John Fassell considers Malcolm Brown ‘the master of all trades’.

John Fassel considers Malcolm Brown the 'master of all trades'

Cameron DaSilva

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Malcolm Brown probably entered the offseason believing he’d be back with the Los Angeles Rams. Being a restricted free agent, the Rams held all the cards when it came to retaining the former undrafted running back.

After the Rams tendered Brown at the original-round level, the Lions tried to poach him from L.A. They signed him to an offer sheet, but it wasn’t lucrative enough to prevent the Rams from matching – and that’s exactly what they did.

Los Angeles brought Brown back on a two-year deal, retaining him as Todd Gurley’s backup. But most fans probably don’t realize that he impacts the game in more ways than just as the No. 2 running back.

He’s a valuable special teams player and a staple of John Fassel’s unit. Brown does it all on special teams, from blocking to covering kicks and punts.

“Not only is it not common, I’d say it’s very rare for a guy to be a legitimate factor as a running back, but also to be a huge contributor on all four phases on special teams,” Fassel told the Rams’ official site. “He’s covering kickoffs, he’s covering punts, blocking for our punt returners in the punt return game, he’s in the front line or on the back end in kick return game — he’s as versatile as they get. … You could almost say he’s the master of all trades really and he’s only getting better.”

Brown had his best season in the NFL last year, rushing for 212 yards on only 43 carries. He added five catches for 53 yards, and while none of those were career-highs, he was far more efficient than ever before.

In 2018, he averaged 5.5 yards per touch, 1.3 better than 2017. He’s improved in that department each season he’s been in the NFL and assuming he continues to get touches on offense, that number could rise again.

But even if he’s forced to take a backseat to Todd Gurley and rookie Darrell Henderson, Brown will be a valuable special teams player for Fassel.

“It just tells you that he’s a guy that cares about the team and he’s very happy with his role,” Fassel said. “Anybody wants to be a starting running back — but it speaks a lot about those guys who take those roles on and want to be damn good at it.”

The Rams didn’t let Brown get away after the Lions signed him to an offer sheet, and it’s at least partly because of the way he can impact the game on offense and special teams.