Outside of Cooper Kupp, the Rams’ receiving corps has been painfully underwhelming this season. Kupp leads the team with 56 receptions, 607 yards and four touchdowns, which was fully expected, but it’s the gap between him and the next-closest wideout that’s concerning.
Ben Skowronek is second among the Rams’ wide receivers with 23 catches and 221 yards, ahead of Allen Robinson’s 17 catches for 170 yards. Thankfully, Van Jefferson is on the verge of returning and will make his season debut on Sunday against the 49ers.
Jefferson has been out with a knee injury, which he underwent two procedures for this offseason. Just before his second procedure, Sean McVay said Jefferson had “arguably his best practice as a Ram.” Assuming he gets back up to full speed right away, he’s going to have a meaningful impact right away.
The question is, how does his return impact the rest of the wide receiver room? Kupp’s role certainly won’t change, and Robinson is likely to keep playing just about all of the snaps, but everyone else will get fewer opportunities now that No. 12 is back.
Right now, Skowronek is playing 83.8% of the snaps on offense. Brandon Powell is playing 15% and Tutu Atwell is playing just 6%. There isn’t enough room for all three of those players to keep getting meaningful snaps now that Jefferson is back. He’s going to be the No. 3 receiver and may even get more looks than Robinson right off the bat.
After all, Jefferson has already developed a rapport with Matthew Stafford that Robinson is still working on. Stafford and Jefferson had a strong connection on deep passes last season and that should carry over in 2022.
He’s the downfield receiver the Rams desperately need. And because of that, he’s going to get plenty of targets right away.
Expect Skowronek to keep playing fullback and helping as a blocking receiver on running plays. Powell should still get chances on jet sweeps and screens because his speed and elusiveness are valuable. Atwell, whose role is already minimal, will get even fewer snaps now.
It will be a work in progress for the Rams with Jefferson back, but don’t expect it to take very long for him and Stafford to hit a big play down the field.
