearly for all those guys up front was integral in how well we played both in the run game and the pass game. He does such a great job of communicating and spreading that word down the line of scrimmage for those guys so they can play with a quiet mind and play fast and physical."

A quiet mind. That's the goal. Not for the stars. For everyone. For the guys who don't get the headlines. For the guys who might only get the call when someone goes down.

The grind is real. The love is real.

McDuffie came from Kansas City. He knows what winning looks like. He knows what a championship culture feels like. And he sees it here.

"The biggest thing just over here is the recovery time they like to get," McDuffie said. "To give yourself a second to recover your body, recover your mind. My favorite thing about that has been the DBs get together and play games. We were playing cards the other night and just really getting to know each other. I think that's a very big aspect of being a great team—knowing who you're playing with."

Knowing who you're playing with. That's the secret sauce. Not just the stars. Everyone.

"I want to get better for our offense and for the guys next to me," McDuffie said. "The same way Eman and L want to get better to make sure that when their time comes, if it ever comes, they're ready to step in that role and produce."

The work continues.

Kam Curl said it best days ago. McVay repeated it. The vibe is love.

"I love these guys," McVay said. "Everything that we're doing is I want them to feel like we're in it with them. We're taking care of them. We're going to push them when we're out on the grass. We're going to challenge them mentally, but then we'll give them a chance to be able to recover and turnover so that that growth can occur."

Stress plus rest. That's the formula. That's the way of excellence.

"You don't want to mistake activity for achievement," McVay said. "You always want to make sure that you're moving forward and that we're getting something out of it. When you get equity with these guys, they know that it's not going to be easy. It's going to be hard, but it's going to be worth it."

The unsung heroes are the spine of the team.

The stars get the headlines. The stars get the commercials. The stars get the Pro Bowl votes. But the Rams are built on more than stars. They're built on the Quessenberrys and the Lampkins and the Mumpfields. They're built on the Johnsons and the Stewarts and the Smiths.

They're built on the Thicker Kicker splitting uprights while nobody watches.

"I think what you're seeing is a lot of guys, the normal cast of characters, those guys have done a really great job," McVay said. "But I think you're seeing some of these second-year guys get more comfortable."

I asked McVay about the unsung heroes. About the guys quietly having a good camp. He didn't hesitate.

"Dez has been a guy I thought, transitioning to the outside, he's done an amazing job. Cam Lampkin is a guy, he's got just a great spirit. Eman's been awesome."

Then he paused.

"You just mentioned it. They've done really nice jobs. Glad you pointed them out."

Glad you pointed them out. Because the stars don't need pointing out. They're right there. They're obvious. They're inevitable.

But the guys who will decide whether this team wins a championship? The guys who will step in when someone goes down? The guys who will push the starters in practice and make them better?

They're the ones who need to be seen.

"The best part of the team is the team," McVay said.

The team. One through 53. Star and backup. Starter and scout team. Household name and forgotten man.

All of them matter. All of them are needed. All of them are Rams.

And on this day at LMU, the names you don't know made themselves known.

Harrison Mevis split the uprights. Tyler Scott climbed the ladder. Xavier Smith burned the defense. Cam Lampkin stuck like glue. Desjuan Johnson knocked a tackle to the ground. Isaiah Stewart punched the ball loose.

And Sean McVay watched it all, nodding, smiling, knowing that the championship machine doesn't run on star power alone.

It runs on everything.

"We've got to earn it every single day," McVay said.

Earning it. That's what these guys are doing. Day by day. Rep by rep. Snap by snap.

The Rams keep moving forward; they keep building.

The names you don't know are the names that will matter most.