Los Angeles Rams have one of the NFL’s Top 5 pass-catching units

The Los Angeles Rams’ offense proved very efficient moving the ball down the field in 2018, both on the ground and through the air. When Todd Gurley wasn’t hurdling the competition, Jared Goff and the Rams’ wide receiver corps oftentimes made picking up big chunks of yardage look easy.

Of their 6,738 offensive yards last season (2nd), the Rams managed to pick up 4,507 (5th) of them through the air. Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods both finished their 2018 campaigns with over 1,200 receiving yards, and Cooper Kupp was on a similar pace prior to tearing his ACL last November. Kupp looks to be coming back strong from injury, and the Rams’ aerial attack looks poised to once again cause fits for opposing secondaries this fall.

But how does the Rams’ group of pass-catchers, to include TE’s Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett who may not have the gaudy numbers but came up big on several occasions, stack up against the best of the NFL’s best? Bucky Brooks of NFL Network ranked his Top 5 pass-catching groups based on their “starting 5” heading into the 2019 season.

1. Cleveland Browns | Starting five: Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway, Rashard Higgins, David Njoku.
2. Atlanta Falcons | Starting five: Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu, Calvin Ridley, Justin Hardy, Austin Hooper.
3. Philadelphia Eagles | Starting five: Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Nelson Agholor, Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert.

4. Los Angeles Rams | Starting five: Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Tyler Higbee, Gerald Everett.Some observers will put the dreaded “system player” label on the headliners of the Rams’ receiving corps, but it’s hard to ignore their individual and collective production in Sean McVay’s offense (Cooks and Woods each eclipsed 1,200 yards receiving last season and Kupp had 566 yards through eight games when he suffered a season-ending ACL tear). Cooks, Woods and Kupp share duties as the lead receiver on the team based on weekly matchups and McVay’s creativity. The Rams’ clever play-action system creates opportunities down the field with that trio attacking voids at the intermediate level. Higbee and Everett fly a bit under the radar, but they have the capacity to win their one-on-one matchups against linebackers and safeties.

The Rams’ tenants - the Los Angeles Chargers - rounded out Brooks’ top 5. Bucky notes that the uncertainty of what will happen with Kansas City Chiefs’ WR Tyreek Hill is what prevented them from making the list.

How well do you think Bucky did here, and how do you feel about his 4th place ranking for the Rams?