There have been a lot of questions about who will help draw some attention away from Cooper Kupp at wide receiver for the Rams this season, particularly after the team traded Allen Robinson to the Steelers in the offseason. Van Jefferson is obviously still in Los Angeles and expected to take over as the No. 2 receiver, but the third spot is wide open – and an important role considering how often the Rams use three-receiver sets.
The Rams are only one week into training camp but Demarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell and Puka Nacua are among the receivers who have stood out in practice. Kupp was asked to predict which receiver will step up as the third option this season and he rattled of a bunch of names who have done a nice job in camp, naming just about every receiver on the roster.
“We’ve got some guys. We’ve got a room that’s honestly a pretty deep room,” Kupp said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “You mentioned Van, you’ve got Tutu, you’ve got Puka Nacua. Good dude, doing some really good stuff as a rookie. You’ve got Demarcus Robinson who’s doing a great job. Ben Skowronek has played a lot of football for us, doing a really good job out there. Tyler Johnson’s been out there doing really good. Austin Trammell, who you saw a little bit last year. Then we’ve got some more rookies that when they’ve gotten opportunities have shown they’re picking up this offense and knowing what they’re doing. Tyler Hudson’s doing a great job. Xavier Smith, Braxton Burmeister. You’ve got guys that can play ball. I’m excited to see these guys compete and really, all of us to compete and push each other. It’ll be interesting to see where it shakes out at the end.”
Kupp obviously didn’t want to play favorites or leave anyone out, so he mentioned every receiver he could think of. The one oversight by Kupp was Lance McCutcheon, who he mistakenly forgot to compliment.
Based on the reports out of training camp so far, it seems like Atwell, Nacua and Robinson are the three favorites to be the No. 3 receiver, especially while Skowronek nurses a bad back. The preseason and joint practices will help separate that group further but it’s good to see some healthy competition at that spot.
