Sean McVay’s offenses have always used motioning often, and that remains the case through the first six weeks of the 2023 NFL season for the Los Angeles Rams. Entering Week 7, the Rams are motioning at the snap at the second-highest rate in the NFL.
The Rams are currently motioning at the snap on 40.7 percent of their offensive plays. The only team using motions at a higher rate is the Miami Dolphins, who are deploying it on a whopping 62.2 percent of plays.
Motion report through Week 6!
This is sorted by rate of motion at the snap. The second column is all motion (at snap and motion and set).
Data collected by @ESPNStatsInfo. pic.twitter.com/ijpaOIL2DN
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) October 18, 2023
We’ve seen a trend of ‘cheat motions’ get adopted by teams in the league this season, which were primarily created by Mike McDaniel of the Dolphins. McDaniel began using motions to give Tyreek Hill more free releases and to get him close to full speed before the snap, causing even more headaches for opposing defenses.
For the Rams, McVay has used motions to prevent Tutu Atwell from having defenders get their hands on him. As a result, Atwell has already notched career-best marks in targets (41), receptions (25), receiving yards (309), and receiving touchdowns (2) in the first six weeks.
It’s not a coincidence that a majority of the best offenses in the NFL are utilizing motions at a high rate. And even with Mike LaFleur becoming the team’s new offensive coordinator this season, McVay continues to find ways to deploy his motions for the Rams to make the offense even more effective.
