How important is it to have a really good WR2 in today’s NFL?

“I think it's absolutely critical. With the way defenses play now it becomes easier to bracket a number one receiver within the context of your defensive structure.”@GregCosell on latest @RossTuckerPod: pic.twitter.com/aG3iBg5LSg

— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) March 18, 2025

They removed the web page for Ira Hayes, one of the Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. pic.twitter.com/dqIqqpluIW

— 🇺🇸Jerry Mander🇺🇦 (@realpublicius) March 18, 2025

Zooey wrote:

Who is Nate Landman?

from Lance Zierlein: https://www.nfl.com/prospects/nate-landman/32004c41-4e10-8404-7773-9eee03d2b855

Colorado
Height
6’ 2 1/2’’
Weight
238 lbs

Overview

Four-year starter with excellent intangibles but below-average positional traits. Landman’s best seasons were in 2018 and 2019 but his Achilles tear in 2020 hurt his momentum and his 2021 tape was very average prior to suffering a shoulder injury. The lack of flow quickness and agility prevents him from consistently acting upon what his eyes tell him. Landman’s inconsistencies with coverage and tackling further hinder his chances of making an NFL roster.

Strengths

Team captain.
Sets the front and gets teammates lined up.
Good ability to key and diagnose the blocking scheme.
Steps downhill into leveraged positioning in the gap.
Peeks past incoming block to read play development.
Possesses the temperament teams look for inside.
Reads and darts into passing lanes in spot drops.

Weaknesses

Below-average athleticism and pursuit speed.
Unable to flow quickly enough to stay ahead of blockers.
Change-of-direction quickness is lacking.
Needs better pop to take on and stack up the block.
Fails to come to balance quickly enough as pursuit tackler.
Lack of agility and length limits open-field tackling success.
Will need to come off field on passing downs.
Suffered an Achilles tear in 2020.

Zooey wrote:

InvaderRam wrote:

yeah. they’re the same age but injuries have clearly got the best of kupp. i love kupp, and it was a bummer to see, but this one you could see a mile away.

141 out of 159 is not what you want in your #2 wideout. That’s not good enough for your #3 WR.

But it makes me wonder who 159 was.

Zooey wrote:

zn wrote:

They have a hole or 2 to fill but this is already a better team that the one that game just short against the Eagles on the road in the snow.’

Adams and Ford are good signings. They are set up to draft well. This will be a better team than the one that took the division last year.

Last year they got solid to great contributions from 6 draft picks: Verse, Fiske, Kinchens, Karty, Limmer, and Whittington (ie. with Whitt it was not just on offense, on different special teams units too). That includes the defensive rookie of the year.

In the last 3 drafts combined they had 9 6th round picks. Usually the hit rate on round 6 is anywhere from 2% to 8.84%, depending on your source. That means that 9 6th round picks should yield at best 1 player. But of out of those 9 Rams picks I would say so far that we know the Rams hit on 5: Lake (2022), Ethan Evans (2023), and 3 from 2024: Whittington, Karty, & Limmer. That’s a 55.6% hit rate. They have 4 more 6th round picks in 2025.

So IMO if they continue this good streak drafting, they ought to come up with 4-5 players, ie. counting
both immediate and depth/future contributors. As a result, the 2025 team could be even better than we already know it is.

And now that they’re set at P and K, they can focus on drafting a long-snapper.

Even if you discount the kickers and make it just 7 picks, that’s still 3 “hits” in round 6 out of 7 picks, which is 42.8%, which is 5 times the normal hit percentage.

Meanwhile in the last 2 years, after they had a serious re-evaluation of their drafting, they have had 7 hits in rounds 1-3, which now includes 6 starters (Avilla, Turner, Young, Verse, Fiske, Kinchens), or an unbelievable 85.7% hit rate.

If they can keep this up, they will be getting a few more players. Or to be more specific, if the percentages stay the same or close to the same, they will be getting 4-5 starting and/or contributing players out of this draft.

from PFF, 2025 NFL Free Agency: 5 best value signings –https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-free-agency-5-best-value-signings-2025?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dhtwitter&utm_content=null

T Alaric Jackson re-signs with Los Angeles Rams

Jackson’s deal is a very slight annual overpay but locking up their starting left tackle for three more years was the right move for the Rams. His 79.2 PFF pass-blocking grade ranked 22nd among all offensive tackles last season.

Andrew Brandt@AndrewBrandt
I would hope Eagles success, Bengals’ signings, etc would help lose the false narrative that teams paying top-of-market QBs can’t have superior talent around them due to Cap.
Never been the case.
Most teams have roughly 60% of roster on rookie contracts; built-in Cap balancer.

Andrew Brandt@AndrewBrandt
I would hope Eagles success, Bengals’ signings, etc would help lose the false narrative that teams paying top-of-market QBs can’t have superior talent around them due to Cap.
Never been the case.
Most teams have roughly 60% of roster on rookie contracts; built-in Cap balancer.

from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/rams/2025/03/16/nfl-rams-most-improved-nfl-free-agency-davante-adams/82474468007/?taid=67d7581440625b00016c47c7&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen went a step further and contended that the addition of Adams made the Rams receiving corps one of the most-improved units in the NFL through the first week of free agency. Although it was just one move — and the Rams lost Kupp, Demarcus Robinson and Tyler Johnson, Adams’ presence alongside Puka Nacua gives Los Angeles a sensational one-two punch at receiver.

From Nguyen:

“Adams struggled with drops last season, but he’s still a destroyer of man coverage. Last season, he ranked 12th in yards per route run against man coverage (2.69) while dropping 14.8 percent of his passes against man coverage (fourth-highest among receivers with at least 30 targets). Adams typically has very reliable hands, so this was an outlier season. If his drop rate regresses to the mean, he can still produce a high level in his most stable situation in years.

“Puka Nacua might be the best receiver Adams has ever played with, so Adams will theoretically see his lowest rate of double-teams since the beginning of his career. With coach Sean McVay’s play calling and Matthew Stafford’s arm talent, Adams looks to be set up for a rebound season. The Rams’ offense hasn’t had this sort of threat on the outside since Odell Beckham Jr. joined the team midseason in 2021 when L.A. won the Super Bowl.”

J.B. Long@JB_Long
Coleman Shelton can have an outsized impact on the 2025 Rams offense. Glad to see him back in Royal & Sol.

Rams moves this week did wonders to open up their Draft possibilities. Can very much let it come to them in April. I’m not sure there’s a position group I’d rule out? … but no dire needs (go ahead and reply with iLB), which is a great place to be more than a month out.

Cornerback? They’ll absolutely be adding to this room. But multiple starters in house. DWill, Cobie, DK coming back, and some undrafted rookies from ‘24 they like.

Rams Wire@TheRamsWire
The Rams are keeping Ronnie Rivers, their No. 3 running back last season, with a 1-year deal

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
The Rams say they have agreed to terms with RB and core special teamer Ronnie Rivers. Per source, it’s a one-year deal.

A- Free Agency for the Los Angeles Rams 🐏 pic.twitter.com/x1weo1ApsE

— PFF (@PFF) March 15, 2025

wv wrote:

Also had one of the Rams alltime great plays. The 4th down run. Its up there with the Ricky Proehl catch.

So as Rams fans we have–

the catch

the tackle

the 4th n 1

We need a run that is “the run.”