LA Rams have big plans for tight end Brycen Hopkins in 2021

The LA Rams flirted with featuring tight ends in the offensive game plan in 2019. In fact, in December 2019, tight end Tyler Higbee put up 522 yards of offense single-handedly. That set the stage for much higher expectations for a 2020 season with two healthy and talented tight ends of Higbee and Gerald Everett. In fact, Rams head coach Sean McVay swore that he would find ways to unlock Everett’s potential in the final year of his contract.

It never happened.

Higbee racked up 521 receiving yards for the entire season.  That’s one-yard shy of December 2019.  So what about Everett? 417 yards and one touchdown.  Everett was capable of more. But he was targetted just 32 times in 2017, 50 times in 2018, 60 times in 2019, and 62 times in 2020. He averaged a 66 percent completion rate in 2020 and an 11 yards per completion average.

For all the hype and promises, the LA Rams offense is rigidly structured. Tight end production is not the entree. It has been a side dish for the past four seasons.  Even when the team found incredible production with the 12-personnel package and throwing to a tight end, it was a phase, not a staple.

But that will likely change.

For starters, new quarterback Matthew Stafford loves to throw to his tight end.  He connected regularly with tight end Eric Ebron, and then most recently with tight end T.J. Hockenson. In fact, in 2020, he targetted Hockenson 101 times for 67 completions, 723 yards, and six touchdowns. Stafford loves to throw to tight ends, and of course, Tyler Higbee has proven that he can put up yards in huge chunks in an NFL game.