Newsstand: Former Notre Dame WR Ben Skowronek earning praise for work at fullback
Former Notre Dame wide receiver Ben Skowronek has turned his seventh-round selection into an interesting role in one of the NFL’s most innovative offenses. Skowronek, a 2021 Los Angeles Rams’ draft pick, has become the team’s fullback in his second NFL season.
A position phased out of most NFL offenses is suddenly an important piece of the Rams’ this year – to the point where one ESPN analyst called Skowronek indispensable after just two games as a fullback.
“Outside of [wide receiver] Cooper Kupp, he’s the second most impactful person in this offense,” ESPN NFL analyst and college football announcer Dan Orlovsky said.
Orlovsky pointed out two plays in the Rams’ 20-12 win over the Arizona Cardinals Sept. 25 that highlighted Skowronek’s unique usage. He caught a 26-yard pass on a corner route after beginning the play in a traditional fullback alignment. He was the lead blocker on a 14-yard touchdown run and took out a linebacker himself.
Skowronek has played 154 snaps on offense in three games this year, per Pro Football Focus. He has lined up in the backfield on 29 of those, with all of them coming in the last two games. That’s the same number of snaps he has played as an outside receiver in that span. He has also lined up as an in-line tight end 5 times.
The 6-foot-3, 224-pound Skowronek has 10 catches for 107 yards this season. He caught 11 passes for 133 yards as a rookie in 2021 for the Super Bowl-winning Rams. He played at Notre Dame in 2020 and was a grad transfer addition from Northwestern. He had 29 catches for 439 yards and a team-high 5 touchdowns in his lone season with the Irish.
Notre Dame Tweets of the Day
Looks like Dallas Mavericks players and former North Carolina hoopers Theo Pinson and Reggie Bullock lost a bet, presumably with Mavs assistant and Notre Dame fan Sean Sweeney.
A nationally renowned campus.
Get ’em while they last.
Quote of the Day
“There’s some stuff obviously that’s different, like the paths that I have to take through the holes, that I’m learning. I was thinking a lot about it last week, and now it’s starting to become muscle memory for me.”
– Skowronek on adding fullback to his duties
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