Rams 2020 breakout watchlist: WR Josh Reynolds

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Rams 2020 breakout watchlist: WR Josh Reynolds

There will be a lot of new faces in the Rams’ starting lineup this season after the team made major roster changes in the offseason. Veterans such as Todd Gurley, Brandin Cooks, Dante Fowler Jr. an…

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Rams 2020 breakout watchlist: WR Josh Reynolds

There will be a lot of new faces in the Rams’ starting lineup this season after the team made major roster changes in the offseason. Veterans such as Todd Gurley, Brandin Cooks, Dante Fowler Jr. and Cory Littleton are all gone, opening the door for younger, lesser-known players to step up.

Josh Reynolds is one of those players as he’ll have a chance to help replace Cooks as the No. 3 receiver next to Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods. He’ll first have to beat out rookie Van Jefferson for that spot, but given his experience and history as a starter, it’s likely he’ll open the year as WR3.

That may not seem like a big role, but in an offense that leans heavily on three-receiver sets, Reynolds could be poised for a breakout campaign. In this article series, we’ll be previewing players who could emerge as key contributors and/or starters for the Rams in 2020, beginning with Reynolds.

NFL career thus far

Reynolds is entering his fourth NFL season and has 61 career catches for 832 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s made 11 starts and appeared in all 48 games, but his playing time has been limited to less than 60% of the snaps each year – including only 43% last season.

His best opportunity came in 2018 when Kupp tore his ACL, thrusting Reynolds into a starting role. He played fairly well in that spot, catching 29 passes for 402 yards on 53 targets. But when Kupp returned last season, Reynolds was once again relegated to a backup role.

He struggled some with drops in 2019, posting a drop rate of 7.0% (three drops on 43 targets). It’s not a huge concern, but that figure must improve in 2020 if he’s to emerge as a playmaker.

Why he could break out

It’s all about opportunities, and Reynolds should have plenty of them this season. As much as we’ve heard about the Rams moving more toward a run-centric offense that also features a lot of tight end usage, they’ll still use three-receiver packages more often than not. Last season, Cooks played the fewest snaps of the Rams’ top three receivers, and he was still on the field 63.2% of the time.

Assuming Reynolds beats out Jefferson, he should be expected to play at least 55-60% of the offensive snaps. Cooks was targeted 72 times a year ago, which might be a low-end projection for Reynolds.

Even if he catches 50% of those targets as he has in his career and averages around 13.6 yards per reception (his career average), he could be in line for about 36 catches and close to 500 yards. Those may not be eye-popping numbers, but they’d both be career-highs for Reynolds.

As the primary deep threat in this offense, he should make some big plays – as long as Jared Goff’s accuracy gets better behind a hopefully improved offensive line – on downfield passes. That will drive up his efficiency, as well as his yardage total.

Here’s an example of Reynolds’ deep speed on a touchdown catch against the Bears that was nullified by a penalty; it’s a play McVay has pointed to in the past as a reason for his confidence in Reynolds.


If Reynolds can make plays like that one against man coverage, it’ll go a long way toward the Rams’ passing attack improving.

Why he may not

If the Rams really do stick to their plan of running the ball often and integrating more two-tight end packages, then Reynolds’ impact will remain subdued. He’s already fourth or fifth in the pecking order of offensive touches behind Woods, Kupp, Cam Akers (or Darrell Henderson) and Tyler Higbee, which will be made even worse if Gerald Everett’s playing time increases, too.

There’s also a chance rookie Van Jefferson earns the No. 3 receiver role, or at the very least eats into Reynolds’ playing time in third-down situations when route-running is prioritized. Reynolds has an edge thanks to his familiarity with the Rams’ offense, but Jefferson has been mentioned as a combination of Woods and Kupp.

Reynolds has to show he can come down with contested catches and win at the catch point. He’s not the most physically imposing receiver and has a slimmer frame, but he’s the tallest wideout on the team and must use that height to his advantage.

If he can’t, McVay might prefer Jefferson’s route running in the Rams offense.

 

[SeminoleRam]

I think the Rams are in really good shape at WR with Woods, Kupp, Reynolds and Jefferson (I think Jefferson will be a great player/addition!)!!!

 

[Memento]

I think the Rams are in really good shape at WR with Woods, Kupp, Reynolds and Jefferson (I think Jefferson will be a great player/addition!)!!!

And there's quite a few young players (Nsimba Webster, Easop Winston Jr., Earnest Edwards IV, Trishton Jackson, Brandon Polk, even Greg Dortch) that I like as well. I would not be surprised for the Rams to keep seven receivers on the roster.

 

[snackdaddy]

Reynolds is a good candidate to break out. With Cooks gone I imagine he's going into camp as the WR3. But I wouldn't be surprised to see Jefferson take that spot before the year is over.

 

[Petrowsky]

I’ve always liked Reynolds as a depth WR. For someone who has been the 4th WR on the team during his career, and will likely be the 4th WR after Jefferson comes along, I think the Rams could do much worse. Reynolds definitely has some flaws. I wish he was catching more of the passes thrown his way, but I think we are lucky to have him. If he could develop some of his deficiencies I think he could be very valuable. The Rams had a black hole at WR for a decade. I’m just happy this team has a good WR corp again. While Reynolds is definitely playing 4th fiddle, he is still a part of the equation that makes me so confident in this group.

 

[TSFH Fan]

Here’s an example of Reynolds’ deep speed on a touchdown catch against the Bears that was nullified by a penalty; it’s a play McVay has pointed to in the past as a reason for his confidence in Reynolds.

Hey, can one of you film review experts take a look at that play?

To me it looks like the Bears are in that 6-1 front, the CB 21 Kyle Fuller seems to man up on Reynolds after starting in zone.
The safety, 21 Dix goes to cover the bottom of the screen.
It looks like the Bears send 4 defenders to cover the bottom of the screen where there's no receivers.
(1) Shouldn't Dix be giving deep help?
(2) Doesn't it look like the Bears are defending against a tendency they saw on film? I mean 4 defenders covering empty space?!?

IMHO, I don't see how the play is "an example of Reynolds' deep speed", and it feels that McVay is pumping Reynolds' tires for the fans or something.

YMMV

 

[den-the-coach]

Health with his slender body will always be in question, but it's time for Reynolds to step up this season and in the redzone, he does offer the opportunity with his height and vertical leap. Overall, I expect Reynolds to have his best season to date although I concur with others that Van Jefferson could take over, but Reynolds won't make it easy.

 

[Ram65]

Reynold's numbers or rather lack of lead me to him losing the 3rd WR job to Jefferson very early in the year. Jefferson just needs to learn the plays which I think he is the type of player that will. He is pro-ready. Who knows how many targets Everett will see. Reynolds is still young but, needs to take advantage of any playing time he gets this year. It's still nice to have him available should someone get injured.

 

[Corbin]

I really like Reynolds but his days are numbers with Van. I really see something special in Van, namely his dedication and route running. Reminds me to much of Isaac Bruce to ignore.

2 years from now he's going to do what Cooper Kupp did to the league for over looking him!

 

[oldnotdead]

Why Josh stands out (not in a good way) among the Rams receivers is because his route running IMO is the worst of the projected starting 3 of Woods, Kupp, and Jefferson. Josh still is not a polished route runner because he's a long strider who lacks the burst required to separate consistently at this level. More significantly he's had 5 drops in the last two years, which has been an issue since his collegiate days. For that to still be a problem at this stage of his career is notable.

Josh's breakout year was supposed to be in 2018 when he started 8 games with Cooks out. He played 56% of the offensive snaps. That count dropped in 2019 with the return of Cooks. In 2018 he looked like what he was a decent backup WR but not really someone you want as a starter. Because of his long stride, he's really limited to Y & Z receiving positions.

Jefferson is faster, with better hands, and far superior route running. Barring an injury to any of the other 3 WRs Josh is looking like the #4 WR again. The Rams saw what they needed to see in his 2018 start and his play in 2019 was more of the same. His entire football career has been plagued by dropped passes. You would think it would have been made an emphasis in his offseason training. But apparently it hasn't been. The drafting of Jefferson says it all about the Rams' view of Reynolds (a good backup). He could probably be a rotational starter on another team but he's not going to break the top 3 on his roster. He had is opportunity to "breakout" in 2018 and simply didn't. He followed that up in 2019 with 3 drops. IMO that is the book on Reynolds until he does something to prove otherwise.

 

[Merlin]

Yeah comes down to how quickly Van gets the offense. If he starts hot and has a good grasp of things JRey is gonna be an afterthought. All things being equal, the Rams are going to feature the guy they just drafted vice the impending FA.

It was over for JRey when the Rams prioritized WR in this draft.