With the frequency of injury, suspension, or general decline in play among NFL players, backups are vital to a team’s success. Teams are often only as good as their depth, and putting together a roster full of quality backups is one of the most important aspects of general manager Les Snead’s job.

Although backup quarterback is arguably the most important backup position, Sean Mannion has already been discussed at length. To see how deep the Rams are, take a look at their most important backups for the 2018 season:

RBs Malcolm Brown and John Kelly

Although Sean McVay recently made clear he doesn’t plan to take Todd Gurley off the field very often, his backup will still be critical. With the departure of Tavon Austin and his handful of carries per game, the backup running back will still likely see an increased workload. With the way the entire Rams offense runs through Gurley, the backup will be required to step up in an enormous way if (furiously knocks wood) Gurley is forced to miss time with injury.

The battle to be the primary backup to Gurley will likely come down to Malcolm Brown and rookie sixth round pick John Kelly. Brown has never put up great numbers in his limited time on the field, he has a career 3.6 yards per carry on 85 attempts, but the Rams coaching staff clearly saw something they liked in him to give him the backup job last year despite very little experience. Kelly is an intriguing rookie hailed as a great sleeper prospect by lots of analysts. Whoever wins the job in camp will have one of the most important roles on the team.

TE Tyler Higbee

Higbee was the recipient of a lot of praise during his rookie year training camp back in 2016. The fourth rounder never lived up to the hype and has just 380 yards through two seasons. He will presumably take a back seat this year to 2017 second rounder Gerald Everett, but will still play a critical role as the backup. Sean McVay cut his teeth in the league as a tight ends coach, and has always made them an important part of his offense. He made tight end Jordan Reed a superstar during his time in Washington, and loves to have multiple tight ends on the field.

Last year, McVay didn’t really have the personnel to run what he wanted to with tight ends, and each of Higbee and Everett need to step up. Higbee will be counted on to produce even if Everett plays well and is healthy, but if Everett doesn’t take a second year leap or isn’t able to stay healthy, Higbee will instantly become one of the most important players on the team.

ILBs Cory Littleton and Micah Kiser

The Rams are stacked in the secondary and along the interior of the defensive line, but have some depth concerns in the linebacking corp. After shipping out Alec Ogletree to the Giants, the Rams are a bit thin inside. Mark Barron will return as a starter, but it remains to be seen who will be the other starting inside linebacker in Wade Phillips’ 3-4 defense. Barron is also currently injured, recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, and will miss much of the offseason. There figures to be a three way competition for the last starting spot between, Littleton, Kiser, and Ramik Wilson, with Littleton and Kiser the most likely to emerge.

Littleton was forced into action towards the end of last season and played admirably in his limited time on the field. He would figure to have the inside track with the coaching staff at the starting spot. Assuming he wins the job, the primary backup would likely be Kiser, the fifth round rookie from Virginia. Kiser is a highly intelligent player who dominated the ACC the past three seasons. Still, a team ideally never counts on a fifth round rookie to play a lot right away, but that’s exactly what might happen with Kiser. With Littleton a mostly unknown commodity and Barron recovering from shoulder surgery, Kiser will be one of the most important backups right from the get go.

The bottom line:

Overall, the Rams might have the most talented starters of any team in the league, with a lineup on both sides of the ball littered with pro-bowlers and All-Pros. But their depth at certain critical positions is questionable. It becomes very clear every year just how crucial depth is to keeping a team afloat over the course of a brutal 16-game schedule. Injuries are simply inevitable. More likely than not, several inexperienced Rams will be asked to step up at some point during the year. How they respond might determine how the Rams’ 2018 season goes.