Turf Show Times
Will the Rams use their tight ends more after drafting Terrance Ferguson?
When the Los Angeles Rams took a tight end with the 46th overall pick over cornerbacks like Trey Amos and Will Johnson, some were left surprised. It was true that head coach Sean McVay had wanted a receiving tight end in the offense. In 2023, the Rams tried to trade up for Dalton Kincaid. Last year, they attempted to trade up for Brock Bowers to no avail. At the same time, cornerback was one of the biggest needs on the roster.
Last season, the Rams secondary ranked 28th in EPA allowed per pass and 26th in yards per pass allowed. This was all with a top-10 quarterback pressure rate and bottom-10 blitz rate. Essentially, despite a top-level pass rush and lower blitz rate that left more players in coverage, the Rams secondary struggled. They got better as the year went on, but they were still only 20th in EPA per pass in Weeks 10-17.
Meanwhile, looking at the Rams tight end usage, it simply wasn’t there despite spending on Colby Parkinson in free agency. Among 35 tight ends that ran 250 routes, Parkinson ranked 32nd in target share and targets per game. He also ranked just 29th in targets per route run and was 34th in yards per route run. It is fair to note that Parkinson only ran a route on 48.1 percent of the Rams’ dropbacks. With that said, the production didn’t match the expectation when Parkinson was signed.
Because of Parkinson’s lack of production, there is now a narrative that McVay and the Rams don’t utilize tight ends in the offense. However, that ignores that when Tyler Higbee returned from injury, he was a primary focal point. It’s a small sample size, but from Week 16 until the divisional round playoff loss, Higbee was one of the most involved tight ends in the NFL.
During those five weeks, Higbee led all tight ends with 0.34 targets per route. This was despite Higbee’s route percentage of 43.8 percent being far lower than Parkinson’s 48.1 percent for the season. Is it possible the issue was the player and not the offense?
When taking the Rams head coach job, McVay figured that he would largely use 12 personnel offensive packages. During his first draft, the Rams used a second-round pick on tight end Gerald Everett to pair with Higbee. However, Kupp stood out in training camp and McVay adjusted. Kupp’s ability to feel out zone coverage and his willingness to block forced the Rams to reconsider that plan. It was about players, not plays.
With Kupp struggling down the stretch and now no longer in the offense, McVay could go back to that original plan. As Ted Nguyen of The Athletic wrote,
“Ferguson will help replace some of what Kupp did as a blocker. McVay won’t ask Ferguson to block defensive ends one-on-one frequently as a rookie — they still have Tyler Higbee for that — but...
