rdw
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Matthew Stafford is locked in for the Rams, so what are next steps on offense?
In the short term, the Rams need to solidify their plan at center. They're also interested in adding layers to the passing game.
theathletic.com
Friday at 10 a.m. PT, he’ll meet virtually with Los Angeles media for the first time as he re-introduces himself to the city and the fan base.
Yet even as Stafford ushers in a new era for the Rams at quarterback, many questions remain about what comes next for the offense as a whole, in both the short term and the long term.
In the short term, the Rams need to solidify their plan for the center position — a priority for them, but one on which they have focused privately as opposed to their splashy re-signing of outside linebacker Leonard Floyd earlier this week.
Instead, the front office is quietly waiting for the bottom to fall out of the center market. Last year’s starter, Austin Blythe, is currently exploring free agency.
Restructured deals for receivers Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, defensive tackle Aaron Donald and left tackle Andrew Whitworth, plus a 2021-friendly structure of Floyd’s deal and the trading of veteran defensive lineman Michael Brockers were moves that helped the team officially get under the cap. But even as Rams got there, there is not much wiggle room.
The safety valve available to them, should they need it, is an automatic conversion built into the two-year contract they inherited with Stafford. If it came to that, they could open up as much as $9.5 million. But that would also mean proration of money into the future and presents its own risks on such a short deal. Sources expressed the desire to try to do a cap-relief extension with Stafford after the initial trade agreement in January in order to backload some money (this would also have to be negotiated with Stafford, who may well want to retire in Detroit by 2023, as hinted at in a beautiful “thank you — not goodbye” video published by the Lions on Wednesday night) — so again, these are safety-valve options.
If Blythe’s market drops, or if he opts into returning on another team-friendly deal, the Rams might not need it.
These seem to be the three scenarios for the Rams at center:
• Re-sign Blythe, who will be 29 when the season begins, and draft a developmental player.
• In the scenario that they can’t bring back Blythe, the Rams either will rely on backup Brian Allen, whose return from a serious leg injury is somewhat of an unknown, or sign another cheap veteran as a stopgap and still draft a developmental center. Earlier this month, general manager Les Snead indicated the team didn’t want to start a rookie at the position right away.
• A worst-case scenario is if the Rams can’t find a viable veteran, they don’t have Blythe and they are dependent on Allen, a relative unknown, and a drafted rookie — thus relying on the draft to completely fall their way and completely showing their hand. I think they need to draft a center/interior offensive lineman in all three scenarios, but only this one means they’d be broadcasting that plan to their competitors.
Along the rest of the offensive line, the Rams may find a little continuity (depending on what happens with Blythe), because they were able to restructure Whitworth’s contract and return him in 2021. The veteran left tackle expects to be fully recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him for eight games in 2020, but still, the team has to start looking toward the future at the position. This year’s tackle draft class may be a good time for that, and Snead praised reserve left tackle Joe Noteboom’s development, too. They’ll also get back Chandler Brewer, who opted out last season because of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the Rams have made it clear that they aren’t competing heavily at receiver in free agency this year — something that has been obvious for a while. They have not been in on conversations with some of the popular names, such as former Lions receivers Marvin Jones (who just signed with the Jaguars) or Kenny Golladay (who is visiting the Giants and the Bears this week), nor were they connected to a much cheaper vertical threat in John Ross (who signed with the Giants).
That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t add someone to their receivers room, which features co-No. 1s in Woods and Kupp (each neared 1,000 yards last season) and emerging No. 2 in Van Jefferson. It’s a great draft to find pure vertical speed in the later rounds. That player would probably get somewhere between 10 and 25 percent of the target share among all of the pass-catchers (which will include tight ends Tyler Higbee and Brycen Hopkins and running backs Cam Akers, Darrell Henderson and Xavier Jones), so it doesn’t make sense to pay big money (or even medium money!) if the Rams believe that layer can be added to their offense through the draft.
Unprompted, Snead also brought up the notion of adding still more layers to the passing game via a good contested-catch receiver or tight end who can “rebound” well. To me, that points toward Hopkins — a former basketball player — whose real development is a bit of a mystery after he spent most of the season running with the reserve players, even though he was on the active roster. I wouldn’t try boxing Higbee out, either.
The only offensive position that has true clarity on the roster — aside from quarterback, thanks to Stafford’s entrance — is running back, where Akers is positioned to be the lead back after emerging in the second half of last season. The Rams lost veteran back Malcolm Brown in free agency (he signed with the Dolphins) but were able to retain blocking tight end Johnny Mundt with a one-year extension, as opposed to a restricted-free-agent tender. Mundt will help open up some holes, and I’ll be interested to see if he plays in the fullback role we saw tight end Gerald Everett, now with the Seahawks, assume with some success last season.
Akers projects as an “every-down back,” according to head coach Sean McVay, but he’ll still be complemented by Henderson and Jones in a room filled with so much potential, this might actually break the Rams’ streak of drafting running backs with early picks.
It might break a streak of not throwing to them, too. Stafford has thrown to his running backs on 22 percent of his career passes. Akers on a wheel route, anyone?
