Where will more points come from on the Los Angeles Rams offense in 2025?

Can the Rams replicate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers success?

One of the first messages about the future of the Los Angeles Rams offense appeared in an article by Rams reporter Stu Jackson featuring HC Sean McVay. It was a landmark discussion and one that can be lost in the shuffle of personnel moves and draft day selections. Why is it so informative? In one article, Coach McVay not only shares his immediate thoughts about what went wrong in 2024. He pointed to the success of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense in 2024 and stated that he wants the Rams offense to be more like that in 2025.

So what does that entail? To decipher the details of the Buccaneers' offense template as the reference point, we will return to Lineups.com to determine how the Bucs used their personnel to optimal effect. To simplify things, we will ignore the quarterback and offensive line, and simply focus on how the Bucs dispatched the workload to running backs, tight ends, and wide receivers.

Bucs RBs

While the Buccaneers offense got more rushing yards and rushing touchdowns out of rookie running back Bucky Irving, they used veteran RB Rachaad White more frequently in terms of offensive snaps. But even third-string running back Sean Tucker saw nearly 10 percent of the offensive snaps. And it was that disciplined approach to share the workload that allowed the Bucs to get 13 touchdowns and 2,022 rushing yards from the running backs in 2024. They managed that on just 401 carries.

In contrast, the Rams got 14 touchdowns but only 1,608 rushing yards from the running backs last season. They managed that on 397 carries.

The secret to the Buccaneers rushing offense is how more potent their running backs were. Bucky Irving carried the football 207 times and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. Rams RB Kyren Williams carried the football 316 times and averaged just 4.1 yards per carry. Was the heavy workload in 2024 a factor? In 2023, Williams carried the football 228 times and averaged 5.0 yards per carry. So evidence suggests that there is a pattern of diminishing returns by giving the football to one player too often.

McVay specifically addressed 'run variety,' in the interview. That suggests that the Rams will lessen the workload for RB Kyren Williams, greatly increase the workload of RB Blake Corum, and sprinkle in a bit more carries for RB Ronnie Rivers. At least, that should be the plan if the team hopes to get similar results.

Bucs TEs

The Buccaneers offense loved to throw to tight end Cade Otton. Last season, he was their runner-up receiver, catching 59 of 87 passes for 600 yards and four touchdowns. Similarly, the Rams TE Tyler Higbee played in just three games, but hauled in 8 of 12 passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns. If the Rams get a full season from Higbee, It's likely that he will end the season with stats that are very similar to that of Otton.

Where the two offenses deviate most strikingly is how often the offense deployed two tight ends. The Rams used two tight ends just over 14 percent of the offensive snaps in 2024. The Buccaneers used two tight ends more than 25 percent of their offensive snaps in 2024. Did it show up with an elevated frequency of passing to tight ends? The Buccaneers targeted tight ends 107 times for 75 receptions, 803 yards and six touchdowns last season.

The Rams targeted tight ends just 83 times for 51 receptions, 459 yards, and three touchdowns.

If the goal is to put more points on the scoreboard, and the plan is to replicate what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense accomplished in 2024, it appears that the Rams have a lot of ground to cover at getting the tight ends more involved in the offense.

Bucs WRs

In 2024, the Buccaneers deployed 10 different wide receivers throughout the season. Six of whom were involved in the offense with at least 10 targets. Of the group, the wide receivers hauled in 206 of 334 passes for 2,819 yards and 28 touchdowns. Contrast that to the Rams wide receivers who caught 269 of 403 passes for 3,357 yards and 17 touchdowns.

It appears that the Buccaneers receivers were far more effective at scoring touchdowns.

It's impossible to compare apples to apples from the statistics page, but but Buccaneers did lose veteran WR Chris Godwin after just seven games, significantly limiting the group as a whole. Four Buccaneers wide receivers scored multiple touchdowns last season, while only three wide receivers accomplished that feat for the Rams.

The top Bucs receivers seemed to average one touchdown for every 10 targets. Conversely, the only Rams receiver to hit that frequency at scoring was WR Demarcus Robinson, and he is playing for the San Francisco 49ers in 2025.

Perhaps Davante Adams can help the Rams receivers lay claim to that lofty goal in 2025. But the team will need more scoring out of WR Puka Nacua this season to be effective at improving the team's ability to score.

How does this alter the Rams offensive strategy for 2025?

There are many nuances and differences between the two offenses in 2024. And if the Rams hope to score more points this year, the team will likely need to be a bit selective as to which strategies augment the Rams scoring and which can be pushed to the side for now.

The Rams need to level the workload among Kyren Williams and Blake Corum this season. There is no excuse for Corum collecting dust and cobwebs on the bench while Bucky Irving has a field day running up and down the football field for the Buccaneers.

The Rams also need to get the tight ends more involved. Despite the team losing their top two receivers in multiple games in 2024, the team avoided the obvious solution of leaning more heavily into two tight ends to weather the storm

Offseason plans do not always turn into football field tactics. In 2022, Liam Coen was hired as the Rams offensive coordinator with a primary task of ramping up the offensive output of wide receiver Tutu Atwell and TE Jacob Harris. While Atwell managed to find limited success in the Rams offense, Harris never developed and was subsequently released.

Will the Rams find success in 2025 by using the Buccaneers offense as a template? Or will the Rams fall back to familiar habits one more? Stay tuned, as we won't know the answer to those questions until October 2025, at the earliest.

As always, thanks for reading.