Best depth the LA Rams have enjoyed under Coach McVay at this position?

One of the narratives that I will never grow tired of in any NFL season is a tale of how the LA Rams turned a position of weakness into a position of strength. While it does not happen often, it does occur enough times to be a 'thing,' and it may be happening for the LA Rams in the 2023 NFL season.

One of the more recent flips from weakness to strength that jumps out for me is the fact that in the 2020 NFL season, the Rams were projected to struggle at their offensive line as well as running back. The offensive line, much like in 2022, was returning after being ranked 31st out of 32 teams in 2019. That 2020 offensive line finished the season ranked third-best in the NFL.

The Rams running backs entered the 2020 season with no experienced feature running back. By season's end, the Rams' running backs had churned out over 2000 yards on the ground. The only other time that had happened was 2018 when the Rams rolled over opponents for over 2200 yards at RB Todd Gurley's prime.

So which position are the Rams suddenly robust at?

Rams suddenly strong at this position

While the LA Rams did lose TE/WR Jacob Harris and TE Kendall Blanton , neither player was statistically significant to the Rams offense. But let's look at the Rams roster at the tight end position for the 2023 NFL season:

1. Tyler Higbee
2. Hunter Long
3. Brycen Hopkins
4. Davis Allen
5. Christian Sims

While only Tyler Higbee has significant experience in the LA Rams offense, let's do a quick view into what each player brings to the Rams offense. Let's work in reverse order and get a quick GPS of who these tight ends are who will compete for playing time, and perhaps even a roster spot, through the 2023 NFL season:

V: Christian Sims

Let's turn our attention to Christian Sims first. After all, he never heard his name called out during the 2023 NFL Draft, but he has some intriguing qualities about him that make him worth getting to know. For starters, it was curious for the LA Rams front office to add another tight end are trading for one, and then drafting one, but Sims has some better-than-the-brochure skillsets that shine despite his lack of refinement at the position.

Christian Sims is a 6-foot-2 239-pound versatile offensive weapon who can be used in a variety of roles in the LA Rams offense. While he is a bit raw, he was one of the most productive receivers for the Bowling Green offense. The most significant challenge is that he is a bit undersized, and even when factoring that in he is ineffective at blocking. Of course, he was undrafted, so that comes with the territory. He is not an obvious fit for a traditional offensive role. But if the Rams can harness his athleticism and playmaking ability, he could raise some eyebrows quickly.

Projection: Practice squad

IV: Davis Allen

The next tight end I'd like to discuss is the Rams drafted tight end, Davis Allen. While he was chosen by the Rams with the 175th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, NFL.com ranked him as their 130th-best player on the big board, with represents significant value for the Rams simply from a BPA (Best Player Available) standpoint. Better still for the Rams, he fell into a position of need (who am I kidding, the Rams needed help at every position).

Davis Allen is a 6-foot-6 245-pound tight end out of Clemson who truly appears to be an NFL-ready tight end. I won't pretend to tell you that the LA Rams 'got their guy,' after reporting that the team tried to trade up to select Utah TE Dalton Kincaid, but the Rams certainly got nice value in the fifth round. Allen has a blocker mentality, will make blocks at the point of attack, and then look downfield to block defenders in the secondary. He has great field awareness and can box out defenders when going for the catch. While he will not stupify anyone with ultra-athleticism, he is a hard-working tight end who has that grind baked into his habits already. That should bode very well for a rookie trying to make an impact in 2023.

Projection: 53-man roster

III: Brycen Hopkins

As much as I'd love to explain why the LA Rams offense simply has not clicked for their second-most senior tight end Brycen Hopkins, I truly cannot. Clearly the LA Rams front office thought enough of the young man to invest a fourth-round pick to select him during the 2020 NFL Draft, so he fit the template of tight end that Rams scouts were working with at the time. He's caught eight of 12 passes targeting him, so it cannot be that the guy can't catch the ball.

Prior to the 2022 NFL season, I was willing to accept the problem of young players not seeing much in the way of playing time on their inability to contribute. But after seeing what WR Tutu Atwell could deliver once the Rams finally began to incorporate using him in the offense, I'm not so sure that is a fair assessment. After all, Hopkins caught all four passes thrown his way in Super Bowl LVI, a game with the brightest spotlights. So how is it that he was only targeted 11 times all of the 2022 NFL season? After all, wasn't this the guy who had the reputation of making circus catches in college?

While I think that the LA Rams and Brycen Hopkins have too much water under the bridge now to salvage Hopkins's career with the team, I am still of the opinion that he could make a difference to this offense if given a chance. I simply no longer believe that he will be given much of a chance. After all, this is the last year of his current contract. If he hasn't been given a shot before now, how will he fare any better this season in the face of more competition?

Projection: Waived at 53-man roster reduction

II: Hunter Long

While we had discussed what newly acquired TE Hunter Long brings to the Rams roster, there is always more to discern when looking over the position group as a whole. For instance, Hunter Long was the player who the Rams wanted when trading away one of the NFL's top defensive backs Jalen Ramsey. Despite his lack of use in the Dolphins' offense, there clearly was more to his acquisition than a knee-jerk 'we'll take that guy," sort of reaction. After the fact, the Rams indicated that they were very interest in Hunter Long in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Per their NFL Draft profiles, Hunter Long is comparable talent-wise to Rams rookie Davis Allen. But when you compare the talent of the 2021 NFL Draft at the position, Davis Allen was the 10th-best tight end in the 2023 NFL Draft, while Hunter Long was the fourth-best tight end in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Long is a big-bodied tight end, standing 6-foot-5 and weighing in at 253 pounds. In the minds of many, Long will fill the void of a blocking tight end on the Rams roster. But he could prove to be much more than that. Hunter Long was targetted just three times in the Miami Dolphins offense for one catch of eight yards. The Rams' offense is structured a bit differently, and If he gets a fair share of playing time, I can see how he could surpass expectations this year.

Projection: 53-man roster, TE2

I: Tyler Higbee

There are few players with more to prove to the NFL and to the LA Rams organization in the 2023 NFL season than veteran tight end Tyler Higbee. There are many examples of the Rams' offense regressing last season, but this team did everything imaginable to get the ball to Higbee, with almost no effect. What do I mean?

1. Stat 2021 2022 difference
2. Targets 85 108 127%
3. Receptions 61 72 118%
4. Yards 560 620 110.7%
5. TDs 5 3 60%

The Rams tried to get more out of Higbee last year, but the result of that focus simply made the job of opposing defenses that much easier, and the effectiveness of more opportunities was lost as a result. In fact, Higbee's 5.7 yards per target was the smallest it had been since the rookie season of his seven year NFL career. And it's that trend that was one of the factors for the Rams offense to plummet in terms of putting points on the scoreboard in 2022.

It's now or never

Higbee remains one of the highest-compensated veteran on the Rams roster. But this is the final season of his current contract, and the Rams have augmented their tight end depth with two rookies. Will this be Higbee's last season as an LA Rams player? He could be gone after 2023, and that is simply the hard truth considering the path that this team is currently trekking.

If that is to happen, the Rams will need to do a much better job of incorporating rookie TE Davis Allen into the offense, rather than the standard practice of simply redshirting the guy for the entirety of his rookie season. What the Rams may do after 2022 is to rescind his preferential role, and simply try to recoup more yards and touchdowns with fewer targets. In this way, the Rams can try to amplify his impact on offense, as well as divvy up some of the offensive opportunities to the younger tight ends waiting in the wings.

Projection: 53-man roster, TE1

Of course, the fortunes of the Rams roster at tight end presumes that the offensive line can and will do their part to keep veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford upright and afford him enough time to find his receivers. I think that can happen this year, but it's nothing tangible. I simply have a good 'gut feeling' about this tight end group that won't allow me to be pessimistic.