Time for LA Rams to go 12 and 13 package on offense.

The LA Rams offense has been pushed around by defenses, it’s time to fire up the multiple tight end packages

The LA Rams have four capable tight ends on their roster. The team has two veteran tight ends in Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee. They have a blocking tight end in Johnny Mundt. Finally, the Rams have a rookie tight end in Brycen Hopkins.  Four tight ends who are capable of playing significant offensive snaps in the NFL.  So how is their distribution going?

According to Sharpfootballstats.com, they have been tracking the Rams personnel groupings for the 2020 season.  The Rams have sent three wide receivers and one tight end onto the field 73 percent of the time.  For two tight ends? The Rams have gone with their two tight ends, or 12-subpackage, for 22 percent of the plays. So far, the LA Rams have had 563 offensive snaps.

Who plays most?

Well, we can say with confidence that rookie TE Brycen Hopkins is not getting much playing time. He has only been on the field for two offensive snaps.  His teammate, blocking tight end Johnny Mundt, has not seen much work either.  So far, he has seen action for just 70 offensive snaps. While he is the best blocking tight end on the roster, the Rams have gone away from using him as much as expected.  He has caught all four passes thrown his way for 53 yards.

So it comes down to Everett, who has seen action for 282 offensive snaps, and Tyler Higbee, who has been on the field for 380 offensive snaps. Everett has caught 20 of 27 passes thrown his way for 228 yards and a touchdown.  Higbee has caught 20 of 25 passes thrown his way for 236 yards and three touchdowns.  So the Rams continue to stray from the hard lessons learned in 2019.

Copycat league

Defenses are not blind. They see what works against the Rams offense.  Fortunately, that strategy of zero-blitz is something that the Rams have seen before.  So why does it seem to knock the entire offense off-balance?  Let’s hope the Rams practice two tight end sets to the point of having 12-packages as an option for each game going forward.  Not just to run, and not just to protect Goff. The Rams need to configure route trees from two tight end sets to give quarterback Jared Goff some bonafide options.

The Rams know it’s coming. Prepare now for the inevitable, or be stymied once more before taking action.  The Rams can win those games. But they need to do a better job of being prepared to face aggressive defenses.