LA Rams must make tough roster decisions at receiver

The LA Rams‘ wide receiver room is hereby declared standing-room-only, stuffed to the gills, bursting at the seams, no room at the inn. The LA fire marshall ’bout to nail a violation notice for over-crowding that exceeds the legal capacity on the team’s door.

Does anyone have a shoehorn?

There’s 16, count ’em, 16, on the 90-man current roster, to include wideouts and tight ends. What’s worse, only three are slated to hit the streets in 2022.  The Rams have two more targets on the roster for passing plays than they have offensive linemen. Five eligibles indeed!

I know the team sought to give its new quarterback Matthew Stafford a multitude of offensive weapons, but does this seem a little excessive to you? Kinda seems like there’s a big chunk of WR real estate on this roster. One football per play sort of thing.  Someone in the process of building this roster has lost sight of the forest for the trees.

Yes, there is too much of a good thing

A bit unbalanced, perhaps? Front-loaded? Disproportionate WR representation? Too many tight ends? Extravagant? (And if it’s extravagant, at what cost does it come? What does it mean for the other 74 roster slots? Are other positions getting short-changed? Did the team really intend to have more targets than blockers on the roster?

Certainly, it’s good to always have depth. But after this recent draft, the Rams now got WR depth that is approaching Mariana Trench proportions, 35,814 feet below sea level. Its bottom is called the Challenger Deep in the Pacific Ocean — between Guam and the Philippines, the deepest point known on Earth.

Maybe that’s the sign they oughta’ hang over the Rams’ wide receiver room – LA Rams Challenger Deep.

Ultimately, somebody’s (or some bodies) gotta’ go. There are a couple a’ tough roster decisions ahead. Maybe more. If you prune a fruit tree skillfully, carefully, and prudently, it can actually help to produce more, better and larger fruit. Just sayin’.

The Rams sweet sixteen

Just in case you’ve lost track, or weren’t paying attention (because head coach Sean McVay squirrels away wide receivers like they are his winter acorn stash), here’s the complete list. (I’m thinking I’m not the only one who says “Who?” to themselves when they read this list, either. I mean some of these guys are so unknown, so under the radar, so buried on the depth chart that you envision Minecraft when you see their names.)

Here’s the complete list:

1. WR Robert Woods *
2. WR Ben Skowronek
3. WR Van Jefferson *
4. WR Desean Jackson *
5. WR Tutu Atwell
6. WR Jeremiah Haydel
7. WR Nsimba Webster *
8. WR Landen Akers
9. WR J.J. Koski
10. WR Trishton Jackson *
11. WR Cooper Kupp *
12. TE Brycen Hopkins *
13. TE Johnny Mundt *
14. TE Kendall Blanton
15. TE Jacob Harris
16. TE Tyler Higbee *

* – denotes 2020 53-man roster  bold – denotes projected 2021 53-man roster

The 2020 roster for the LA Rams carried six wide receivers and four tight ends. Who makes the roster cut this year? Well, it’s safe to believe that the Rams’ top five wide receivers will be Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, DeSean Jackson, Van Jefferson, Tutu Atwell, and Ben Skowronek. For the four tight ends, the Rams will likely have Tyler Higbee, Brycen Hopkins, Johnny Mundt, and Jacob Harris.

The Rams have some very difficult decisions to make for the 2021 NFL roster. The Turk gonna come for a few of the names on this list. The Turk got some heavy lifting to do.