It's time to turn and face the strange, Los Angeles Rams fans. That's right. Ch...ch...changes are coming to the team at a pretty rapid pace, and I'm not clear that the team will settle into a predictably slower pace for some time. You see, the team spent money foolishly in 2024. That's right. The team had the most expensive offense in the NFL in 2024 but did not even finish among the upper half of teams in terms of offensive output - also known as points scored.
Whenever that happens, you can brace for changes to the team. In spite of a veteran offense that was still dependent upon the two remaining weight-bearing walls in QB Matthew Stafford and WR Cooper Kupp, the team simply did not have much offensive horsepower.
When it comes to the LA Rams roster, we have to step back a bit. So many things are flying at us all at once that it's tough to segregate and focus on one matter at a time. Even now, with the matter decided to the point where it's all over but the shouting, Rams fans remain confused and dismayed by the team's lightning-swift decision to move on from veteran WR Cooper Kupp.
Whether you agree with the decision, I'm confident that this was not as swift as you might initially think. The Rams offense sputtered much of the time in 2024. While that may start some fans down the path of who was to blame for the offensive struggles, I'm more concerned about why some of the best offensive coaching minds in the NFL were so lackadaisical about correcting the problem. Was it a matter of too many holes in the dyke to plug at a time? Or was there something more subtle at work?
To understand that, we need to revisit some areas for clues.
Much like the old Sesame Street video game of 'one of these things is not like the other . . .', the Rams offense ran along on its course but something changed. Perhaps the better perspective is more aptly worded 'someone changed.'
But with the team sputtering in 2024, perhaps it's best to dial back the view to 2023. After all, the team averaged 23.8 points per game that year. While not amazing by any means, the offense was good enough to rank eighth in points scored. In 2024, the offense averaged 21.6 points per game (helped by an opportunistic defense), that was only good enough to land as 20th in terms of points scored.
The difference was across the board. In 2023, the Rams had 26 passing touchdowns and 18 rushing touchdowns. In 2024, the Rams had 22 passing touchdowns and 15 rushing touchdowns. In 2023, six wide receivers scored at least one touchdown. In 2024, only four wide receivers crossed the plane. In 2023, four running backs found the end zone. In 2024, only one running back scored.
So it was less a question of getting less production from key contributors. The challenge lay in getting fewer contributors in 2024 to score, resulting in a precipitous drop in scoring by the team as a whole. Well, that is a clue, and one that I don't think many had expected to find. So let's see what else we can unearth . . .
Puka Nacua became a compatible Kupp offensive weapon, in 2023
Some point to the meteoric rise of young wide receiver Puka Nacua since 2023 as an emerging contributor to the Rams offense, allowing the team to view Cooper Kupp as some form of luxury that the team no longer needs as the team pivots to face 2025. But Nacua emerged in 2023, and in many ways it was Kupp's injuries in 2023 that created the rare opportunity for a rookie wide receiver to be given opportunities to compete in his first month in the NFL.
And Puka Nacua wasted no time in laying claim to a larger and larger role in the Rams offense.
If the Rams viewed the emergence of Puka Nacua as the catalyst to move on from veteran WR Cooper Kupp, then the team missed the ideal window to leverage that decision when the team limped into its Week 6 BYE with a record of 1-4 and facing an uphill battle for the remainder of the 2024 NFL season. In fact, some teams did in fact contact that Rams over the topic of trading for Cooper Kupp at that time, and reports suggest that they made fair offers at the time.
Of course, the Rams rejected those offers, finishing the season with a record of 10-7 and advancing as far as the Divisional Round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs.
But throughout 2023 and 2024, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua were extremely compatible. In many ways, Kupp took Nacua under his wing and showed him the NFL ropes, undoubtedly aiding Nacua to skyrocket to one of the NFL's most accomplished young wide receivers in just two years time. As far as what's changed to suddenly force the Rams hand at creating roster opportunities for a young wide receiver, Nacua fails to fit the description.
So who might be a young wide receiver with tremendous upside who needs a larger role in the offense to avoid becoming pot bound?
Jordan Whittington's emergence made Cooper Kupp expendable
Rookie wide receiver Jordan Whittington had a similar type of season in 2024 that Puka Nacua had placed on display in 2023. The difference? In 2023, the Rams welcomed back Cooper Kupp but decided to trade veteran wide receiver Van Jefferson. So Nacua's emergence created the same response in 2023 that Whittington's emergence appears to be creating now. Jefferson landed with the Atlanta Falcons.
But Puka Nacua set All-Time NFL Rookie Receiver records, and Whittington struggled to see playing time. Ah, but that is what precipitated this decision, you see. Whenever Cooper Kupp played, Whittington didn't. Kupp was on the football field in Weeks 1 and 2 but sat out Weeks 3 through 7, finally sitting out Week 18 as well. Rookie WR Jordan Whittington's most productive games were Week2 3, 4, 5, and 18.
Notice the pattern? In those four games, Whittington hauled in 19 of 25 passes for 265 receiving yards and zero touchdowns. On the season, Whittington hauled in 22 of 28 passes for 293 yards. As you can see, Whittington's best work happened when Cooper Kupp was not on the football field.
Was it an anomaly? It's tough to come to that conclusion. In Week 18, Whittington was on full display against the Seattle Seahawks starting secondary. On the day, he haled in three of four passes for 86 yards. He also rushed twice for another 12 yards. That is an outstanding day for a player to come off the bench and put up those kind of numbers against a division rival, while catching passes from the backup quarterback.
It was a finale that convinced the team that Jordan Whittington is indeed ready for a larger role.
While Whittington did not catch 39 passes in his first four NFL games like Nacua, he was not targeted 52 times either. He did catch 18 of 23 passes, which is a slightly better catch rate. The team traded Van Jefferson to keep a red hot rookie wide receiver, Puka Nacua, on the football field in 2023. Now, the team is simply walking the same path, but only at the end of the season, to trade Cooper Kupp to return a red hot rookie wide receiver, Jordan Whittington, to the football field in 2025.
Better late than never, righ? As always, thanks for reading.
