Will the 2021 LA Rams offense resemble one of the NFL’s greats?

Speed 2.0

The current Rams roster wants to become far more explosively effective. To do that, the team is splicing in speed wherever and whenever it can. In the 2021 NFL Draft, the LA Rams suddenly got faster at wide receiver, tight end, cornerback, linebacker, and running back. That’s a very diverse group on the roster to find faster players waiting to join their ranks for this season.

Now, how will the Rams make use of it all?

Don’t look for wholesale makeovers.  The Rams succeed with developing rookie talent by ensuring that each newcomer will be coached up before turning them loose to face NFL-level competition. That means that the Rams will not suddenly field nine new rookies on offense on opening day. That won’t happen, nor should it. But what could happen is the slow and deliberate additions of players and plays to feature speed at specific down and distance intervals throughout the season.

The Rams wanted to get faster, and they did. But a steady diet of fastballs in baseball soon becomes timed and ineffective. Speed is best used to surprise, and that is the more likely path for the LA Rams this year. Look for the team to interweave speed with regular offensive plays, countering defenses by the changing up of their offensive tempo.

DeSean Jackson won’t be on the football field for all offensive snaps. But when he is out there, you can bet more than one defensive back will have their eyes trained on him. That will create opportunities for other players.  He will be joined by Tutu Atwell, and if ready, TE Jacob Harris and WR Ben Skowronek. Even RB Jake Funk could take the field for a few plays.

No, the LA Rams won’t be exactly like the 1999 Rams offense, and likely won’t come very close. But the team is infusing those key ingredients that made that offense so very special. In that perspective, this Rams offense resembles the Greatest Show on Turf, especially if this team hoists a Lombardi at the end of this year’s journey.