LA Rams: One last look at the young receivers as training camp winds down

J.J. Koski

The LA Rams liked the potential of J.J. Koski enough to retain him throughout 2020 on the practice squad. He was one of two undrafted receivers who was retained, albeit he stuck around from the small school football program of nearby Cal Poly. And for many reasons, sticking with the team although undrafted without training camp or preseason games is quite a feat.

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But like any one-hit wonder, the toughest part is what do you do for the second hit? You can’t go out and just redo what you did, because then it’s too simple to be pigeonholed. You also don’t want to deviate too far from the track that was a hit. So it’s limbo.

Right now, J.J. Koski feels a little bit like a player in limbo.

The trouble is that he fits that prototypical Rams’ wide receiver mold. He’s 6-foot-1, weighs a bit below average at 195-pounds, runs a good route tree, and runs a 40-yard dash in 4.60-seconds. Those are all good enough to be in the running for the last receiver spot on a normal NFL team’s roster. I just don’t believe it will be enough to make this LA Rams roster this year. He was spotted in punt returns, and I suspect he was trialed at kick returns too. But he isn’t showing up on training camp reports.

We are not in the part of the receiver roster where preseason game performances are vital to surviving for another week. Koski, who has been on the practice squad with teammate quarterback Bryce Perkins, will have that chemistry advantage. He will need to take full advantage of that leg up to show up well in his performances. Not just in catching, but in blocking too. He’s got a 50/50 shot of making the practice squad.