The Los Angeles Rams are one of the last teams you expect to give a rookie offensive weapon a chance to prove himself early in his first NFL season. But there is always that first time, right? And with the Rams facing teams like the Houston Texans (10-7), Philadelphia Eagles (14-3), and Baltimore Ravens (12-5), and with the latter two teams on the road before traveling to London, England, to face the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13), the Rams will need to get a bit more physical.
The Rams boast more than enough offensive weapons. The team currently has six running backs, 12 wide receivers, and six tight ends. But there is only one rookie tight end named Terrance Ferguson, and he could prove to be a difference-maker for the team in 2025.
It's not that Ferguson was selected in Round 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft, nor the fact that the Rams spent the 46th overall pick to acquire the former Oregon Ducks tight end. It's the fact that after three seasons of attempting to trade up for the right tight end in the past, the Rams traded back, got a Round 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft from the Atlanta Falcons, and managed to get a gifted tight end who possesses a rather unique blend of skills for a tight end.
Think of Detroit Lions' veteran tight end Sam LaPorta, but with more of a pass-catching flair about him.
Why Terrance Ferguson and not another rookie?
The Rams are settled at the running back position behind featured running back Kyren Williams. The Rams are settled at the wide receiver position behind the quartet of Davante Adames, Puka Nacua, Tutu Atwell, and Jordan Whittington. But when it comes to the tight end position? There are plenty of opportunities for a rookie to earn a significant amount of playing time.
Of course, he won't be anointed. He will have to earn every offensive snap. But here's why the door is wide open for him to do so.
As easy as it would be to take the default path and project veteran TE Tyler Higbee as the workhorse for the team in 2025, that is a failing strategy. The team cycled through tight ends Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen, and former tight end Hunter Long to find a satisfactory tight end successor to Higbeen in 2024, to no avail. The effort was so disappointing that the team allowed Long to sign a contract to play for a new team uncontested.
But Ferguson is different, and it's those unique abilities that could give him a quick jumpstart in the offense in 2025.
Have the Rams ever worked a tight end that hard?
Rookies do not just show up and play elite NFL football. They need plenty of work. And that is something that Rams fans will simply need to accept. Detroit Lions rookie Sam LaPorta shocked the NFL by starting and catching all five passes thrown his way for 39 yards in his season opener. But he did not start in Week 3. Instead, he exploded against the Seattle Seahawks for eight of eleven receptions for 84 yards and his first NFL touchdown. But in Week 6, he could only muster four of eleven catches for 36 yards.
Rookies are not consistent.
But the Lions stuck with LaPorta. He ended his rookie season by hauling in 86 of 120 passes for 889 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
In all of 2024, all four Rams tight ends combined for 51 receptions out of 83 targets for 459 yards and three touchdowns. So, more changes need to happen in the Rams' offensive strategy to get more out of the tight end position than simply sending Terrance Ferguson onto the football field.
And to be fair, the Rams have never targeted a single tight end as often as the Lions targeted LaPorta in his rookie season. The most targets any single Rams tight end has been targeted in a Sean McVay offense is 108 targets to Tyler Higbee in 2022. And Higbee was not particularly effective that year.
The only time that I can recall the Rams giving any tight end a heavy workload was December 2019. In that month, a depleted Rams offense pivoted to 12-personnel and targeted TE Tyler Higbee 56 times. Higbee responded with 43 receptions, 522 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. It was the most productive period for a tight end in Sean McVay's history with the Rams.
Ironically, it has never been repeated.
Were Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee simply not good enough to warrant larger roles in this offense? It's hard to envision smaller roles for such outstanding wide receivers like Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Brandin Cooks, Puka Nacua, and even Odell Beckham Jr. to find out. The Rams have always played the cards dealt to them. And with aces at wide receiver, there was never the right opportunity to feature the kings at tight end.
McVay does know how to use tight ends
While Rams fans have not seen much in the way of tight end usage in HC Sean McVay's offense, there was a time when McVay mastered the position. When he served as the offensive coordinator for the Washington football team in 2014 through 2016, he coached several memorable tight ends, including TE Niles Paul (converted from WR), Jordan Reed, and Vernon Davis.
Unlike many tight ends at the time who were merely offensive linemen who could catch the occasional pass, Washington's offense boasted tight ends whose primary role was catching passes, with a secondary function of blocking. That is the type of tight end that rookie Terrance Ferguson projects to become in his rookie season if the Rams give him a significant role.
If the Rams are good for their offseason word, then the Rams will likely turn to a significantly heavier dose of 12-personnel in 2025. When the team deployed even a smattering of two tight ends, the team found success last season. But the problem was that without veteran Tyler Higbee, the Rams' passing attack suffered as all three tight ends on the roster were built to block, not to catch passes.
But everything written about Terrance Ferguson screams pass-catcher.
Some NFL draft analysts have even gone so far as to consider Ferguson as a Cooper Kupp replacement, only bigger and stronger than Kupp. While I'm not bold enough to make those assertions, it's an intriguing perspective to keep on the radar screen. It would explain why the Rams were content to select Terrance Ferguson, despite other noteworthy tight ends still sitting on the draft board.
Of course, changes have to happen in the Rams' offensive strategy first. But that triggers the chicken vs. the egg paradox. What I mean is that will Terrance Ferguson's innate talent compel the Rams to change their reluctance to work tight ends more often in this offense? Or will the Rams need to open the door for Terrance Ferguson for him to prove worthy of a significant role in the offense this season?
More than hype, Terrance Ferguson brings passion and production
Sometimes, actions speak louder than words. But the elation of being selected in the NFL Draft is pretty good stuff, too. The Rams have many highlights of players who learn that the Rams have selected them in the NFL draft. But the moment that Oregon TE Terrance Ferguson learned that he was selected by the LA Rams is among the best of the best:
The Rams may have been frustrated at failing to land a top tight end in the past two NFL Drafts, but perhaps they simply saved the best for last. Rather than package multiple picks to move up, the Rams landed a Round 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and emerged with a coveted tight end. Was he truly the Rams' top tight end selection?
Let's not play those what-if scenario games. The Rams did not hold OLB Jared Verse as their top option in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft. But he ultimately was named the 2024 Defensive Rookie Of The Year. So things have a way of working out for the Rams.
But what makes Terrance Ferguson worth optimistic expectations? Let's start by shooting down one of his glaring weaknesses.
NFL Draft Analyst Todd McShay loves Terrance Ferguson. So much so that he made it a point to debunk Ferguson's four dropped passes in 2024, placing him in the lower half in terms of drops ranking. But McShay clarifies the matter here. Just check out the embedded video below.
Another flaw that needs to be debunked is the perceived regression in 2024. Keep in mind that Terrance Ferguson was former quarterback Bo Nix's favored target through 2023, putting up 414 receiving yards and six touchdowns. But he quickly connected with chemistry for new QB Dillon Gabriel in 2024. While his touchdowns decreased to three, his receiving yards improved to 591 yards. So Ferguson was able to pivot to a new quarterback quickly
What about athleticism?
Perhaps the best perspective was shared by former NFL TE Greg Olsen on a recent podcast of 89, a podcast hosted by Steve Smith Sr. and James Palmer. It's a complete 2025 rookie tight end breakdown, and you can catch the breakdown of each player with the following legend:
0:00 - Steve + Greg
11:26 - Colston Loveland
24:04 - Tyler Warren
34:26 - Mason Taylor
45:12 - Terrance Ferguson
50: 34 - Elijah Arroyo
1:03:18 - Harold Fannin Jr
This is one you want to catch. Steve Smith Sr. and Greg Olsen know the NFL, and their praise of Terrance Ferguson as a comparative to Chief's elite tight end Travis Kelce. They love how Ferguson can change speeds instantly.
Oregon has borrowed strategies from the Rams offense, and that has led to a solid reason to bring Ferguson to the Rams offense. Some have argued that Terrance Ferguson was a true option for the Rams at 26. If true, then Greg Olsen touts the Rams grabbing Ferguson at 46 is the 'win of a lifetime.'
Whether or not you may have viewed Terrance Ferguson as an ideal fit in the Rams offense, many NFL experts, both analysts and former players, love this match. And that should be enough to buoy even the most skeptical critics to view Ferguson as a legitimate offensive weapon in 2025.
Regular Season Games
So, when do the Rams give Terrance Ferguson offensive snaps and targets? Using Davis Allen's rookie season for comparison purposes, Terrance Ferguson could see some work as early as Week 7. But I am a bit more optimistic about Ferguson. I suspect that he will see a solid rotational role as early as Week 3 on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles.
I believe that he will have 20+ targets and 15+ catches by the Week 8 BYE. I also expect that he will have his first NFL touchdown as well.
- Week 1 - Houston Texans at Los Angeles Rams
- Week 2 - Los Angeles Rams at Tennessee Titans
- Week 3 - Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 4 - Indianapolis Colts at Los Angeles Rams
- Week 5 - San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams (TNF)
- Week 6 - Los Angeles Rams at Baltimore Ravens
- Week 7 - Los Angeles Rams @ Jacksonville Jaguars (@ Wembley Stadium)
- Week 8 - BYE
- Week 9 - New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Rams
- Week 10 - Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers
- Week 11 - Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams
- Week 12 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Los Angeles Rams (SNF)
- Week 13 - Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers
- Week 14 - Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals
- Week 15 - Detroit Lions at Los Angeles Rams
- Week 16 - Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks (TNF)
- Week 17 - Los Angeles Rams at Atlanta Falcons (MNF)
- Week 18 - Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams
Now for the question most readers are sure to ask. Why?
This team has settled for slow starts and a 10-7 final record in each of the past two seasons. While good enough to gain entrance into the NFL Playoffs, it's not enough to warrant home-field advantage. The Rams have a chaotic defense that can dominate even elite NFL offenses. But the Rams once high-powered offense has been a pale version of those early McVay offenses.
The Rams' front office has cast wider nets to bring new types of players to bear for 2025. This is a Rams depth chart that boasts bigger and faster running backs, Faster and more versatile wide receivers, and pass-catching tight ends.
If the Rams are to have any hope of seamlessly transitioning from veteran TE Tyler Higbee to Terrance Ferguson in 2026, this team has got to stay committed to giving Ferguson plenty of work in 2025. That's not just offensive snaps, but true targets in the passing game as well.
There are many examples of NFL teams committing early in an NFL season to a struggling rookie and reaping the benefits of a formidable, productive contributor at season's end. The Rams could be one more example of that Cinderella story. But the Rams have got to let Ferguson escape the drudgery of sitting on the bench, and allow him the opportunity to dance at the Prince's ball too.
Glass slippers and all.
As always, thanks for reading.
