LA Rams: Can Rams field a Top-5 scoring offense in 2021?

Tennessee Titans

A more effective comparison for the LA Rams is the impact made by the addition of quarterback Ryan Tannehill to the Tennessee Titans offense. Prior to that, the Titans struggled under the inaccuracy of quarterback Marcus Mariota. But almost instantly upon inserting Tannehill into the 2019 starting lineup, touchdown passes increased dramatically, and interceptions decressed in a similar fashion.

That improvement was made despite the Titans offensive line surrendering 56 quarterback sacks. The 2020 number of sacks was cut to 25, but the offense continued to purr with Tannehill at the helm. While he only threw for 3,819 yards, he tossed 33 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. Of course, with star running back Derrick Henry, the offense can throttle back a bit on the passing game. Henry alone accounted for over 2000 yards of offense.

That 5.4 yards per carry allowed the Titans to get the most mileage out of wide receiver A.J. Brown, wide receiver Corey Davis, and tight end Jonnu Smith. Between the three receivers, the Titans scored another 24 touchdowns. As effective as the Titans passing game was, it was clearly the running game that set the pace. The Titans rushed 521 times to just 481 pass attempts.

Comparison to the LA Rams offense:  The Rams offense should align more closely to the Titans offense, but there are still some glaring dissimilarities.  For starters, the Rams will work the offense from the ability to run the football, which will carry over to the play-action passing that is this team’s bread-and-butter. The Rams have two primary receivers in Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, both of who are capable of 1000 yard seasons. The Rams also have a dangerous tight end in Tyler Higbee. While the Rams do not have Derrick Henry behind Stafford, the combination of Akers and Henderson should give defenses pause this season.

Conlusion: The Rams offense is a closer match to the Titans’ offense in that the team has more offensive weapons and a better offensive line. The comparison stops at the running back position, where the Rams will feature second year rusher Cam Akers, and the Titans will rely upon the dominating Derrick Henry. To compensate, the Rams will rely more heavily upon the arm of Matthew Stafford. The Titans’ offense scored 30.7 points per game in 2020. While the LA Rams’ offense will take an alternate route, that seems like a reasonable outcome for the team in 2021.