The case for UDFA WR Lance McCutcheon to make LA Rams roster

The odds of a rookie wide receiver making the LA Rams roster are remote, and I know that. Perhaps it’s the late hour, or perhaps I have lost my objective bearings. But I’d like to think that 6-foot-2 205-pound wide receiver Lance McCutcheon is deserving of the perspective based on merits, and not some logically flawed thinking of my own making.

Just as Jake Hummel seems to fit the new-and-improved parameters for the LA Rams at the inside linebacker position, McCutcheon is a new version of a wide receiver who seems to ideally align with the team’s prescription for 2022 wide receives.

For starters, Lance McCutcheon is a bigger-bodied and a rather physical receiver who has a well-developed ability to haul in contested catches. He has a solid route tree knowledge in his arsenal, and due to a lack of blazing speed, must be far more deceptive than his counterparts to create a sufficient degree of separation.

He was trained to spot in at virtually any position in the offense, giving him tremendously valuable experience and a headstart to ways the Rams offense may use him as well. And while he is not the fastest man alive, he has a unique NBA-like manner of blocking out defensive backs to present his quarterback with the biggest risk-free target at the receiving end of passes.

61 catches for 1,121 yards and eight touchdowns in 14 games in his senior season was ample production to highlight his potential. It may be a coincidence, but McCutcheon follows former teammate Daniel Hardy to the LA Rams, and it’s no coincidence that both have a gritty, worker bee reputation that oftentimes results in good things when young prospects land in the NFL.

McCutcheon is one tough receiver. The LA Rams have come to appreciate that trait this year. Will it be enough? We’ll soon find out.