Why starting Josh Reynolds in 2020 could be an issue for the Rams

[SteezyEndo]

I may be wrong about this but I feel Reynolds is at his best in the red zone and should mostly be used in that area.

His strive after contact is pretty damn good for a slender tall dude. I think RZ is his bread n butter. Don’t understand the negative criticism toward JRey. Obviously he was behind a star studded WR corps with Cooks, Woods, Kupp.

 

[NoCoNite]

The issue is he’s trash, and they should move on. He’s had plenty of opportunities to show something. And we needed him to show something.

 

[oldnotdead]

The minute Van Jefferson was drafted Reynolds went back to being #4 and IMO he's trade bait. Also, he's in a bad spot contract wise as with a cap of about $2.3M in a contract year as a #4 WR and a dead cap of $162K he's trade bait or he's gone to help clear cap when they need to start thinking about that. They also have an option with Webster, Polk and others. If he makes the roster it's for this year only IMO. He sealed his fate with his drops and inability to consistently separate in his routes.

 

[CoachAllred]

Jefferson is so much better of a fit.

IMO. Barring injury Jefferson ends up at #4 in receiving production by seasons end.
Kupp,Woods,Higbee in no paticular order will be 1,2 and 3.
Reynolds, Everett and anyone else, Please feel free to prove me wrong.

 

[SteezyEndo]

The issue is he’s trash, and they should move on. He’s had plenty of opportunities to show something. And we needed him to show something.

To be fair the entire Rams team didn’t show us last season. Just saying.

 

[oldnotdead]

McVay's scheme isn't TE heavy in it's emphasis. IMO Higbee's emergence had more to do with Cook's injuries and Reynold's weaknesses. McVay's offensive scheme features his 3 WR's in their layered routes and the TE is more of a dump-off option and receiving changeup. I think McVay has noted the value of Higbee and will use him more, but how much more is debatable. If he uses his 11 personnel less frequently then perhaps Higbee will get more targets.

But remember that the 11 personnel serves another reason. It helps the run game by taking a defender out of the box in terms of making teams play a nickel and it keeps the safeties from crowding the LOS. If McVay returns to his balanced attack then 11 personnel will be his base offensive set and the TE's role as a receiver will be reduced.

The thought that Jefferson might now take the targets that used to go to Cooks would seem to be valid in regard to the aforementioned return to a balanced attack. Let us use 2018 as the measuring stick for McVay's balanced offense. Goff attempted 561 passes in the regular season in that balanced offense. Using that as our basis, let's give him a good 65% completion ratio. That would mean he completes 365 passes or about 23 per game. Frankly given how McVay used his TE's in 2018 when he had a good run game I'd be surprised is 3 or 4 of those completions were to a TE. Considering that all 3 TEs (Higbee, Everett & Hopkins) might rotate in and out just how many will be to Higbee?

Tyler had 24 receptions in 2018's offense. Cooks in 2018 had 80 receptions. Given that Kupp and Woods would be favored by Jared it's not unreasonable to think Jefferson could end up with 35-40 receptions. Josh Reynolds had 29 receptions in 2018 with a couple of drops as well. I can see Tyler getting 30-35 receptions this year but I don't think he's going to come close to last year's 69 receptions unless there are COVID game losses among the WRs. IMO I think Jefferson could end up with at least 40-45 catches this year if he stays healthy and the offense returns to much like that of 2018.

This scheme is WR and RB heavy. I feel the RBs could get more targets in the passing game than the TE's. The TE position is really the most underused and undervalued position in McVay's regular offense.

 

[NoCoNite]

To be fair the entire Rams team didn’t show us last season. Just saying.

True.

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

I do believe we'll be using 2 TE sets more, but based on McVay's recent past, Cooper Kupp's effectiveness out of the slot means we're still going to run a lot of 11 formation, and if that's the case, Reynolds is going to be one of the WRs. I actually think adding Reynolds over Cook gives us some versatility we didn't have. Reynolds has been effective in various spots on the field, he's a very good downfield blocker, and he's going to get a lot of opportunities for us.