4 LA Rams offensive players who step out of the shadows in 2023

Van "Damme" Jefferson

When the LA Rams added 6-foot-1 200-pound wide receiver Van Jefferson in the 2020 NFL Draft, I was thrilled at his potential in this LA Rams offense and expected him to have a 1000 receiving-yard season within his first two years. He was a perfect fit for the LA Rams offense. He was a technician in terms of his route tree. He is a football legacy, as his father is the former NFL WR Shawn Jefferson. He has been blessed with surprising speed, a high football IQ, and a general thirst to be the best version of himself each and every time he steps onto the football field.

The truth is that LA Rams wide receiver Van Jefferson is entering his fourth and the final season of his rookie contract, and is still looking for his first 1000+ yard season. He came oh-so-close in 2021, hauling in 50 of 89 passes thrown his way for 802 yards and six touchdowns. But even as his receiving yards and yards per catch show promise, his catch rate fell to a career low in 2022, all the way down to just a 54.5 percent completion rate.

Van Jefferson can do many things well, which has forced him into varying roles in the Rams' offense based on what was needed at that time. But the true impediment to his 'arrival,' in the NFL was his nagging injury that he carried into the 2022 NFL season. He played hard throughout the 2021 NFL season, but that heroic effort to compete all season came at a price of two knee surgeries in 2022, and a prolonged recovery period that followed.

Will Rams quick-strike offense return in 2023?

Jefferson, combined with Atwell, give the LA Rams offense the quick-strike potential to score from almost anyone on the football field. That was particularly effective for the LA Rams right out of the gate in 2023, as it allowed the Rams to put up nearly 30 points per game in the first nine contests.

The Rams struggled to put up points in 2022, not just due to a bad and battered offensive line, but due to the fact that Matthew Stafford's throwing arm had taken a pounding in 2021 and was never fully healthy last season. This year, Stafford is in the best shape he's ever been since joining the LA Rams, so that long ball option is back on the table.

Combine the threat of a long ball pass with a renewed commitment to the running game, and this LA Rams offense may be onto something. In terms of the number of talented running back on the Rams roster, has the team ever had so many potential featured backs on the roster before? This group of running backs is so good that undrafted rusher Tiyon Evans has a real shot of making this roster and contributing right out of the gates this year.

The 2023 LA Rams roster is loaded with weapons, some old and some new. Can this team put up a ton of points in 2023? As long as the offensive line does it's part, this offense could end the season in the NFL's Top-5.