The LA Rams have talented players not seeing playing time. Why?

When the LA Rams traded a 2022 sixth-round pick and a 2023 fourth-round pick to the New England Patriots for running back Sony Michel, there is a certain threshold of expectations established by the cost. Two draft picks should translate into a player who becomes heavily used in the LA Rams offense.

Only, he isn’t.

The LA Rams drafted tight-end Brycen Hopkins with the 136th pick of the 2020 NFL Draft and redshirted him for the entire 2020 NFL season. That pretty much set the very realistic expectation that the team would use him on at least a rotational basis for the 2021 NFL season.

Only, he isn’t.

This team is once more stuck in a singular pattern that is unchanging and unrewarding, For the LA Rams in 2021, the offense is notoriously stuck in the 11 personnel grouping. That is, one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers. Per SharpFootballStats.com, the Rams have stuck with that 88 percent of the time on offense. The team has run their 12 personnel package 10 percent of the time. That is one running back, two tight ends, and two wide receivers.

Rams Roster holds the key to winning

Unfortunately, the team’s complete abandonment of going with two tight ends coincides with their three-game losing streak. The last game for the Rams to go with two tight ends was on Week 8 with the hugely successful outing against the Houston Texans.

That type of evidence should be shown to the Rams offensive coaches, and the team should be prepared to answer why isn’t this team going with two tight ends and emphasizing the rushing attack, particularly now with the offense committing so many turnovers and mistakes? Perhaps that is something that head coach Sean McVay should consider.

Only he isn’t.

To earn trust, these younger players must be given trust. If the fear is that the younger players may make a mental mistake and lose the game, has anyone associated with the team seen the latest results?

Players like Robert Rochell, Michael Hoecht, Terrell Burgess, Brycen Hopkins, Sony Michel are sitting and watching their teammates struggle. I would sooner have Terrell Burgess, Michael Hoecht, and Robert Rochell rotating onto the football field and getting better than sitting them down on the bench and watching this team get worse.

The LA Rams have talented players not seeing playing time. Why? Perhaps it’s time to stop being afraid of losing, and start committing to winning.