Matthew Stafford won’t be hurting for talent around him in 2024. The Los Angeles Rams have a strong supporting cast on offense, led by receiving tandem Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.
And with the offensive line Los Angeles has constructed, he’ll have no problem turning around and handing the ball off to Kyren Williams. The tight end group is a little bit of a question mark with Tyler Higbee injured, but the addition of Colby Parkinson will certainly help.
All said, the Rams’ skill position players are collectively among the best in the NFL. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell ranked every team’s running backs, wide receivers and tight ends heading into the 2024 season and Los Angeles cracked the top 10 by being ranked No. 9.
Barnwell highlighted the Rams’ big three of Kupp, Nacua and Williams as a reason for their high ranking on the list, despite concerns outside of those three players.
It helps when a team finds two of the most valuable contributors at their positions on Day 3 of the draft. Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua emerged as stars last season, accelerating Los Angeles’ offensive rebuild and helping create a path forward for a team that had been overly reliant on Cooper Kupp. When Kupp, Nacua and Williams all were on the field together, Matthew Stafford posted a 72.1 QBR. That would have been the third-best mark in football over the full season, within one point of leaders Brock Purdy and Dak Prescott.
The biggest question with the Rams’ skill players is durability. Though Nacua never missed a game as a rookie, Kupp has been banged up in each of the last two years and throughout his career since 2017. Williams broke his foot in 2022 and missed time with an ankle injury last season before injuring his foot again this spring.
The Rams could be in some trouble at receiver if either Nacua or Kupp were to go down because that would thrust either Tutu Atwell or someone like Jordan Whittington into a starting role alongside Demarcus Robinson.
There’s a big drop-off from that top three, at least on paper. Demarcus Robinson was fine as the third wideout in 2023, but the next wideout up would be Tutu Atwell. Rookie Blake Corum is the primary backup behind Williams. And at tight end, while the Rams signed Colby Parkinson to a surprisingly large deal in free agency, Tyler Higbee tore his ACL during the postseason and probably won’t be ready for Week 1. L.A. can be elite if everyone is on the field, but I’m a little nervous about that happening consistently.
There’s a ton of promise with this group, but also some minor concerns when it comes to injuries. The Rams simply have to hope everyone stays healthy for at least most of the season because if that happens, the offense is going to be one of the best in football behind an outstanding offensive line.
