TE Tyler Higbee is not prepared to play for the Rams, so who will be?

TE Colby Parkinson

When the LA Rams signed veteran tight end Colby Parkinson to a three-year deal worth $22.5 million, it was glaringly obvious that the front office viewed Parkinson as more than a stop-gap measure to the team's roster shortfall to open the 2024 NFL season. While I could understand a veteran player on the roster as an insurance policy in case Davis Allen failed to deliver out of the gate, a multi-year contract brings the belief that Parkinson is viewed as a successor to Higbee.

After Davis Allen's ultra-impressive rookie season, is that fair? Well, Fair or not, we have that video of the LA Rams' efforts to trade up in Round 1 in the 2024 NFL Draft in an attempt to draft former Georgia Bulldogs' Brock Bowers. He plays tight end. And that comes on the heels of the team trying to trade into Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft to select another tight end, Dalton Kincaid.

So even after Davis Allen's rookie season, signing Parkinson to a multi-year deal, Hunter Long returning, and Tyler Higbee recovering this season, the front office was still eager to add more tight end talent.

Even as the team continues to frantically shop for more tight ends, they landed a player who could fill an incredibly huge niche void in this offense. Let me explain.

Colby Parkinson stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 265 pounds. By even conservative estimates, he is a big-bodied tight end who is a solid blocker and respectable target in the passing game. But the Rams front office sees much more in Parkinson, and they may be right.

The LA Rams red zone offense stalled frequently in 2023. In fact, in the Wild Card Round of the 2024 NFL Playoffs against the Detroit Lions, the Rams were 0-3 in the Red Zone versus the Lions defense. The Rams would lose the game by a score of 24-23.

Even if Parkinson does not deliver to the tune of 500+ receiving yards in a modest role in this offense, he most certainly has a tremendous size advantage to deliver scores in the red zone. The offense struggled to put up points close to the end zone because the team did not trust power RB Royce Freeman, the team was unable to connect with banged-up veteran WR Cooper Kupp, and the team simply was unable to get the ball into the hands of Puka Nacua.

Colby Parkinson gives this offense a huge option in the red zone.

Can the team find the right player or combination of players to make this offense run smoothly in Tyler Higbee's absence? Absolutely. And it may be that the team rotates some combination of tight ends to ensure that they have the right player on the football field for the right situation.

As always, thank you for reading.