Torry Holt was the last receiver to gain 800 or more yards in a single season for the St. Louis Rams. Holt hasn't played for the Rams since 2008 and didn't break the 800-yard threshold during his final season. That means the Rams haven't had an 800-yard receiver in any of the past eight seasons. As such, they haven't had a fantasy-relevant receiver over that period either.
In 2015, the Rams hit a new low. Nick Foles, Case Keenum and Sean Mannion combined for 2,911 yards over 16 games.
That production wasn't just a reflection of bad offense, it was a reflection of sheer incompetence. The Rams couldn't do anything right in 2015. The offensive line couldn't protect the quarterback, the quarterback couldn't make throws or reads and the receivers rarely separated. Jeff Fisher and his coaching staff relied heavily on screens and gimmick plays that put Tavon Austin in space to carry the ball. Passing plays for the Rams were essentially extended handoffs. Therefore, even if you didn't consider Jared Goff a top quarterback prospect, it was easy to see why the Rams mortgaged their short-term future to trade up for the quarterback in the draft.
Goff should bring competence at the quarterback position that the Rams haven't seen since before Sam Bradford suffered his first ACL tear. Bradford never got to work with viable receiving options so he couldn't crack the 800-yard ceiling with any given receiver, but Goff should have a chance in Los Angeles.
Because of his draft status and production in 2015, the most attractive piece from the Rams passing game is Austin. Jeff Fisher has spoken about getting Austin to the 100 catch mark but Fisher and general manager Les Snead have repeatedly proven that nothing they say in public should be trusted. With better quarterback play and a (presumably) healthy offensive line that has had time to grow together, the Rams should be able to run a more typical offense. That could actually hurt Austin's production.
In 2015, the Rams were forced to force feed Austin because that was the only type of offense they could run. It didn't matter that he was a bad route runner and someone who struggles to make catches downfield with consistency. In 2016, Austin will likely run downfield more and Goff should allow them to be more expansive in terms of where they throw the football. This will afford Kenny Britt and Brian Quick more opportunities than they received with the conglamorate that played the position in 2015. Neither Britt or Quick are exceptional talents but both have proven in the past that they can be effective receivers.
Britt was on the verge of becoming a superstar for the Tennessee Titans in 2011 but saw his career derailed by a torn ACL. During his second season, he caught 42 passes for 775 yards and nine touchdowns in just 12 games(seven starts). Over the first three games of the following season before his ACL tear, Britt had caught 17 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns. He was reaching his potential in an offense that wasn't built for him to thrive. After the ACL tear, Britt's career has been marred by inconsistency to the point that he was essentially an after-thought when he signed with the Rams in 2014.
Considering his situations, Britt has performed relatively well over his first two seasons with the Rams. While playing in all 32 games, he has caught 84 passes for 1,429 yards and six touchdowns.
Most significantly, Britt has averaged 17 yards per catch over the past two seasons despite playing with quarterbacks who couldn't throw accurately downfield. Britt is never going to be the most consistent receiver on the field, well maybe if the Rams play the Panthers, but he can use his length and athleticism to break off big gains. In 2015, he had 11 receptions that gained at least 20 yards and five that gained at least 40. 29 of his 36 receptions went for a first down or a touchdown. If Goff can prove to be competent, Britt's big play ability should make him more than an after-thought.
When the Rams put Case Keenum into the starting lineup last season, the offense showed more aggressiveness in pushing the ball downfield. This was reflected by Britt's success late in the year. Over the final three games of the season, Britt caught eight passes for 201 yards. Two of his three touchdowns for the whole season came in these games. That production was sparked by big plays, Britt had a 60-yard touchdown reception against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a 54-yard reception against the San Francisco 49ers. In the above gif you can see his 28-yard touchdown reception from the Week 16 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.
Britt shows off his talent on this play. Richard Sherman tries to play aggressive coverage at the line of scrimmage. Sherman is a big cornerback who can dominate most receivers with his physicality. Britt is one of the few receivers in the league who can not only match that physicality but also beat it. He bumps Sherman away from his body with relative ease before showing off the speed to escape downfield.
What made Britt a first-round pick back in 2009 was his athleticism. Despite his health issues, he hasn't lost much of that athleticism. He was never a blazing straight-line runner but he did show off fluidity and body control to be deceptive in his routes. Britt's 60-yard touchdown against the Buccaneers didn't beat a cornerback of the quality of Sherman, but it did highlight how you don't need to run a 4.3 to be a deep threat in the NFL. Britt is able to set up the defensive back in off coverage with quick feet and a perfectly timed movement to expose his technique.
The defensive back was flagged for illegal contact against Britt on this play, but that didn't prevent the receiver from brushing him off to continue downfield.
Against the 49ers in Week 17, Britt simply ran away from Tramaine Brock when the defensive back was playing zone coverage. Britt should have had an opportunity to run in an 86-yard touchdown but Keenum's pass hung in the air too long and forced the receiver to slow down. He secured the ball into his chest to come away with a 54-yard gain. Britt hasn't been a full-time starter over the length of his career but when he has been he has consistently made big plays. He has done that while catching passes from quarterbacks such as Vince Young, Kerry Collins, Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Locker, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Shaun Hill, Austin Davis, Nick Foles and Case Keenum.
Presuming Goff isn't another name to add to that list of inadequate or limited starters, Britt should outperform his 265th overall ADP in MFL Leagues and his 69th ranking amongst wide receivers on Football Guys staff rankings.
Brian Quick was never considered the talent that Britt was when he entered the league. Quick was a second-round pick for the Rams and not necessarily a popular one. He had major struggles adjusting to the NFL, regularly running poor routes or the wrong route while failing to catch the ball with any kind of consistency. Quick's first two seasons in the league were nothing short of disastrous. Quick struggled to get on the field despite playing with one of the worst, if not the worst receiving corps in the league. He caught just 29 passes for 458 yards and four touchdowns while starting six of the 31 games he was active for.
Everything clicked at the begining of 2014. Quick caught 21 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns over the first four games of the season before the Rams offense ran into the buzz saw stretch of their schedule with games against the 49ers, Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs. Quick suffered a shoulder injury in a 34-7 loss against the Chiefs. Not only did that injury end his season prematurely, it threatened to end his career. Quick returned in time to play 13 games in 2015 but he only caught 10 passes amidst questions about how healthy he really was.
The quality of service for Quick was very poor but his inability to consistently catch the ball was a major concern. It's easy to give him somewhat of a pass considering the health issues he was coming off but those questions will linger until he re-establishes himself as a competent receiver. If he can prove his health and the Rams passing game returns to being a below-average or average unit, he should be in position to be relevant in deeper leagues or leagues with deeper rosters because of his potential. A healthy Quick in a starting role should significantly outperform the caliber of player he will be drafted alongside.
Of course, those question marks could open the door for the most interesting receiver on the Rams roster.
Pharoh Cooper was selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. Cooper was selected ahead of sixth rounder Mike Thomas. Les Snead described both players as specific skill set or role players. Thomas was the outside guy and Cooper was the inside guy. With Tavon Austin entrenched as the slot receiver in Los Angeles and the Rams unlikely to become a four-receiver base offense, Cooper should be limited to a role on special teams. Thomas on the other hand has a relatively simple route to the starting lineup. He only needs to beat out Quick to see the field in three-receiver sets.
Thomas was a polarizing prospect during the draft. His athleticism makes him an interesting prospect but he played just two years of FBS football after transferring from Junior College. Transfering from Junior College isn't that big of a deal on its own but paired with the lower level of opponent that Thomas acquired the majority of his production, it becomes an issue. Thomas also had drop issues, letting easy plays get away from him because of focus issues. Thomas fell to the sixth round in the draft and landed with the Rams because of his lack of refinement. He is going to struggle to be consistent largely because he will struggle to beat press and run precise routes.
Where will Thomas' value be? In big plays.
According to Football Outsiders, the Rams used play action on 24 percent of their pass plays last year. Only three teams relied on play action more. With a rookie quarterback and a fully healtyh Todd Gurley, the Rams should rely on play action even more in 2016 to simplify the reads for their quarterback. Furthermore, the Rams also ranked second last in shotgun/pistol formation reliance while Nick Foles threw 20 percent of his passes at least 16 yards downfield. The Rams should be avoiding intermediate routes, relying on specifically designed YAC plays and deep shots to move the chains.
In the above play, you can see Thomas get downfield in a hurry before adjusting to the ball in the air. The first angle shows an impressive hands catch away from his body, but the replay angle really showed off Thomas' ball skills.
Whiel Thomas may not be a consistent catcher of the ball he does have good ball skills. Those can be seen here as he manipulates the defensive back to create a clean passage way for the football. He manipulates the defender with his inside arm, making it tough for the officials to recognize the action at speed, freeing him to adjust once it arrives over his shoulder. Thomas could have gone straight up for the ball. It would have been a more comfortable action but it would have turned an uncontedted catch into a contested catch against tight coverage.
This is the kind of play that Thomas can make if he can get into these positions against NFL defensive backs.
Thomas has the potential to develop into a good NFL receiver but how impactful he can be during his rookie season will be determined by how quickly he develops his technical skills. Press-man coverage is the biggest challenge for young receivers in the NFL. They are going against the best athletes they have ever gone against and they're going against players who are experts in how they use their hands and feet. The Rams could do what the Pittsburgh Steelers did with Martavis Bryant, keep Thomas sidelined for the first half fo the season to fully focus on refining his technical ability.
What will help Thomas is the offense he plays in. Teams will be more reluctant to play press-man coverage against the Rams because of how their offense will revolve around Gurley. When your cornerbacks are in press-man coverage, they don't have their eyes in the backfield. Instead, they are focused on the receivers so they will turn with the receivers once they release off the line of scrimmage.
It's fair to be critical of the Rams wide receivers. The group isn't an above-average or even an average unit. It's not a unit so devoid of talent that you should avoid it all costs though. Much of the dysfunction from 2015 should be rectified by good health and a new face at the quarterback position.
