7 Los Angeles Rams players who won't be back in Horns next year

(1) - Wide Receiver Tutu Atwell

This one may be controversial. And I will admit that the thought of this offense losing veteran WR Tutu Atwell is not something that I am looking forward to. But if the team is looking for playmakers to put points on the scoreboard, the front office has little reason to extend Atwell. After all, despite all the talk of Atwell's speed and potential, we are left with four seasons of gradual improvement for this wide receiver.

But in his entire four-year NFL career, Atwell has found himself as a perennial backup.

I am stupefied that the Rams offense never found a way to unlock Atwell's true potential. While he gradually improved his receiving yards per season, yards per game, and yards per catch, Atwell never established himself as the type of dangerous offensive weapon who could be entrusted to make a spectacular catch in the end zone.

In 166 targets, Atwell hauled in 101 catches for 1,399 yards, 68 first downs, and five touchdowns.

That is more impressive than it seems. For example, second-year WR Puka Nacua hauled in 79 of 106 passes in 2024 for 990 yards and three touchdowns. He was the primary target when he played, ensuring that he was quite active in the offense at all times. Nacua played just 11 games to reach those totals. Atwell had to suit up for 57 games to reach his numbers.

Curiously, the Rams offense suffered from a lack of explosive plays in 2024. But Atwell excels at explosive plays. He averaged 13.4 yards per catch, second only to veteran WR Demarcus Robinson.

Originally, Atwell seemed to be the understudy to veteran WR Desean Jackson in 2021. But Jackson wanted more targets, leading to the team releasing Jackson by mid-season. Atwell was never targeted in 2021. He was targeted 62 times in 2024. Despite recording 562 receiving yards, he never got into the end zone.

Atwell is an outlier. He is not the 6-foot-1 200 to 210-pound receiver that the team seems to gravitate towards. He is a smallish speed demon, the type of receiver who can put tremendous pressure on an NFL secondary if targeted often. But when the Rams offense had the chance to target Atwell in Weeks 2 through 7, he caught 23 of 34 passes for 332 yards and no touchdowns.

His longest reception was 50 yards in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers.

If Atwell does not fit what the offense wants to do, why bring him back? In the past four seasons, Atwell has more often than not been the odd man out in terms of targets per game. In the right offense, he could be a 1000+ yard receiver. But that won't happen in this offense. For that reason, I don't believe the Rams re-sign him.

As always, thanks for reading.

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