Buying or Selling: Rams offensive players for 2025 season

A new look in the WR room will pay dividends for Stafford…

There has been some early chatter throughout the Los Angeles Rams OTAs and at the start of minicamp of players making impressions on the coaching staff. Sean McVay recently spoke to J.B. Long and the media about players performances and who has caught the coaching staff’s eyes so far.

Its still very early and Sean McVay is typically not the type of coach to throw players under the bus, but rather praise efforts and their aptitude. But after reading the tea leaves, let’s buy or sell stock for the Rams offensive players thus far…

Matthew Stafford – BUY

(Jimmy Garoppolo – BUY, Stetson Bennett – BUY)

Let’s start with the franchise quarterback. Matthew Stafford is entering his age-37 season and most pundits would think that he is bound to fall off the cliff. However, Stafford’s TD % as a Ram is better than his 12 years in Detroit along with the other following categories: Completion percentage (LAR – 65.7% > DET – 62.6%), Passing Success Rate (LAR – 50.1% > DET – 46.6%), Adjusted Yards Gained per Pass Attempt (LAR – 7.53% > DET – 7.11%), Passer Rating (LAR – 95.2 > DET – 89.9), and Net Yards Gained per Pass Attempt (LAR – 6.72 > DET – 6.45). That even accounts for the Rams bad offense in 2022 when everyone was hurt. With the addition of Davante Adams, I believe Stafford is in for a 30+ touchdown season and the offense while not as electric as 2021, shows more consistency than it did in 2024.

As for the backups, I think Jimmy Garoppolo entering his second year with McVay provides huge upside in case Stafford were to miss any time. In addition, Stetson Bennett’s life off the field as seemed to have “no news is good news” vibe. Bennett will likely get almost all of the snaps in preseason. I am going to buy that he performs well, although he could still be cut when the 53 man roster is announced.

Kyren Williams – SELL

(Blake Corum – SELL, Jarquez Hunter – BUY, Ronnie Rivers – SELL)

Barring an injury in training camp, Kyren Williams is going to be the starting running back for the Los Angeles Rams. However, its the production that I see declining. After 316 rushing attempts in the regular season, Williams seems likely to cede carries to Blake Corum and/or Jarquez Hunter. My main argument against Williams is that his rushing yards per attempt dropped significantly from 2023 to 2024 and there was evidence of a lack of explosion in his game. You can’t get something back that you never had to begin with.

I’ll buy Jarquez Hunter even though it will be in a limited capacity. His explosiveness gives him an edge over the others in the running back room. Blake Corum will likely have a similar season to that of last year.

Davante Adams – BUY

I am expecting Adams to need a game or two to acclimate to the Rams offense but that does not mean that he won’t produce. We saw what Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp were able to accomplish with one another in their first year together. My gut tells me that Stafford and Adams will have connection similar to that of Odell Beckham Jr and Stafford. If you remember, the Cincinnati Bengals had no answer for containing OBJ in Super Bowl LVI before the star wideout tore his ACL.

Puka Nacua – BUY

After missing 5 games in the first half of 2024, Puka is poised for increases for his statistical output. He might not ever be a touchdown producer but his rapport with Stafford is automatic.

Tutu Atwell – BUY

(Jordan Whittington – Push, Konata Mumpfield – Sell)

The resigning of Tutu Atwell indicated that Sean McVay had failed to incorporate Tutu in the offense enough the past two seasons. In the last two seasons, Atwell has 81 receptions for 1045 yards. A healthy figure for a WR4 who was phased out in favor of Demarcus Robinson. Ever since his rookie year, I believed that Tutu’s future was to take over the DeSean Jackson role (who was signed by LAR in 2021). With Puka Nacua and Davante Adams causing defensive headaches in the intermediate and outside the hashes, Tutu becomes a serious threat on vertical routes and hitch/comeback routes.

With Jordan Whittington the only threat to his playing time as WR3, I expect Tutu to get more playing time and therefore an increase in production.

Alaric Jackson – SELL

(DJ Humphries – SELL)

Alaric Jackson’s health issue is serious. Anyone that thinks he will be ready for the beginning of the season is fooling themselves. I think a realistic, best case scenario is that he returns in December. While DJ Humphries provides veteran presence and he has training camp to acclimate himself into the McVay system, there is a reason that he was a free agent. Not to mention that DJ Humphries is the same tackle from the Arizona Cardinals that the Rams abused in years past.

Steve Avila – SELL

Due to the change at left tackle, I think this also negatively impacts Steve Avila. Avila had a promising rookie year but his sophomore campaign was bad due to multiple positional changes and a knee injury early in the season. I would compare Avila’s production this year to that of David Edwards – serviceable but lacking at times.

Coleman Shelton – PUSH

(Beaux Limmer – SELL)

Shelton will be more beneficial on the communication side than Beaux Limmer last year. The knock on Shelton has always been his size. He is a very light center who can be bullied by bigger defensive tackles. His only real asset is that he is solid at angling/zoning off players.

Kevin Dotson – BUY

Kevin Dotson is a war daddy. He mauls defenders in the run game and has been one of the most underrated components of the Rams offense since the Super Bowl and roster changes. Dotson will only be 29 years old going into his third season. I think Dotson has a legitimate chance to be an all-pro in 2025. It certainly helps that he gets to practice against Braden Fiske, Poona Ford, Kobie Turner, Byron Young, and Jared Verse every day.

Rob Havenstein – BUY

Rob Havenstein is 32 years old and missed 5 games last year. But even though he played last year through injury, he still produced a 74.1 PFF grade. His dominance is largely through the run game. I expect his passing blocking to return to the 70.0s with better health.

Tyler Higbee – BUY

(Terrance Ferguson – SELL, Colby Parkinson – BUY, Davis Allen – BUY)

The contingent of Rams fans that fail to recognize the value of Tyler Higbee will be outraged by this article. But let’s look at the facts…

In just 5 games last year after coming off an ACL and MCL tear, Higbee had three touchdowns. In the two playoff games, Higbee had 12 receptions on 15 targets AND 112 yards plus a touchdown. For a guy that is probably the 4th or 5th option in this offense, his production is supremely valuable. For those that want to comment on his regular season games in 2024, he only played 33.1% of the offensive snaps. He was clearly being eased back in to game speed.

I think Higbee has one last, good season in him. For THE MOST PRODUCTIVE TIGHT END IN RAMS HISTORY.

I think year two will be a more productive year for Colby Parkinson. I think he will thrive in more 12 personnel situations. He is not athletic enough to be the sole 11 personnel tight end.

As for Terrance Ferguson, he has received some praise from Sean McVay. I just think that the learning curve for tight ends in this league is real. Ferguson might receive some looks on passing downs but that seems to be it for now.

Stay tuned for more buying or selling of the Rams defensive players entering the 2025 season!