Do we already have WR3?

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This by 1000. If either of our 2 receivers go down, McVay will be dramatically limited in what lineups he can put out there.

Defenses will be able to game plan the 3 TEs formation. May not help knowing McVay but I still want to see a Number 3 WR step up to be a Number 2 receiver if one of them goes down.
Last year Puka missed most of the Baltimore game and all of the Jacksonville game.
Davante missed the Seattle game, Atlanta game and finale vs Arizona.
That's a bit less than a third of the season without our #1 and #2 wide receivers and we went 3-2 in those games. Did we lose those 2 because our offense was missing one of those two? That's debatable. The offense score 37 points vs Seattle and lost. The Atlanta game was a total offensive failure. So I'd say we lost 1 game because of those injuries.

How bad do we need a #3 WR? Lots of talk about Aaron Donald returning and as much as we'd like to think it's because he wants to play, it isn't going to be for free. Are those WR vets we speak of going to sign for peanuts? What if it's a choice between a quality vet #3 WR and Aaron Donald. Which way should we go?
 
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Last year Puka missed most of the Baltimore game and all of the Jacksonville game.
Davante missed the Seattle game, Atlanta game and finale vs Arizona.
That's a bit less than a third of the season without our #1 and #2 wide receivers and we went 3-2 in those games. Did we lose those 2 because our offense was missing one of those two? That's debatable. The offense score 37 points vs Seattle and lost. The Atlanta game was a total offensive failure. So I'd say we lost 1 game because of those injuries.

How bad do we need a #3 WR? Lots of talk about Aaron Donald returning and as much as we'd like to think it's because he wants to play, it isn't going to be for free. Are those WR vets we speak of going to sign for peanuts? What if it's a choice between a quality vet #3 WR and Aaron Donald. Which way should we go?
Was kind of thinking the same thing. It would great to know what Goodell will do with Jackson. We may need some funds to sign Decker if needed. If they also feel a WR3 is needed that won't be free. It looks like we currently have almost $19m in cap space, what would Donald even accept to come back? How much is there left if we signed Decker? What contracts could be adjusted to create additional funds. I also wouldn't mind the idea of adding Deebo or Diggs on a 1 year deal but they won't play for free, even with a legit chance to grab a ring. Money could and probably will be key to addressing each of the above.
 
Last year Puka missed most of the Baltimore game and all of the Jacksonville game.
Davante missed the Seattle game, Atlanta game and finale vs Arizona.
That's a bit less than a third of the season without our #1 and #2 wide receivers and we went 3-2 in those games. Did we lose those 2 because our offense was missing one of those two? That's debatable. The offense score 37 points vs Seattle and lost. The Atlanta game was a total offensive failure. So I'd say we lost 1 game because of those injuries.

How bad do we need a #3 WR? Lots of talk about Aaron Donald returning and as much as we'd like to think it's because he wants to play, it isn't going to be for free. Are those WR vets we speak of going to sign for peanuts? What if it's a choice between a quality vet #3 WR and Aaron Donald. Which way should we go?
Why is the question of signing AD signing vs a #3 vet WR being considered as the only scenario? Is it possible that we can get both and that some WR out there will sign a vet minimum a la DeMarcus Robinson in 2023? All are valid questions yet we don't know which ones will truly apply yet.
 
Was kind of thinking the same thing. It would great to know what Goodell will do with Jackson. We may need some funds to sign Decker if needed. If they also feel a WR3 is needed that won't be free. It looks like we currently have almost $19m in cap space, what would Donald even accept to come back? How much is there left if we signed Decker? What contracts could be adjusted to create additional funds. I also wouldn't mind the idea of adding Deebo or Diggs on a 1 year deal but they won't play for free, even with a legit chance to grab a ring. Money could and probably will be key to addressing each of the above.
You can keep Diggs. The Rams have no diva WRs and hopefully never will.
Why is the question of signing AD signing vs a #3 vet WR being considered as the only scenario? Is it possible that we can get both and that some WR out there will sign a vet minimum a la DeMarcus Robinson in 2023? All are valid questions yet we don't know which ones will truly apply yet.
Definitely not the only scenario. Muggmeister just brought up another. What if Alaric is suspended? Do we promote from within or sign somebody like Decker? There are a number of scenarios that actually put signing a #3 WR further down the list. Aaron Donald, LT, etc.
 
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You can keep Diggs. The Rams have no diva WRs and hopefully never will.

Definitely not the only scenario. Muggmeister just brought up another. What if Alaric is suspended? Do we promote from within or sign somebody like Decker? There are a number of scenarios that actually put signing a #3 WR further down the list. Aaron Donald, LT, etc.
We could sign Donald for the veteran minimum or a little more depending on how much a 3rd receiver will cost and give him a bonus that can be done over a couple voidable years.

I think Donald would sign for 20 million since he has been out so long. So, 7 million for the first year. Then sign Decker to a veteran minimum as well with a signing bonus. And the third receiver for 8 to 10 million.

We have a lot of room for next year right now. I see us signing Puka and either Avila or Dodson and either Young or Turner for next year.
 
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We could sign Donald for the veteran minimum and give him a bonus that can be done over a couple voidable years.

I think Donald would sign for 20 million since he has been out so long. So 7 million for the first year. Then sign Decker to a veteran minimum as well with a signing bonus.

We have a lot of room for next year right now. I see us signing Puka and either Avila or Dodson and either Young or Turner for next year.
Sure. We, as fans, can find the cap room for everything. Except that's not how it works. I have no idea what their books look like and how everything fits. It's quite possible you are correct and it's no big deal getting AD, Decker and a quality 3rd WR. We'll see if that's the way they roll.
 
Last year Puka missed most of the Baltimore game and all of the Jacksonville game.
Davante missed the Seattle game, Atlanta game and finale vs Arizona.
That's a bit less than a third of the season without our #1 and #2 wide receivers and we went 3-2 in those games. Did we lose those 2 because our offense was missing one of those two? That's debatable. The offense score 37 points vs Seattle and lost. The Atlanta game was a total offensive failure. So I'd say we lost 1 game because of those injuries.

How bad do we need a #3 WR? Lots of talk about Aaron Donald returning and as much as we'd like to think it's because he wants to play, it isn't going to be for free. Are those WR vets we speak of going to sign for peanuts? What if it's a choice between a quality vet #3 WR and Aaron Donald. Which way should we go?
We go Aaron Donald every time. A 35 year old Aaron Donald 85 percent of what he used to be is better than most. Besides, with the playmaking tight ends we have WR3 is not so much a priority. Heck, they can use 3 tight ends and make it look like 11 personnel.
 
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Last year Puka missed most of the Baltimore game and all of the Jacksonville game.
Davante missed the Seattle game, Atlanta game and finale vs Arizona.
That's a bit less than a third of the season without our #1 and #2 wide receivers and we went 3-2 in those games. Did we lose those 2 because our offense was missing one of those two? That's debatable. The offense score 37 points vs Seattle and lost. The Atlanta game was a total offensive failure. So I'd say we lost 1 game because of those injuries.
Quick note on that Falcons game.

I'd say that the inability to tackle Bijan Robinson and the play of LT DJ Humphries far outweighed any loss at WR.
 
No, our WR depth is a concern.

This is mostly a media driven narrative. Look at the actual facts.

Games without either Puka or Davante last year:

35 pts against the Jags
37 pts against Seattle
17 pts against the Falcons (would have been much more if not for Alaric being out)
37 pts against the Cardinals

Atlanta is the outlier and that is solely because DJ Humphries played the worst game at LT that I've ever seen.

The reason we didn't miss much of a beat is in part to the TE usage, BUT its also worth noting the games Smith and Mumpfield had in that Thursday night game.

Smith made strides at WR last year
Whittington is young and could improve
Mumpfield was a rookie and got some PT last year
Daniels is a rookie

The world has lost their collective minds over this because of the Ty Simpson pick, but you have to remember that at one point, Quentin Lake was considered a JAG. Kinchens is a safety who people don't know of. Jaylen Watson was a 7th round pick. Backup T was so much more of a concern, so this third WR talk is just bizarre to me. And to top it off, we took Max Klare who provides an element to our TE room that we didn't really have, and is a good receiving TE. That pick goes toward helping if our of our WRs go down too.

I think the odds of our of those four progressing into being an average starting caliber WR is decently high.
 
If one agreed, my guess is the same could said about the vast majority of teams in the league past their top two starters.
Rams: Puka, Adams, Mumpfield
SF: Pearsall, Evans, DRob
Sea: JSN, Kupp, Shaheed
Ariz: Harrison Jr., Wilson, Bourne

Philly: Smith, Lemon, Wicks
NYG: Nabors, Slaton, Mooney
Dal: Lamb, Pickett, Flournoy
Wash: McLaurin, Williams, McCaffrey

Chicago: Odunze, Burton, Raymond
Green Bay: Watson, Reed, Golden
Detroit: St. Brown, Williams TeSlaa
Minn: Jefferson, Addison, Jennings

Atlanta: London, Dotson, Zaccheas
N. Orleans: Olave, Tyson, Vele
Tampa: Egbuka, Godwin, McMillan
Carolina: McMillan, Coker, Legette

****Now, along side list their TE depth.
 
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For anybody interested, YouTubeTV (ACC Network) is showing the Miami/FSU game from October right now. First score for Miami? CJ Daniels TD. CJ Daniels had 5 catches for 78 yards 2 TDs. What I like is Herbstreit saying "these WRs really know how to block. That's why they run a lot of condensed formations". Hmmmm.
 
Could we draft another Bruce or Holt who stinks at run blocking, just so Stafford can throw him 60 yrd TD bombs behind the secondary on the regular…
 
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You can keep Diggs. The Rams have no diva WRs and hopefully never will.

Definitely not the only scenario. Muggmeister just brought up another. What if Alaric is suspended? Do we promote from within or sign somebody like Decker? There are a number of scenarios that actually put signing a #3 WR further down the list. Aaron Donald, LT, etc.
Most definitely but still doesn't mean they can't bring a cheap one in hence why I gave a DeMarcus Robinson example. My guess is the Rams assess what they have during training camp then make moves only if they feel they may be lacking in that area. Their depth past Puka and Adams is really questionable since they are all really unproven. WR depth is a huge weakness on a pretty damn good roster. Obviously if Puka and Adams stay healthy this is a moot point but I'd applaud adding a vet that doesn't break the bank. At worst it'll strengthen the WR room for our young WRs to have even more knowledge to pull from.
 
For anybody interested, YouTubeTV (ACC Network) is showing the Miami/FSU game from October right now. First score for Miami? CJ Daniels TD. CJ Daniels had 5 catches for 78 yards 2 TDs. What I like is Herbstreit saying "these WRs really know how to block. That's why they run a lot of condensed formations". Hmmmm.
Relying on a rookie to ball out in his first year is asking a lot. For every Puka, there's a lot more Mumpfields out there. I highly doubt CJ Daniels will play a huge role in our offense year 1. I think he's more of a developmental project. I hope I'm completely wrong about this by the way :laugh4:
 
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This is mostly a media driven narrative. Look at the actual facts.

Games without either Puka or Davante last year:

35 pts against the Jags
37 pts against Seattle
17 pts against the Falcons (would have been much more if not for Alaric being out)
37 pts against the Cardinals

Atlanta is the outlier and that is solely because DJ Humphries played the worst game at LT that I've ever seen.

The reason we didn't miss much of a beat is in part to the TE usage, BUT its also worth noting the games Smith and Mumpfield had in that Thursday night game.

Smith made strides at WR last year
Whittington is young and could improve
Mumpfield was a rookie and got some PT last year
Daniels is a rookie

The world has lost their collective minds over this because of the Ty Simpson pick, but you have to remember that at one point, Quentin Lake was considered a JAG. Kinchens is a safety who people don't know of. Jaylen Watson was a 7th round pick. Backup T was so much more of a concern, so this third WR talk is just bizarre to me. And to top it off, we took Max Klare who provides an element to our TE room that we didn't really have, and is a good receiving TE. That pick goes toward helping if our of our WRs go down too.

I think the odds of our of those four progressing into being an average starting caliber WR is decently high.
No guarantee those numbers will remain the same so using last year's number don't mean much. Will 13 be as successful this upcoming year?.... I dunno, I hope so but you bet your ass teams will adjust. Whittington isn't going to improve much, he's a JAG for sure and we know what we have in him. Smith showed deep ball ability but not much else in my opinion so TBD there but he's a small dude so not a fan of that part necessarily. Mumpfield was meh last year but he can improve but I'm not banking on it being a crazy improvement personally but hope I'm surprised there. CJ Daniels is a rookie so I'm not expecting anything at all because well he's a rookie lol. So basically you've proven my point that they are all basically unproven. Lastly banking on Klare to all of a sudden ball out as a rookie is a stretch to me. Will he have moments, possibly? Will he be inconsistent as hell? I think so dude is a rookie. I hate to say it, but there seems to be some homerism involved in these projections. I'm all for hoping I'm completely wrong here, but I look at all these players you mentioned as future type picks whereas a trade for say a Garrett is win now. Just shows to me that the Rams plan was to add impact players for now and still draft for the future by getting players with good developmental traits that fit the team.
 
Quick note on that Falcons game.

I'd say that the inability to tackle Bijan Robinson and the play of LT DJ Humphries far outweighed any loss at WR.
That game was shit honestly lol.....still doesn't change we have unproven WRs behind Puka and Adams. If you disagree, please provide examples of what WRs are proven besides these 2. Can't be done, but it'll be interesting to see if the Rams add anyone or just roll with the youngins as our depth. At least it'll be a nice opportunity for the young guns to prove their stuff if the Rams stay put. Either way, hoping for our top guys to stay healthy trumps all of this as I don't want any of our depth tested hahaha