:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/3911773/153117309.0.jpg)
What is a playmaker? Is it a player that the opposing team has to account for? Is it a player that happens to have a nose for the end zone? Is it a player who puts the offense in position to score? All of the above?
Regardless of what you consider a playmaker is, it's something that the St. Louis Rams have been missing for a long time.
Luckily, the Rams drafted what could be a potential playmaker in the 4th round last fall, wide receiver Chris Givens. He's a young wide receiver who debuted on Mike Mayock's top five rookie wide receivers early in the NFL off-season. After the list came out, Givens' stock plummeted. He had character issues and injuries. Ignoring all but his big play potential, the front office selected him in the draft, and they have to be pretty damn happy they did.
Givens' stats are similar to the Ravens' young playmaking wide receiver, Torrey Smith, whom if you remember broke out against the Rams in his rookie season last year. They aren't the exact same; most of Smith's plays were on deeper throws, and he's more physical, whereas Givens can turn a short play into a big gain and catch the deep pass.
Lets go to the stats.
Torrey Smith
| REGULAR SEASON | GAMES | RECEIVING | RUSHING | FUMBLES | |||||||||||||
| WK | Game Date | Opp | Result | G | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost |
| 1 | 09/11 |
 PIT
|
W 35-7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2 | 09/18 |
@ TEN
|
L 13-26 | 1 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 3 | 09/25 | @ STL | W 37-7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 152 | 30.4 | 74T | 3 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 | -- | -- |
| 4 | 10/02 |
NYJ
|
W 34-17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 5 | Bye | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 6 | 10/16 |
HOU
|
W 29-14 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 84 | 28.0 | 51 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 7 | 10/24 |
@ JAC
|
L 7-12 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 32 | 10.7 | 20 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 8 | 10/30 |
ARI
|
W 30-27 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 57 | 19.0 | 36 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 9 | 11/06 |
@ PIT
|
W 23-20 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 71 | 14.2 | 29 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 10 | 11/13 |
@ SEA
|
L 17-22 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 | -- | -- |
| 11 | 11/20 |
CIN
|
W 31-24 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 165 | 27.5 | 49 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 12 | 11/24 |
SF
|
W 16-6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 12 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 13 | 12/04 |
@ CLE
|
W 24-10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 32.0 | 32 | 0 | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | -3 | 0 | -- | -- |
| 14 | 12/11 |
IND
|
W 24-10 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 48 | 9.6 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 | -- | -- |
| 15 | 12/18 |
@ SD
|
L 14-34 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 77 | 12.8 | 36T | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | 12/24 |
CLE
|
W 20-14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 29 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 17 | 01/01 |
@ CIN
|
W 24-16 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 33 | 6.6 | 13 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| TOTAL | 16 | 14 | 50 | 841 | 16.8 | 74 | 7 | 4 | 39 | 9.8 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
Chris Givens
| REGULAR SEASON | GAMES | RECEIVING | RUSHING | FUMBLES | |||||||||||||
| WK | Game Date | Opp | Result | G | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost |
| 1 | 09/09 |
@ DET
|
L 23-27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2 | 09/16 |
WAS
|
W 31-28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 3 | 09/23 |
@ CHI
|
L 6-23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 9 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 4 | 09/30 |
SEA
|
W 19-13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 52 | 52.0 | 52 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 5 | 10/04 |
ARI
|
W 17-3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 51 | 51.0 | 51T | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 6 | 10/14 |
@ MIA
|
L 14-17 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 85 | 28.3 | 65 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 7 | 10/21 |
GB
|
L 20-30 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 73 | 24.3 | 56 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 0 | -- | -- |
| 8 | 10/28 |
NE
|
L 7-45 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 63 | 21.0 | 50T | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 9 | Bye | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 10 | 11/11 |
@ SF
|
T 24-24 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 11 | 11/18 |
NYJ
|
L 13-27 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 19 | 4.8 | 9 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 12 | 11/25 |
@ ARI
|
W 31-17 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 115 | 23.0 | 37T | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | -- | -- |
| TOTAL | 10 | 7 | 22 | 467 | 21.2 | 65 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
There's a chance that Givens could finish the season with around 800 yards. He just needs 60 yards in each of the final 5 games to have 767 yards. As of right now, Givens and Smith in their rookie seasons have the same amount of games over 50 yards with 6.
Chris Givens could be the playmaker that the Rams have been missing since the "Greatest Show On Turf" era. He might not grab 10 catches in a game, but when he touches the ball, there's a chance that it will result in a big play, and that's all the Rams and Sam Bradford can ask for.