LA Rams: Why is 12-personnel package more tempting than ever?

More than Mundt’s the aye

The LA Rams TE2, for now, is veteran Johnny Mundt. While that may not hold true throughout training camp, it is where the Rams have things for the moment. Historically, the Rams have used Mundt from a number of positions, but have deployed in such a way that emphasized his incredible blocking skills.

Los Angeles Rams

Perhaps that was never more on display than the latter part of the 2019 NFL season.  At that time, the LA Rams offensive line was already decimated by injuries, the running game was getting no push, and the team’s passing attack was running into too much predictability and too few yards.  And then, tight end Gerald Everett got hurt in the last game of November 2019.

What happened next was completely unexpected, and we’ll discuss that next, but the first surprise was how effective Johnny Mundt’s presence on the offensive line helped to stabilize their effectiveness and enable the team to run the ball much more effectively. Now, with a running game at least partially firing on some cylinders, the offense restored some options.

Johnny Mundt is more than just a blocking tight end. If the Rams could only see him that way. They just don’t. And as long as the Rams do not throw to the 6-foot-4 233-pound eligible receiver, the defense will ignore him too.  That’s a bit disappointing because when the Rams had thought Mundt worthy of a pass or two, he has stepped and caught the thing. Well, of 12 targets, Mundt has nine receptions in his career. If he could sustain that completion percentage in a normal range of targets,  he could put up from 300-400 receiving yards.