Los Angeles Rams’ One Big Question: Does Sean McVay Get Enough Credit For His Adaptability?
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has done more than people think to change his offense for the better over the last few seasons. It’s time to recognize.

Doug Farrar

https://athlonsports.com/nfl/los-angeles-ams-sean-mcvay-matthew-stafford

In this offseason series, Athlon Sports’ Doug Farrar asks the One Big Question for every NFL team that will become readily apparent when the season does begin, and the lights are at their brightest. We continue with the Los Angeles Rams, who have a head coach in Sean McVay who everybody already knows is a super-genius. But it’s McVay’s recent adaptability to the new that has taken him to an entirely different level as a play-caller… and as a leader.

With most head coaches, especially established head coaches, you tend to know what you’re going to get in a schematic sense. Rare are the coaches who change everything for the upcoming opponent, as Bill Belichick was always fond of doing. Far more often from one season to the next, and as resplendent with eye candy as those playbooks can be, there aren’t fundamental changes.

One recent example of a head coach who has taken the road less traveled is Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams. When you talk about the NFL’s best offensive minds, McVay either is — or certainly should be — at or near the top. Since McVay became the Rams’ main man in 2017, the franchise has generally ranked in the top half of the league in Offensive DVOA, and both Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford have seen their quarterback profiles rise to serious degrees under McVay’s tutelage.

The interesting thing, though, is how much McVay has switched things up in recent years. As he became established as an offensive and play-calling genius in his own right, McVay’s Rams became known for 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, and three receivers), as well as liberal doses of the inside and outside zone run games.

It all worked fairly well until the Rams’ offense imploded in 2022. Stafford played in just nine games due to injury, Kyren Williams wasn’t the main back as he is now, and outside of Cooper Kupp and tight end Tyler Higbee, the targets weren’t always… well, targeting. McVay’s offense ranked 25th in DVOA, and his team finished with a 5-11 record.

The 2023 season was much better for several reasons — Stafford was healthy, Williams had his first 1,000 yard season, and the team found themselves an electric bargain in fifth-round rookie receiver Puka Nacua. More than that, the new schematic points McVay preferred were all out in focus.

In 2023, the Rams ran behind gap blocking schemes on 42% of their snaps, which ranked fifth in the league. In 2022, it was 29%, which ranked 20th. In 2021, it was 20%, which ranked 28th. In 2020, it was 17%, which ranked 28th.

Williams was the team’s ideal instrument when it came to a refocus on man blocking of all kinds. 101 of his 241 carries (including the postseason) came out of some sort of man scheme, as did 482 of his 1,205 yards, and five of his 12 touchdowns.

Then, just when everyone thought that McVay was going to keep zigging, he zagged. The 2024 Rams utilized man blocking on just 39% of their rushing snaps, leading instead with 221 zone attempts. And with Williams, that former gap-first runner, it worked just fine.

McVay has also used far more pre-snap motion and condensed formations than in previous years. The 2024 Rams led the NFL with motion on 69% of their overall snaps, and Stafford had 453 dropbacks with motion, third-most in the NFL behind only Patrick Mahomes and C.J. Stroud. Motion wasn’t a big thing for Stafford earlier in his career, but it is now — and with McVay’s shift/motion concepts, it’s highly effective.

As for the condensed formations, which have all receivers inside the numbers, there are distinct advantages to that, as former Rams receiver Cooper Kupp detailed in his introductory press conference after signing a three-year, $45 million contract with $26.5 million guaranteed with the Seattle Seahawks in March.

“In eight years with the Rams, I think it’s tagged with the slot, but I don’t know how you determine that when we’re in condensed formations,” Kupp said. “I’m outside, but I’m running a slot route. A lot of times I was outside, and I’m not sure if it was being tagged as a slot route or not. But the ability to move in an offense is being able to ‘formation’ guys to be anywhere. You’ve got to learn the whole thing because you could be in any one of these spots at any time.”

Last season, the Rams and the San Francisco 49ers tied for the league lead with a 60% condensed formation rate, and this is one place the NFL is going — forcing defenses to think differently from down to down as to how and why receivers are deployed.

With McVay, the bottom line is that he’s learned to be adaptable to his personnel, and to emerging NFL trends, to the point where he’s setting the pace, and he’s becoming a trend-setter himself. It’s a big step forward after his first few seasons as the Rams’ shot-caller, when it seemed that opposing defenses would figure out what he was doing and how to stop it, no matter how great it all was at the beginning.

Still, the journey continues, as the 2024 Rams lost their divisional-round game to the Philadelphia Eagles, 28-22, and that is never the end goal for McVay and his team. Through rebuilds that have included both “F Them Picks” and high-level draft thinking, it’s Super Bowl or bust for these guys. McVay’s new adaptability is a major reason for that.

“I think the biggest thing is there would be a little bit more versatility,” McVay said in his January 23 season-ending presser, when he was asked what the 2025 Rams offense might look like. “The easy answer is to complain about the injuries that we had that threw off the continuity, and while that might be true, you can’t allow that to inhibit us the way that it did. That’s nobody’s responsibility but my own.

“I think [the offense should be] more fully functional. I think even our teaching progressions for the totality of the group. How do you utilize the offseason and how are you making yourself more versatile from a personnel perspective or from a run variety perspective? Those are the things that I’m excited to be able to dive into. I was talking to [former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator and new Jacksonville Jaguars head coach] Liam Coen the other day. One of the coolest things that I think is reflected about what a great job he did was you’ve got a background and then when you watch them evolve with [Buccaneers running back] Bucky Irving and the way they ran the football, and some of the variety and personnel groupings.

“I thought that was a cool reflection of, maybe we think we’re going to do that, and then what you evolved into if you’re able to understand that the best coaches adjust to their players. That’s what we’ve to do a good job of as it moves forward from what it looks like from our offensive line and from the surrounding parts with our backs.

“I could go on and on about the variety of things that I’m excited about attacking to hopefully avoid some of the pitfalls that we had throughout the year to ultimately lead to more consistent production and play, regardless of whatever our injury situation is.”

Every coach says that they want things to be better. Sean McVay is able to speak these things into existence more often than most, because he understands that everything — from the intellectual curiosity that prods him to come up with new concepts to the leadership that allows him to take those ideas to the field — starts with the man in the mirror.

from PFF: The 50 best players in the NFL ahead of the 2025 season … https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-pff50-ranking-50-best-players-2025

32. WR PUKA NACUA, LOS ANGELES RAMS
Nacua played only 11 games in 2024 due to injury but still finished with the NFL’s highest receiving grade at 93.0. He’s also coming off a 1,486-yard rookie season in 2022. Over the past two years, he ranks seventh among receivers in PFF WAR (1.01). The scary part? Nacua is still getting better, building on an already elite level of production and efficiency.

NFL Receivers: Highest Receiving Grades (2024)

InvaderRam wrote:

what kind of season could stafford have this season? assuming jackson can stay healthy, this is the best group he’s played with since the superbowl?

This could be a better group than the super bowl team.

The super bowl team couldn’t run the ball. They didn’t have Avila or Dotson yet, which means they were still a zone OL. In the game itself they had only Kupp, though I would say that Nacua and Adams come close to being what Kupp and Beckham were before Beckham got hurt.

If Humphries works out–and they gave him a guaranteed contract so it looks like they’re expecting him to work out–then the OL ought to be fine with Humphries playing for a while before Jackson comes back.

I think Stafford can be at least what he was last year.

In terms of the defense, they are a year more experienced plus they added guys. That was a group that was tied for 3rd all time for sacks in the post-season with 16. They are also the only team in NFL history to put up 16 sacks combined in 2 consecutive games.

Countdown to Camp: Puka Nacua’s continued ascent, Davante Adams’ arrival give Rams intriguing options at wide receiver

Stu Jackson

https://www.therams.com/news/countdown-to-camp-puka-nacua-s-continued-ascent-davante-adams-arrival-give-rams-intriguing-options-at-wide-receiver

Head coach Sean McVay spoke in January about wanting a more versatile offense, regardless of the health of personnel. Among the moves aligned to that vision were releasing Cooper Kupp two months later and signing Davante Adams.

Los Angeles had been accustomed to the duo of Kupp and Puka Nacua over the last two seasons. Now, a new partnership forms entering the 2025 season.

Both players excelled after the catch last season. According to Next Gen Stats, Nacua had the sixth-most in the league among wide receivers with 535; Adams had the 10th-most with 490.

The 32-year-old Adams, who said being in the Rams’ building has been “rejuvenating” for him, still has plenty left in the tank, evident in OTA practices this spring and what he showed late last season.

According to Yahoo Sports analyst Matt Harmon’s research, Adams had at least an 80% success rate on six different routes on the standard route tree.

Davante Adams’ success by route last season looks like one of the best among free agent wide receivers (via @MattHarmon_BYB).

His 85.7% success rate on digs is a fantastic fit for the Rams’ offense. https://t.co/5g58AVieOp pic.twitter.com/dUPNnBBSTQ

— Wyatt Miller (@wymill07) March 10, 2025

Adams also remains lethal as a contested catch target in the redzone, as Rams staff writer Wyatt Miller pointed out in his research from May. His eight such touchdowns inside the 20 are most in the NFL over the last three years.

Rams players and coaches have been impressed with Davante Adams' body control and contested catch ability at practice, and for good reason.

Adams' contested catch production in the red zone is among the best in the league over the past 3 seasons. pic.twitter.com/z0jDdIGfy7

— Wyatt Miller (@wymill07) May 31, 2025

Adams has also imparted his wisdom on Nacua and the rest of the receivers, whether it be tips on technique or ideas for the offense.

“I think the suddenness and the ability to steal leverage at the line of scrimmage has been something that he thrives on and everybody in the NFL knows that’s something that is one of his greatest assets and to be able to figure that out and how that works in our route concepts and the timing of our offense,” Nacua said of the advice Adams has given. “So I’d say that’s been one of the biggest things.”

“He’s all that was advertised, everything I thought he was and what the coaches thought he was, he is,” Yarber told theRams.com earlier this summer. “He’s been a great leader in that room, mentoring the younger guys, being vulnerable, telling them about his struggles early on, helping them out however he can.”

Meanwhile, Tutu Atwell’s return will help stretch the field vertically. Yarber also said Atwell knows all the receiver spots in the team’s offense.

Additionally, Jordan Whittington enters his second season having improved in “all aspects” of his game, according to Yarber. Coming off a rookie campaign in which he made the most of limited opportunities on offense, Whittington’s confidence has also improved.

Collectively, the established and ascending talent make Los Angeles’ wide receivers a group to watch closely in 2025.

Got this from a good list of the top 140 ILBs in NFL history. This is both 4/3 MLBs and 3/4 ILBs. There are 9 Rams on the list. I included Wagner from his one year with the Rams. In fact a repeat theme with Rams ILBs is how they brought some in like Wagner and Conlan for short stints, but also let a lot of their own guys go, like Fletcher and Reynolds.

***

from: https://nflfootballjournal.blogspot.com/2018/12/top-mlbilber-of-all-time.html

13. Bobby Wagner

A very good athlete, with speed and a sure tackle. He will likely be a First-team All-Pro in 2018, his fourth selection in seven seasons (and five Pro Bowls in seven seasons). He was a key player in the Seahawk’s “Legion of Boom” although the secondary got most of the glory.

Wagner has 968 tackles, 42.5 are stuffs, 16.5 sacks, 4 defensive touchdowns, 16.5 sacks, and 9 picks. In time he will move up this list if he stays are his current level of play.

24. Les Richter

Richter was First-team All-Pro in 1955 and 1956 and Second-team All-Pro from 1957-60 and went to eight Pro Bowls in nine years. However, it seems some of his Pro Bowls may have been because he was a versatile player, one who could kick and snap. And since the Pro Bowl is a flesh-and-blood game, not on paper, coaches made sure they had guys who could fill all positions.

He did pick off 16 passes and recovered 12 fumbles but many don’t think he was quite as good as the elite MLBers of his era even though he was voted to the Hall of Fame. However, it should be noted that he played both ways, sometimes he’d play the first half of a game at center than the second half as a middle linebacker. Chuck Bednarik is more celebrated for that, but Richter did it, too.

Troup on Richter: “One of the few overrated Hall of Famers ever. I have studied a ton of Ram film and he sure had some strengths: 1) he played consistently hard all the time even on some poor Ram defenses. 2) outstanding open-field tackler, due to superb speed for a big man, and with that speed—rock-solid on pass defense. His drawbacks: for a big man did not fill the hole quick enough (lacked instincts) and was not near the hitter that others were. He was very poor on scrape, and at times “piled on” even more than Huff did. At the very end of his career, he was moved to center almost exclusively, and he actually played well there—maybe should have been his position all along.”

28. London Fletcher

Fletcher will be an interesting case when he becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame. He was never voted to a Pro Bowl, though he was an 11-time alternate and since so many players get hurt or beg out of the game, Fletcher played in four Pro Bowls as a replacement. Twice he was a Second-team All-Pro (2011-12) and he did get some minor honors in his career. Here are a couple of examples—in 1999 Peter King chose Fletcher as his All-Pro MLBer and in 2006 ESPN’s named him to their All-Pro team.

Fletcher played 16 seasons and totaled 2,031 tackles, 80 of which were stuffs. He had 39 sacks and 23 interceptions to go with 20 forced fumbles and 12 recoveries. He scored two safeties and 2 defensive touchdowns.

So, his stats or ‘numbers’ seem to meet Hall of Fame standards as does his Super Bowl ring, but he does lack the type of honors that most Hall of Famer LBer have on their ‘resume’.

32. Jack Reynolds

Hacksaw was a two-down linebacker, for the most part, and was a good one. Hall of Fame executive Ron Wolf named him as one of the best 10 MLBers ever in a Sporting News article in the late-1990s. Reynolds solidified a 49er defense that won two Super Bowl rings in 1981 and 1984, but he made his bones as the Rams MLBer for most of the 1970s where he was a Pro Bowler in 1975 and 1980 (and All-NFC in 1979) along with his Second-team All-NFC selection with the 49ers in 1981.

Reynolds was like a computer on the field for the Rams defense that was first in the NFL from 1970-80 in allowing the fewest rushing yards, fewest total yards, fewest points allowed and sacked the quarterback the most times.

He totaled 1,191 tackles and recovered 14 fumbles. As someone who was not on the field much on third down, he had just 6 picks and 4½ sacks in his career, but his forte was run-stopping and at that, he was among the best.

48. Jim Collins

A neck injury slowed and eventually ended Collins’ career but from 1983-85 he was more than solid, he was an excellent three-down linebacker. Good in coverage, could dog fairly well, and was good hitter and great instincts, a poor man’s Randy Gradishar in the 3-4.

51. Shane Conlan

Smart, tough leader of the early 1990s Bills defenses. However, more of a two-down linebacker than one who’d do really well in coverage.

91. Fred Strickland

Played for several teams, most of them as a traditional middle linebacker who had a good combination of size and speed. With the Rams, from 1988-92 he was a “joker” type defensive player. He was a moving piece in Fritz Shurmur’s defenses playing inside linebacker in base defense and nose tackle in the Eagle defense and defensive tackle in nickel. Later, in 1991, with Jeff Fisher’s defense, he’d play some base defensive end, some outside linebacker—a poor man’s Karl Mecklenburg.

99. Carl Ekern

Ekern began his career with the Rams in specialty roles, short yardage and some nickel defenses. Became the starter in 1981 and fought through some injuries. As a replacement for Jack Reynolds he was good, but never to the level of Reynolds, even though he had more height and speed—similar to what happened with Scott Studwell and Jeff Sieman in Minnesota. Sometimes the more talented player in terms of size or speed is not the better player.

106. James Laurinaitis

Laurinaitis was an okay tackler, not great, but was another of the “computer on the field”-type MLBers. He played on some sorry teams but was always on the field, even in dime, he was the lone linebacker. He knew the defenses inside and out and he had to play under two styles with the Rams. He was better in coverage than most, which is why he could be on the field in dime, he could dog okay, but in some ways was like Urlacher and didn’t get off blocks well, even though he had good size and strength.

from Every NFL Team’s Most Exciting 2025 Undrafted Free-Agent Addition: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25199101-every-nfl-teams-most-exciting-2025-undrafted-free-agent-addition

…

Los Angeles Rams: LB Shaun Dolac

The Los Angeles Rams failed to draft a linebacker until choosing Ole Miss’ Pooh Paul Jr. in this year’s fifth round.

Considering the state of the position, the undrafted Shaun Dolac may have as much of a chance to make their roster and possibly contribute as Paul does.

“Tackling machine” can be an overused phrase when it comes to describing linebackers. When discussing Dolac, it’s appropriate.

The Buffalo product finished first or second in total tackles during the 2022 and 2024 campaigns. Between the two seasons, he amassed 315 tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 12 defended passes and five interceptions. He then suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in 2023.

Clearly, instincts and production are not a problem. The reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year and consensus All-American is undersized at 6’0″ and 221 pounds. However, he has the athletic traits to remain productive as part of the Rams roster.

Shaun Dolac

from https://www.nfl.com/prospects/shaun-dolac/3200444f-4c03-9551-2ab3-5f9bcd179974

By Lance Zierlein

Overview

Three-year starter who went from walk-on to All-American over a five-year span. Dolac’s activity level and production are impressive. He does a nice job of recovering from misdirection and finding his way to the football. He’s scrappy and smart but lacks the size and explosiveness most teams look for from NFL linebackers. Dolac might not have the measurables but his instincts and ability to play as a core special-teamer could give him a chance regardless of his draft status.

Strengths

Tremendously productive as a starter.
Perceptive to play design and sees the field with a wide lens.
Able to combat climbing blocks with leverage and positioning.
Good instincts and ball skills working from spot drops.
Has an opportunity to shine as a core special-teams player.

Weaknesses

Below-average size, speed and length.
Lacks ideal agility and athleticism from second level.
Gets caught behind blocks with premature shots downhill.
Can be swallowed by linemen who get their hands on him.
Too heavy on his feet to match NFL route breaks in coverage.

canadaram wrote:

Shaun Dolac, LB, Buffalo

Overview
Three-year starter who went from walk-on to All-American over a five-year span. Dolac’s activity level and production are impressive. He does a nice job of recovering from misdirection and finding his way to the football. He’s scrappy and smart but lacks the size and explosiveness most teams look for from NFL linebackers. Dolac might not have the measurables but his instincts and ability to play as a core special-teamer could give him a chance regardless of his draft status.

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/shaun-dolac/3200444f-4c03-9551-2ab3-5f9bcd179974

Zooey wrote:

Why wouldn’t they just eat a Big Mac instead

Yeah. Where do people think barbecue comes from?

And burritos.

On recent Rams UDFAs.

***

from https://www.lafbnetwork.com/nfl/la-rams/la-rams-news/los-angeles-rams-track-record-developing-udfas/

Since Sean McVay took over as head coach in 2017, the Los Angeles Rams have quietly become one of the NFL’s most consistent pipelines for undrafted talent.

Alaric Jackson (OL, 2021 – Iowa)
Jackson made the roster as a rookie and has since started 35 games, including every one in 2024. He’s played multiple spots on the offensive line and helped stabilize a unit that went through major injuries.

Jackson re-signed with the Rams this offseason and is expected to continue starting at left tackle after returning from blood clots, likely in the winter.

Omar Speights (LB, 2024 – LSU)
Speights joined the Rams as an undrafted free agent in May 2024 and quickly earned a roster spot after turning heads throughout the preseason. He didn’t see defensive snaps until Week 8, but once thrust into action, he started the final 11 regular-season games and both playoff matchups.

He finished the year with 67 tackles, 2 passes defended, and 419 defensive snaps, all while grading in the top third among LBs in run defense by PFF. His standout film work earned praise from coaches and landed him on PFF’s “All-Breakout Team” for 2024.

Speights is now expected to compete for the starting linebacker spot in 2025, along with fellow UDFA Sean Dolac.

Career Explosive Run rates from 2025 RBs

RJ Harvey: 21%
Jarquez Hunter: 18.9%
Cam Skattebo/Bhayshul Tuten: 18%
Marcus Yarns: 17.9%
Damien Martinez: 17.8% pic.twitter.com/oHfAbvtUlI

— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) February 20, 2025