L.A. Rams Have the 3rd Best Receiving Trio for 2021 Season: B/R

Getty Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods celebrate a touchdown during their 2018 game against the L.A. Chargers. The Rams' duo and DeSean Jackson were labeled a top three receiving trio by Bleacher Report on Thursday.

Last season, NFL teams operated with three wide receiver sets 60% of the time according to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football, including the Los Angeles Rams at 65%.

But with a new quarterback and new addition to the receiving core comes heightened expectations for the aerial attack – one that now lists the Rams as having the league’s third best WR trio this season per Bleacher Report on Thursday.

Brent Sobleski of B/R placed the Rams at No. 3 ahead of the Tennessee Titans’ trio of Julio Jones, A.J. Brown and former Ram Josh Reynolds and in front of the Cincinnati Bengals triplets of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.

‘They Should be Even Better with a New Triggerman Leading the Offense’

The trio representing the Rams Sobleski points to: Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and the newcomer DeSean Jackson.

Here’s everything you need to know about what Sobleski wrote about the 2021 Rams WR triplets:

The Los Angeles Rams wide receivers are good. They should be even better with a new triggerman leading the offense.

Jared Goff proved to be a fine starting quarterback. But Matthew Stafford brings an entirely different aspect to Sean McVay’s offense because of his ability to improvise and create outside of structure. These qualities should help elevate what’s an already outstanding trio of wide receivers.

Cooper Kupp is a reliable target. He is one of the league’s best receivers in the slot and at creating after the catch. He’s produced the fourth-most slot yards (853) since the start of the 2017 campaign and tied for the third-most missed tackles forced (29) since the beginning of the 2019 season, per Pro Football Focus.

It hasn’t taken long for Stafford to show he can do things Goff can’t.

“The subtleties in terms of how he’s moving defenses, what he’s doing with his eyes. He made a throw out here today that was just disgusting,” Kupp said of Stafford on Sunday. “He is looking guys off mid-throw, where he’s throwing across his body. The ball is out before receivers are looking. Just the subtleties within his drops and how he’s manipulating guys—I think that’s kind of the big thing that I’ve seen.”

Over the last three seasons, Robert Woods has amassed 266 receptions for 3,289 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Now, sprinkle DeSean Jackson into the mix. Granted, the 34-year-old veteran has played in only eight games over the last two seasons. But when healthy, he’s still a vertical threat. Jackson averaged 17.2 yards per catch in his limited opportunities.

The Rams offense should light up opposing defenses.

All Three Have Brought Their Own Consistency to the Rams

In scrutinizing the play of all three over the years, there’s a reason why they start and why they’re revered among Ram fans and the NFL.

As Sobleski mentioned, Kupp is deadly at creating plays after the catch, once telling ESPN Rams reporter Lindsey Thiry in December 2020: “Sometimes people take the approach that the play starts when the ball is snapped and kind of ends when you catch the ball. But for us, there’s a new play that starts as soon as you catch that ball.”

Kupp has put together back-to-back 90-catch seasons. Woods is another who has posted 90-catch campaigns in two straight years. He also caught 86 passes in 2018 during the Rams’ march to the NFC title. And, according to this analytical graph released on July 16 by Tej Seth, Woods is considered more open than De’Andre Hopkins, Antonio Brown and Michael Thomas – three guys who have led the league in receptions or shattered NFL records.

“D-Jax” will be bringing his own flair to the Rams. Of his five career 1,000-yard seasons, two were in Washington when McVay was an assistant there. He joked to reporters on Monday “I told someone else I could probably play another five years in this offense.”