Who will earn the TE2 role for the LA Rams in 2022?

I think I’m in some fairly safe territory to assert that tight end Tyler Higbee will start for the LA Rams offense in 2022. But beyond that point, we’ll be blazing a new trail into unknown territory. For the past five years, since hiring head coach Sean McVay, the LA Rams relied upon TE Gerald Everett or TE Johnny Mundt in order to run their 12-personnel packages. But no longer.

Everett has since signed on with the Los Angeles Chargers. Mundt has since signed on with the Minnesota Vikings. That leaves the Rams with a decision to make, perhaps a very important one at that. Who will be the second tight end on the football field for two tight end formations?  Right now the team has three or four options (depending on the category of TE/WR Jacob Harris).

So who are they?

• Name                 Yrs       Ht       Wt    School

1. Tyler Higbee       7       6-6      255   W. Kentucky
2. Jacob Harris        2       6-5      211   UCF
3. Kyle Markway    1       6-4      250   S. Carolina
4. Kendall Blanton 2       6-6      262   Missouri
5. Brycen Hopkins 3       6-4      245   Purdue

On paper, the LA Rams have a fairly young and homogenous tight end group, a handful of players who stand between 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-6, and who have the ability to fill very versatile roles in the LA Rams offense. But this group is perhaps far more distinctive in their differences, and perhaps that is what makes this particular decision so intriguing and so confusing.

For starters, what is the identity of the LA Rams offense for 2022? Historically, the offense was a more balanced version, pitting the rushing attack nearly at the same volume as the passing attack. But repeated injuries to the team’s rushers in 2021, plus the upgraded passing skills of the veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, seemed to modify the Rams playbook to feature more passing plays.

So will the return of healthy running backs this season restore the team to a more balanced approach? Or with the experience of just how good this offense can be with passing in 2022 compel the team to lean more heavily upon an aerial assault in 2022?  Let’s dive into some options