LA Rams: Camp showdown III – Brycen Hopkins vs. Jacob Harris

Harris has a lot of positive chatter

Perhaps one of the most eyebrow-raising moments so far in the LA Rams 2021 offseason was their choice to select tight end/wide receiver, Jacob Harris out of the University of Central Florida. Sure, the Rams had conversed with him prior to the draft, but for all intents and purposes, the receiver section of the team’s roster appeared to be at maximum capacity when the team added wide receiver, Tutu Atwell.

While Jacob Harris is indeed a fine athletic specimen, he is raw in every sense of the word. He has only played football rather recently, and so he is very moldable clay. As such, he will take time to develop the type of football skills necessary to achieve an NFL level of play. You might think that in a rookie-phobic organization like the LA Rams, that would be a huge impediment to seeing playing time. Well, you would be wrong. Did I say that he is a fine athletic specimen? What I meant to say is that he is the NFL’s version of the super-soldier.

And he is already catching the eye of head coach Sean McVay. In fact, he catches the eye of all of the coaching staff, his teammates, the media, the fans, and even the bread delivery drivers.

He is so very athletic, that he is already showing signs of playing in the LA Rams offense early in 2021. In fact, he has been reported to garner one-on-one instruction from head coach Sean McVay himself. Talk about go-to-the-head-of-the-class type tutoring? And the best part is, as much as they feed to him, he has shown the ability to absorb and learn the playbook at an incredibly rapid pace.

This young man is blessed with 6-foot-5 height, with ideal weight at 211-pounds, with a blazing speed of 4.39-seconds for the 40-yard dash.  The only challenge right now is catching the football, and blocking NFL-caliber players. Still, he is even mastering that talent at an amazing speed. If and when he gets on the field, imagine the problems he will create? He is faster, taller, stronger, and can jump higher than defensive backs.

Can all that raw energy and talent be harnessed by the LA Rams offense? Many already have him at the second tight end in this Rams offense, and competing for the starting role. I’m not sure that the Rams coaching staff is ready to move so quickly. Whoever wins the battle will feel the heat of the other breathing down their necks. This is a pair who could swap places on the depth chart multiple times this season.