Ideally, the Los Angeles Rams won’t have to worry about a quarterback other than Jared Goff for many years. But in today’s NFL, a good backup quarterback is essential. Virtually every starter will miss time due to injury at some point, and the best teams often have the best backups. Never was this made more apparent than this past year when backup Nick Foles took over for an injured Carson Wentz and led the Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl win.

Of the three quarterbacks currently behind Goff on the Rams’ depth chart, only Sean Mannion has attempted a regular season NFL pass. The Rams have arguably the least experienced backup quarterbacks in the league. Mannion came to the Rams as a third-round pick during the Jeff Fisher-era back in 2015.

He has no connection to the Sean McVay coaching staff, and while he’s the heavy favorite to be the backup in 2018, there’s no guarantee he’s back with the Rams after this season. To find out what the Rams have in Mannion, and whether they need to address the position further, I dug into the tape from Mannion’s lone regular season start in Week 17 of last year. Here’s what I found:

Mannion didn’t get off to a great start. After a three-and-out on the Rams’ first drive, Mannion found himself with a second-and-8 on their second drive. Right from the start, he’s looking for Mike Thomas. Mannion stares down Thomas from the moment he takes the snap, and 49ers safety Eric Reid reads his eyes the entire way. As Mannion winds up, Reid easily jumps the route and drops what could’ve very easily been a pick-six. Mannion also had some lackadaisical footwork here, with no rhythm to his drop-back, causing the velocity on his pass to dip, making it an easier play for Reid.

Mannion continued to have a rough first quarter. After an interception set him up with great field position deep in 49ers territory, Mannion misfired badly on this play on second and goal from the 5-yard line. Attempting to throw a fade to Josh Reynolds, Mannion put way too much air under the ball and ended up floating it several feet out of bounds. This is a throw you simply can’t deliver so inaccurately to be a quarterback in the NFL, and Reynolds never has a chance to make a play on the ball.

Things got a little better on the Rams’ first drive of the second quarter. On a third-and-5 near midfield, Mannion stood tall in the face of interior pressure and delivered a nice ball to Thomas to pick up the first down. It’s an impressive throw as Mannion was about to be hit, and he places the ball accurately to the outside where only Thomas can get it.

Mannion didn’t get much help from his receivers. With a few minutes left in the first half, Mannion unleashed an accurate deep ball which would’ve given the Rams a first down in 49er territory, but Tavon Austin dropped it. The possession ended up stalling and turned into a punt.

After the 49ers scored to make the game 20-3, the Rams got the ball back with just over a minute left in the half. Facing a potential 17-point halftime deficit, the Rams needed to score. Mannion stepped up by delivering his best pass of the day, hitting Pharoh Cooper in stride for a big gain over the middle of the field.

After the big play to Cooper, Mannion followed it up with another big completion to Thomas. Right after that, however, he wiped all the progress away with a costly turnover. Mannion failed to sense the pressure fast enough and instead of hitting the open check-down to his left, he held onto the ball too long and was stripped.

After a Jimmy Garoppolo interception gave the ball right back to the Rams, Mannion made the most of the opportunity. With less than 10 seconds left in the half, Mannion fired a bomb downfield to Thomas. The ball was perfectly placed and traveled over 45 yards in the air, and is probably the best pass Mannion has thrown in his professional career, including the preseason. It set up a field goal by Sam Ficken a play later and gave the Rams some desperately needed momentum heading into halftime.

Mannion continued to get little help from his receivers in the second half. On his first pass attempt of the third quarter, he threw a nice ball over the middle, elevating it right over the linebacker dropping back and underneath the safety, but Cooper dropped it. Plays like this were common throughout the game, as there were at least four or five bad drops.

While he definitely improved throwing the ball after his slow start, he still had some bad moments. Late in the third with the Rams down 21 and in need of a score, Mannion tried forcing a throw into tight coverage and didn’t get enough on the ball, leaving it short. It hit off the hands of 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster, and probably should’ve been intercepted.

The 49ers ran the clock out most of the fourth quarter, limiting his pass attempts the rest of the way. His remaining completions were mostly check-downs.

The bottom line:

Overall, Mannion’s first professional start was a mixed bag. He started the game shaky and was clearly a bit nervous. He eventually settled into a nice rhythm and was able to string together a few nice throws in a row. He also struggled with his accuracy at times and tried to force passes, and his footwork needs major improvement.

Mannion had some potentially big plays negated by bad drops, but also nearly had a couple of interceptions that were dropped by defenders. It should also be noted that Mannion was playing without most of the starters on offense, and had little help around him.

That being said, he still has to make major strides to prove to the Rams he can be the team’s long-term solution at backup quarterback. A free agent after this season, training camp and the preseason this year will go a long way in determining whether he’s brought back in 2019.