Does Jordan Whittington offer more than Cooper Kupp and can he be playoff x-factor?

Jordan Whittington could be Rams x-factor in the playoffs

Sometimes the right decision can also be the most difficult. Over much of the last six years, wide receiver Cooper Kupp has been the heart and soul of the Los Angeles Rams offense. There’s a reason why some believe that had Kupp not gotten hurt in 2018, that the Rams beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. There’s a reason why Kupp won the Triple Crown in 2021. When the offense struggled to move the ball in the Super Bowl, Kupp was the player that got things going on the final drive. It was Kupp that won the Super Bowl MVP.

It’s fair to recognize everything that Kupp has done and that he has a special place in Rams history. Moving Kupp into a smaller role may not be easy and the Rams may have too much respect for him to do that. At the same time, it may also be what’s necessary.

Kupp went catchless for the first time since 2019 in the team’s win over the San Francisco 49ers. In the Rams’ win against the Arizona Cardinals two weeks later, Kupp had one reception. There will certainly be a narrative that quarterback Matthew Stafford locks on to certain receivers. With that said, Kupp has an overall receiver score of 21 according to ESPN analytics. That’s 17 points less than any other wide receiver on the Rams. His open score of 35 is the worst of his career. ESPN’s Open Score assesses the likelihood a receiver would be able to complete a catch, conditional on if he were targeted.

Additionally, Kupp has a -0.2 catch rate over expected which is worse than both Jordan Whittington and Puka Nacua who play similar roles. His separation score via Fantasy Points Data is also lower than Nacua, Whittington, and Demarcus Robinson. Separation score identifies situations where a receiver is asked to create separation against a defense.

Again, the necessary decision isn’t always the easiest and the Rams face that type of decision heading into Monday Night’s wild card game against the Minnesota Vikings. Following the performance last week, an argument can be made that Jordan Whittington should have a larger role in the offense. Whittington had three catches for 86-yards including a 50-yard reception. For the first time in a while, a Rams wide receiver outside of Puka Nacua showed explosiveness and creativity after the catch.

Over the past month of the season, the Rams offense has felt stuck at times and moving the ball with any level of consistency has been hard. As I wrote last week,

“It doesn’t feel like it’s the scheme or the players within the scheme. Instead, it seems more about what the players aren’t doing outside of it…Everything is more difficult because of the lack of explosiveness and the pressure being put on Stafford and the passing game.”

It’s a small sample size, but Whittington’s 2.6 yards per route run would rank ninth this season. His 10.5 yards per target would rank 10th. What’s more impressive, and what the Rams offense has lacked, is his yards after catch numbers. Whittington’s 9.4 yards after the catch per reception ranks third. For comparison, Kupp averages 4.09 yards after the catch per reception. Whittington is only behind Nacua on the team in first downs per route. His 0.125 first downs per route is 10th in the NFL.

An argument can be made that more Whittington on the field is good for the Rams offense. This is not to say that the Rams need to bench Kupp or that he shouldn’t have a role. It’s the postseason and Kupp’s postseason experience and on-field IQ should be valued. At the same time, his snap count should be closer to 60 percent rather than the 85-95% that it has been over the last six weeks. Kupp should be saved for important situations and the red zone as that’s when he is the most valuable.

Whittington gives the Rams offense more explosiveness at this point and more creativity after the catch. The Rams rookie wide receiver reached 20.19 miles per hour on his kick return which was the same as Jahmyr Gibbs on his 43-yard run. It was the fastest speed recorded for a Rams ball carrier since Tutu Atwell hit 20.7 miles per hour in Week 3.

Additionally, Whittington has alignment versatility, and can also be used as a runner. That last part could be big as Blake Corum is out the rest of the season. Whittington’s skillset allows the Rams to do things that they haven’t shown a lot of on tape. That’s perfect for the postseason when you are trying to catch opposing teams with some tendency breakers and bring out things that they haven’t seen before on film. Whittington makes for a great x-factor type player in the postseason.

There’s a lot of focus on Rams wide receivers being good blockers. Whittington ranks 15th in run-blocking this season and trails only Nacua in the Rams receiver room. Meanwhile, Kupp ranks 87th via PFF.

The most successful that the Rams offense has looked over the last month has been with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo leading the charge. Against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18, the offense scored 25. It was the first time the offense scored more than 20 points since they scored 44 against the Buffalo Bills. Garoppolo’s 334 yards passing were 125 fewer than Matthew Stafford has thrown for in his last three games combined. It was the most passing yards for a Rams quarterback this season.

It shouldn’t be too surprising that the offense looked as good as it did last week. Wide receivers were getting open and the ball was being spread around. Six players in the Rams offense had three or more receptions. Over the last three weeks, the offense has been Puka Nacua and not much else. The last time at least three players had three or more receptions was against the Bills. The last time five players had three or more receptions was in the loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Some of that may be Stafford looking Nacua’s direction more than other receivers. However, part of it was also having multiple receivers on the field who could consistently get open and create separation. One of those players obviously being Whittington.

With the postseason starting, the Rams can’t go into the game against the Vikings with the thought that a week of rest and Rob Havenstein returning to the lineup at right tackle is going to solve all of their problems. That will certainly help, but the issues on offense run deeper than that. McVay needs to be able to change it up in some fashion and one adjustment that could be made would be to utilize more Jordan Whittington.