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For a team that loves 11 personnel sets, the Rams sure showed some flair out of 12 personnel in the second half of the 2019 season.
And hey, if it works? Run it the next year, too.
This group of Rams tight ends is full of on-the-rise talent. That means their star might be forming at the correct time, because we could see head coach Sean McVay continue to run an increased number of plays out of two-tight end sets this season. And because the team drafted under-the-radar talent Brycen Hopkins into a group that already included Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett, the Rams may even be hinting at their continued commitment to more 12 personnel — and perhaps to keep four tight ends on the roster.
But what might that mean for their receivers room? And how could this tight end rotation really shake out, “safety valves” and all?
Projected Rams tight end depth chart
PLAYER HT WT EXP COLLEGE
Tyler Higbee
6-6
255
5
W. Kentucky
Gerald Everett
6-3
240
4
S. Alabama
Johnny Mundt
6-4
233
3
Oregon
Brycen Hopkins
6-4
245
R
Purdue
Kendall Blanton
6-6
262
1
Missouri
Ethan Wolf
6-6
252
1
Tennessee
Jourdan Rodrigue: Well, I saw your joke a while back that we might have to change the name of our podcast to “12 Personnel” because of the increased usage of that package — and the drafting of Hopkins — and I’ll tell you what, I’m going to keep reusing that joke until the wheels fall off because it just doesn’t get old. Also what won’t get old for the Rams: Continuing this revival of 12 personnel through the fall. Why did it work so well for them, from what you saw last season?
Rich Hammond: It’s such a great podcast name, though! Why, Sean? Well, it seemed to work on a number of fronts. Incorporating Higbee, in particular, into the offense made things less predictable for opposing defenses. Higbee was an outstanding safety valve for Jared Goff, and he made the most of his opportunity with steady hands and some underrated catch-and-run ability. Todd Gurley used to be one of those safety valves in the pass game, but after his production diminished, the Rams needed something else.
Up front, adding a second tight end — usually Mundt — helped the line and the run game. Bobby Evans played well as a rookie at right tackle after Rob Havenstein’s injury, and I don’t want to downplay that but he also got a lot of help in those bigger packages. Mundt and Higbee both are great blockers. What this all means for Everett, I’m still not sure, but the Rams found something in the second half of the season that almost instantly revitalized their offense.
Rodrigue: The “safety valve” idea is an interesting one, particularly with the expected emergence of Cam Akers in the running game — adding his ability as a pass-catcher, too. Would that mean less reliance on 12 personnel or would that just mean, “Yay, we have all of our layers and options back”?
I do think that drafting Hopkins meant a couple of things for the Rams. One, they aren’t ready to move away from 12 personnel and hope he can develop into a role player in the passing game, and two, in case they can’t work out a couple of upcoming contracts (Everett in particular), Hopkins becomes the roster safety valve in 2021. Everett is entering the final year of his rookie deal, but unlike receiver Cooper Kupp, I don’t see the Rams extending him prior to 2021 — or maybe at all, despite his increased production season over season — if they have a rookie waiting in the wings who won’t cost them anything for the next few years.
Hammond: Given the Rams’ salary-cap concerns — we could just cut and paste this part in each of our discussions — I don’t see them re-signing Everett. And I like Everett’s game. In the best of times, he’s a matchup nightmare, but the consistency just hasn’t been there. And it seems reasonable to think Hopkins will be a controllable replacement with a similar skill set.
My question is: Are the Rams really going to carry four tight ends this season? Higbee is locked in for four more seasons. Mundt doesn’t get a lot of attention, but he’s valuable. They just drafted Hopkins. Readers and listeners have asked about trading Everett. I suppose that’s a possibility, but for what? Everett is a former second-round pick who has 86 catches in three years. Is a team really going to give up an asset to get him in a contract year? Why wouldn’t they just do what the Rams did, and draft a tight end?
Or is this the year McVay — a former tight ends coach who had Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis in Washington — goes all-in with his tight end usage? We’ve been waiting to see that for a while.
Gerald Everett has seven touchdown catches in 45 games with the Rams. (Dale Zanine / USA Today)
Rodrigue: In regard to an Everett trade, I don’t think so. This isn’t anything against him because I think he’s a good player, but if you’re going to trade a second-rounder, especially before he’s due a contract, you want at least the equivalent of a second-rounder in return. Very few tight ends would command such a market. To cut this off, too, the tight end tag this year was about $10.7 million, and I wouldn’t think Everett would be in that category either (unless he had an absolute George Kittle-esque breakout year).
Because of the extra roster allowances this season, I think the Rams see a bit of a loophole here, in that they can get away with carrying four tight ends — especially if one or two are designated in blocking support. You can carry 55 players on game days now, and teams probably will need more based on health protocols likely coming the league’s way soon. So in a year when you might see roster and practice-squad expansion, they can develop Hopkins and see what he’s got and continue to see whether Everett is a long-term option without immediately extending him. If he would command too much money (and I’m all for players going out and getting their money, by the way), they would have someone waiting in the wings to take on the role.
Hammond: I definitely think that’s fair and a smart way to approach it. Beyond all that, my question is: What’s the reasonable expectation for Higbee? It’s funny — other reporters and I watched this guy in training camp in 2016 and 2017 and thought, “Wow, there’s something there,” but he never was able to put it all together in games. Then, all of a sudden, his pumpkin turned into a carriage. I mean, this guy had 522 yards in five games last December. He had 502 yards total in his previous 16 games!
Is that stretch going to be remembered as a fluke or as the start of something big? I’m still not sure, but I do know Goff has a lot of trust in Higbee and that he figures to be on the field a lot in 2020.
Rodrigue: And the important thing to remember with Higbee is that there is a potential out in his contract after 2020. So I think he and Goff building that rapport and him continuing that positive momentum is the expectation here. It’s something the Rams hope they are correct in betting on, by way of that contract extension, yet still smart enough to give themselves an out if it doesn’t work out. And, again, back to the idea of a safety valve, they have a potential backup plan with Hopkins.
Hammond: So, given all that, how do you see all of this shaking out? We know the Rams’ offense is going to evolve further. We know new offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell will have some input. I’m going to ask for your prediction. The Rams used 11 personnel on 73 percent of their plays in 2019. How far will that dip in 2020?
Rodrigue: Oh, good question. I actually think that we’ll see an increase in 21 and 22 personnel (two running backs), which in my opinion will be the main contributing factor to a decrease in 11 personnel. Ha! Threw a curveball at you! So I believe 11 personnel will dip to 65 to 70 percent because, let’s face it, they won’t get too far away from airing it out, especially with a really talented receivers room. It’s just that those running backs — Akers and Darrell Henderson, especially — can offer so much in the passing game as well as on the ground. Sorry if you thought you’d get a simple answer, Rich.
Hammond: It was a ruse on my part. I’m just trying to figure out what we should rename the podcast.
And hey, if it works? Run it the next year, too.
This group of Rams tight ends is full of on-the-rise talent. That means their star might be forming at the correct time, because we could see head coach Sean McVay continue to run an increased number of plays out of two-tight end sets this season. And because the team drafted under-the-radar talent Brycen Hopkins into a group that already included Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett, the Rams may even be hinting at their continued commitment to more 12 personnel — and perhaps to keep four tight ends on the roster.
But what might that mean for their receivers room? And how could this tight end rotation really shake out, “safety valves” and all?
Projected Rams tight end depth chart
PLAYER HT WT EXP COLLEGE
Tyler Higbee
6-6
255
5
W. Kentucky
Gerald Everett
6-3
240
4
S. Alabama
Johnny Mundt
6-4
233
3
Oregon
Brycen Hopkins
6-4
245
R
Purdue
Kendall Blanton
6-6
262
1
Missouri
Ethan Wolf
6-6
252
1
Tennessee
Jourdan Rodrigue: Well, I saw your joke a while back that we might have to change the name of our podcast to “12 Personnel” because of the increased usage of that package — and the drafting of Hopkins — and I’ll tell you what, I’m going to keep reusing that joke until the wheels fall off because it just doesn’t get old. Also what won’t get old for the Rams: Continuing this revival of 12 personnel through the fall. Why did it work so well for them, from what you saw last season?
Rich Hammond: It’s such a great podcast name, though! Why, Sean? Well, it seemed to work on a number of fronts. Incorporating Higbee, in particular, into the offense made things less predictable for opposing defenses. Higbee was an outstanding safety valve for Jared Goff, and he made the most of his opportunity with steady hands and some underrated catch-and-run ability. Todd Gurley used to be one of those safety valves in the pass game, but after his production diminished, the Rams needed something else.
Up front, adding a second tight end — usually Mundt — helped the line and the run game. Bobby Evans played well as a rookie at right tackle after Rob Havenstein’s injury, and I don’t want to downplay that but he also got a lot of help in those bigger packages. Mundt and Higbee both are great blockers. What this all means for Everett, I’m still not sure, but the Rams found something in the second half of the season that almost instantly revitalized their offense.
Rodrigue: The “safety valve” idea is an interesting one, particularly with the expected emergence of Cam Akers in the running game — adding his ability as a pass-catcher, too. Would that mean less reliance on 12 personnel or would that just mean, “Yay, we have all of our layers and options back”?
I do think that drafting Hopkins meant a couple of things for the Rams. One, they aren’t ready to move away from 12 personnel and hope he can develop into a role player in the passing game, and two, in case they can’t work out a couple of upcoming contracts (Everett in particular), Hopkins becomes the roster safety valve in 2021. Everett is entering the final year of his rookie deal, but unlike receiver Cooper Kupp, I don’t see the Rams extending him prior to 2021 — or maybe at all, despite his increased production season over season — if they have a rookie waiting in the wings who won’t cost them anything for the next few years.
Hammond: Given the Rams’ salary-cap concerns — we could just cut and paste this part in each of our discussions — I don’t see them re-signing Everett. And I like Everett’s game. In the best of times, he’s a matchup nightmare, but the consistency just hasn’t been there. And it seems reasonable to think Hopkins will be a controllable replacement with a similar skill set.
My question is: Are the Rams really going to carry four tight ends this season? Higbee is locked in for four more seasons. Mundt doesn’t get a lot of attention, but he’s valuable. They just drafted Hopkins. Readers and listeners have asked about trading Everett. I suppose that’s a possibility, but for what? Everett is a former second-round pick who has 86 catches in three years. Is a team really going to give up an asset to get him in a contract year? Why wouldn’t they just do what the Rams did, and draft a tight end?
Or is this the year McVay — a former tight ends coach who had Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis in Washington — goes all-in with his tight end usage? We’ve been waiting to see that for a while.
Gerald Everett has seven touchdown catches in 45 games with the Rams. (Dale Zanine / USA Today)
Rodrigue: In regard to an Everett trade, I don’t think so. This isn’t anything against him because I think he’s a good player, but if you’re going to trade a second-rounder, especially before he’s due a contract, you want at least the equivalent of a second-rounder in return. Very few tight ends would command such a market. To cut this off, too, the tight end tag this year was about $10.7 million, and I wouldn’t think Everett would be in that category either (unless he had an absolute George Kittle-esque breakout year).
Because of the extra roster allowances this season, I think the Rams see a bit of a loophole here, in that they can get away with carrying four tight ends — especially if one or two are designated in blocking support. You can carry 55 players on game days now, and teams probably will need more based on health protocols likely coming the league’s way soon. So in a year when you might see roster and practice-squad expansion, they can develop Hopkins and see what he’s got and continue to see whether Everett is a long-term option without immediately extending him. If he would command too much money (and I’m all for players going out and getting their money, by the way), they would have someone waiting in the wings to take on the role.
Hammond: I definitely think that’s fair and a smart way to approach it. Beyond all that, my question is: What’s the reasonable expectation for Higbee? It’s funny — other reporters and I watched this guy in training camp in 2016 and 2017 and thought, “Wow, there’s something there,” but he never was able to put it all together in games. Then, all of a sudden, his pumpkin turned into a carriage. I mean, this guy had 522 yards in five games last December. He had 502 yards total in his previous 16 games!
Is that stretch going to be remembered as a fluke or as the start of something big? I’m still not sure, but I do know Goff has a lot of trust in Higbee and that he figures to be on the field a lot in 2020.
Rodrigue: And the important thing to remember with Higbee is that there is a potential out in his contract after 2020. So I think he and Goff building that rapport and him continuing that positive momentum is the expectation here. It’s something the Rams hope they are correct in betting on, by way of that contract extension, yet still smart enough to give themselves an out if it doesn’t work out. And, again, back to the idea of a safety valve, they have a potential backup plan with Hopkins.
Hammond: So, given all that, how do you see all of this shaking out? We know the Rams’ offense is going to evolve further. We know new offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell will have some input. I’m going to ask for your prediction. The Rams used 11 personnel on 73 percent of their plays in 2019. How far will that dip in 2020?
Rodrigue: Oh, good question. I actually think that we’ll see an increase in 21 and 22 personnel (two running backs), which in my opinion will be the main contributing factor to a decrease in 11 personnel. Ha! Threw a curveball at you! So I believe 11 personnel will dip to 65 to 70 percent because, let’s face it, they won’t get too far away from airing it out, especially with a really talented receivers room. It’s just that those running backs — Akers and Darrell Henderson, especially — can offer so much in the passing game as well as on the ground. Sorry if you thought you’d get a simple answer, Rich.
Hammond: It was a ruse on my part. I’m just trying to figure out what we should rename the podcast.
