Tavon Austin Needs to Step Up If Wideout Wants Los Angeles Rams to Have No. 1 Offense

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin has high expectations for the offense heading into the 2016 season.

After the Los Angels Rams finished near the bottom of the league in offense last year, Tavon Austin believes the team can turn things around this upcoming season. In fact, Austin believes the Rams’ offense is capable of being No. 1 in the league, but the wideout should focus on taking his game to the next level if the team is going to have any chance of doing so.

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Los Angeles has been patient with Austin over the last three seasons and the former West Virginia standout finally started showing his true potential in 2015 after finding the end zone 10 times. Now, the Rams hope Austin can finally emerge as a consistent No. 1 wide receiver in the passing game and with an upgrade at the quarterback position, there’s every reason to believe it will happen.

One of the main reasons why Los Angeles struggled so much on offense last year was due to poor play at the quarterback position–mainly Nick Foles. Even though the team was smart enough to part ways with Foles in training camp and move up in the 2016 NFL Draft to select Jared Goff, early signs indicate Jeff Fisher will go with Case Keenum as his starter at quarterback in Week 1.

When considering the Rams are talented enough to actually be contenders this year–going with Keenum is the right move by Fisher.

The defense was the main reason behind Los Angeles finishing with a 7-9 record in 2015 and by having one of the league’s top running backs in Todd Gurley, Fisher knows the only way this team is going to reach the next level is with an improved passing game. 2007 was the last time the Rams had a 1,00-yard receiver (Torry Holt) and if Austin can find a way to end this drought, this team may actually have a shot at being strong contenders in the NFC West.

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With that being said, Austin better fix his preseason struggles if this is going to have any chance of happening. Between dropped passes and poor lunch decisions in camp, Austin hasn’t exactly made the Rams feel confident about his chances of being their No. 1 option in the passing game, but he still has plenty of time to turn things around before the meaningful games begin.