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Being that everyone is in good spirits I've decided that I'll be going through every major position group this off-season. I figured the WR group would be an interesting one to go through since it's had such a high turnover rate this season due to injuries. I'll only be including starters and not practice squad players.
Ben Skowronek - 6'-3" 225lbs ST / WR -
Rookie grade: C+
A 2021 7th round draft pick out of Notre Dame. Slated to be a pure special teamer this off-season, he however got his shot when players like Woods went down and OBJ was getting acclimated to the Rams offense. He had some moments or flashes of what he could bring to our offense when given the chance. A big bodied strong WR at the point of attack. If you watch his tape at Notre Dame he flourished in the RedZone due to his size and skill of highpointing the ball.
I know some are down on skow but being a ST and given very limited practice time I think he has a bright future w the Rams. We have to remember where he was drafted, what his situation was this year and how he was thrown into the deep end. I could see him putting on ten pounds and becoming more of a hybrid TE/WR RedZone threat. Game just has to slow down for him.
Tutu Atwell - 5'-9" 165lbs - WR
Rookie Grade: N/A
A second round pick out of Louisville. A college standout as a sophomore with over 1200 yards and 12TDs in 11 of 13 games. He biggest question mark is his size. Can someone that weighs barely more than a prepubescent middle schooler make it in the NFL? If history has shown us anything it's an emphatic no. While the jury is still out on this 2nd round pick due to an early season ending injury he's already off to a rough start. The only film I did see of him was in preseason and from a basic eye test he did not look like a special player to me. However, we have to be careful in writing off players that we haven't given a fair chance to. Example Jamar Chase. He looked awful in camp and in preseason, and many fans were already declaring a bust. We all know how he turned out.
My main question for Atwell is how will mcVay use him? Will he be a gadget type of player? Taking over a Tavon Austin type of role? Or is he going to be more of a burner that clears out defenses? I'm leaning towards the first of the two. If you go back to watch his tape the kid can clearly play but as we've seen with so many of these type of fringe or tween players they often get lost in the mix because they cannot be full contributors. Clearly mcVay has a plan for him or he could be a complete bust. With the addition of OBJ and Powell being a good kick returner tutu could be nothing more than overdrafted 2nd rounder. Ouch. Time will tell.
Van Jefferson - 6'-1" 200lbs - WR
Second year grade: B+
A second round pick in 2020 entering his 3rd year w the Rams as the #3 WR. After completing his biggest year with the Rams having over 800 yards and 6 TDs he showed flashes of his crisp route running and speed on the outside taking multiple TDs to the house. My biggest question mark for Van is his ability to beat man coverage. While he's a great 3rd WR option I fear this is all he will ever be if he doesn't learn to become stronger at the point of attack. He often disappears in games but to be fair he is the 3rd option and often gets lost in the mix. I think everyone expects him to get better being WRs often take 3 to 5 years to peak at the position. If he does continue to improve he will eventually take over the No. 2 spot, as woods and OBJ will eventually age out, the Rams will need to be prepared to have their replacement.
Woods and OBJ - #2 WR
Grade: A-
So I decided to put these two in the same category because I view them as both equally skilled but two completely different WRs. Woods as more of the utility WR that does everything well and OBJ as the skilled deep threat with glue for hands. Both have great route running skills and mesh very well with what the Rams want to accomplish on offense. I think brining them both back is a must. However there is a caveat that needs to be discussed. Hypothetically if the Rams bring both back, woods and OBJ will probably miss a lot of training camp. Woods might be 100% around the start of preseason but ACLs take about a full year to recover from. Not to mention reinjury is a possibility. OBJ probably will not be back until week 4 or 6 at best if he doesn't have any setbacks. Which means Stafford and the Rams will again have to deal with reshuffling next year in the WR room. So how do the Rams make this work? As of right now I do not have an answer on this. Not every player is Akers and comes back full strength 6 months after a Achilles tear.
This will take some creativity from the Rams FO and some luck. But in a perfect world if we can have Kupp, Woods and OBJ running our base 11 personnel. Watch out NFL you've been put on notice.
Kupp - #1 WR
Grade: GOAT
What more can you say about Kupp? He's accomplished something that's never been done before in the NFL.
OPOY
Superbowl MVP
Triple crown winner
Jerry rice was able to achieve these accolades throughout his ENTIRE career. Kupp was able to do it in one season. He's the real MVP and no one can dispute that.
This off-season will be an interesting one for the Rams. They will have 40+ mil come off the books for Goff, Gurely, and Brockers. While some of that cap will be used to extend players and sign some new FAs. The Rams are in pretty good shape as it sits right now for 2022. The future is bright.
Ben Skowronek - 6'-3" 225lbs ST / WR -
Rookie grade: C+
A 2021 7th round draft pick out of Notre Dame. Slated to be a pure special teamer this off-season, he however got his shot when players like Woods went down and OBJ was getting acclimated to the Rams offense. He had some moments or flashes of what he could bring to our offense when given the chance. A big bodied strong WR at the point of attack. If you watch his tape at Notre Dame he flourished in the RedZone due to his size and skill of highpointing the ball.
I know some are down on skow but being a ST and given very limited practice time I think he has a bright future w the Rams. We have to remember where he was drafted, what his situation was this year and how he was thrown into the deep end. I could see him putting on ten pounds and becoming more of a hybrid TE/WR RedZone threat. Game just has to slow down for him.
Tutu Atwell - 5'-9" 165lbs - WR
Rookie Grade: N/A
A second round pick out of Louisville. A college standout as a sophomore with over 1200 yards and 12TDs in 11 of 13 games. He biggest question mark is his size. Can someone that weighs barely more than a prepubescent middle schooler make it in the NFL? If history has shown us anything it's an emphatic no. While the jury is still out on this 2nd round pick due to an early season ending injury he's already off to a rough start. The only film I did see of him was in preseason and from a basic eye test he did not look like a special player to me. However, we have to be careful in writing off players that we haven't given a fair chance to. Example Jamar Chase. He looked awful in camp and in preseason, and many fans were already declaring a bust. We all know how he turned out.
My main question for Atwell is how will mcVay use him? Will he be a gadget type of player? Taking over a Tavon Austin type of role? Or is he going to be more of a burner that clears out defenses? I'm leaning towards the first of the two. If you go back to watch his tape the kid can clearly play but as we've seen with so many of these type of fringe or tween players they often get lost in the mix because they cannot be full contributors. Clearly mcVay has a plan for him or he could be a complete bust. With the addition of OBJ and Powell being a good kick returner tutu could be nothing more than overdrafted 2nd rounder. Ouch. Time will tell.
Van Jefferson - 6'-1" 200lbs - WR
Second year grade: B+
A second round pick in 2020 entering his 3rd year w the Rams as the #3 WR. After completing his biggest year with the Rams having over 800 yards and 6 TDs he showed flashes of his crisp route running and speed on the outside taking multiple TDs to the house. My biggest question mark for Van is his ability to beat man coverage. While he's a great 3rd WR option I fear this is all he will ever be if he doesn't learn to become stronger at the point of attack. He often disappears in games but to be fair he is the 3rd option and often gets lost in the mix. I think everyone expects him to get better being WRs often take 3 to 5 years to peak at the position. If he does continue to improve he will eventually take over the No. 2 spot, as woods and OBJ will eventually age out, the Rams will need to be prepared to have their replacement.
Woods and OBJ - #2 WR
Grade: A-
So I decided to put these two in the same category because I view them as both equally skilled but two completely different WRs. Woods as more of the utility WR that does everything well and OBJ as the skilled deep threat with glue for hands. Both have great route running skills and mesh very well with what the Rams want to accomplish on offense. I think brining them both back is a must. However there is a caveat that needs to be discussed. Hypothetically if the Rams bring both back, woods and OBJ will probably miss a lot of training camp. Woods might be 100% around the start of preseason but ACLs take about a full year to recover from. Not to mention reinjury is a possibility. OBJ probably will not be back until week 4 or 6 at best if he doesn't have any setbacks. Which means Stafford and the Rams will again have to deal with reshuffling next year in the WR room. So how do the Rams make this work? As of right now I do not have an answer on this. Not every player is Akers and comes back full strength 6 months after a Achilles tear.
This will take some creativity from the Rams FO and some luck. But in a perfect world if we can have Kupp, Woods and OBJ running our base 11 personnel. Watch out NFL you've been put on notice.
Kupp - #1 WR
Grade: GOAT
What more can you say about Kupp? He's accomplished something that's never been done before in the NFL.
OPOY
Superbowl MVP
Triple crown winner
Jerry rice was able to achieve these accolades throughout his ENTIRE career. Kupp was able to do it in one season. He's the real MVP and no one can dispute that.
This off-season will be an interesting one for the Rams. They will have 40+ mil come off the books for Goff, Gurely, and Brockers. While some of that cap will be used to extend players and sign some new FAs. The Rams are in pretty good shape as it sits right now for 2022. The future is bright.
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