5 breakout offensive stars for LA Rams Coach O’Connell

TE Everett

LA Rams tight end Gerald Everett is playing for his career in 2020. His contract expires at the end of the season, and his teammate tight end Tyler Higbee showed up in a huge way in 2020, so huge that he could perform among the top NFL tight ends in 2020. Meanwhile, Everett was left behind, a tight end who agreed to be a blocker while his teammate caught the ball for big yardage. The media and fans noticed Higbee. But head coach Sean McVay noticed Gerald Everett.

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A year later, and the narrative has changed. Now it’s Gerald Everett finding himself as the topic for head coach McVay.  While Everett has improved gradually each year, the progress has been slower than many fans would like. Until 2020, the Rams have been almost exclusively a three or four-wide receiver set team.  One tight end in, emphasizing blocking, meant fewer opportunities to catch the ball.  Case in point, the Rams have targeted tight end Everett just 142 times in his three-year career.  In two seasons, Brandin Cooks was targetted 189 times.

The Rams have the incentive to do as much as they can to help Everett succeed. More targets mean more catches and more yards. If Everett, like Reynolds, has a career season for the Rams, the Rams will either re-sign a solid performer on offense or allow him to sign elsewhere and place the team into the running for a compensatory pick in 2021.