A major factor in the Los Angeles Rams’ turnaround under head coach Sean McVay has been the quality of their wide receivers.
In McVay’s first year at the helm, the Rams signed Robert Woods, drafted Cooper Kupp and traded for Sammy Watkins. After Watkins departed in free agency, the Rams traded a first-round pick to the New England Patriots for wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who they then handed a five-year contract extension.
Woods, a Southern California native and former USC Trojans star, has excelled under McVay, whose system plays to Woods’ strengths as a precise route runner and blocker. Cooks logged his fourth straight season of over 1000 receiving yards, setting a new career-high with 1,204.
Kupp, meanwhile became one of the best slot receivers in the NFL before he tore his ACL in Week 10 of 2018, ending his season. Josh Reynolds replaced him as the Rams’ third receiver, and the fourth-round pick in 2017 became an effective red-zone target with five touchdowns on the year.
Woods has expressed plenty of confidence for 2019 throughout the past offseason. He has good reason to be. As Kupp has shown no signs of lingering knee problems in Training Camp thus far, the Rams stand poised to enter the season with one of the deepest and most talented receiving corps in the NFL.
Woods has already found a nickname for the position group, per Lindsey Thiry of ESPN:
With Kupp’s return, Woods dubbed the Rams’ receivers a “four-headed monster,” given Kupp’s elusiveness inside, the development of Reynolds, and the return of sixth-year pro Brandin Cooks.
“We have a lot of receivers making key plays,” said Woods, who broke for a 52-yard touchdown reception in combined practice against the Chargers. “Cause Josh has been making plays, but just to get Cooper back in it … four different styles of receivers and four different ways to attack your defense.”
Woods has blossomed into a top-tier receiver since returning home to Los Angeles. He racked up 1,219 yards and six touchdowns in a career year for the Rams last season, and the team recently rewarded him with a raise for the remaining two years on his contract.
Yet Woods does not seem too concerned with his role, and how the offense forms under fourth-year quarterback Jared Goff, in the upcoming season. In fact, he seems excited to see how McVay, considered perhaps the best offensive mind in the NFL, uses the offensive talent at the team’s disposal:
“You don’t know, you never know,” said Woods, a seventh-year pro, when asked if the scheme this season would evolve to allow for different personnel groupings. “Whether it’s a rotation or whether it’s an injury. … You never know who it’s going to be, and at this point it doesn’t matter who it’s going to be.”
Like most Rams veterans, Woods is not expected to see any significant playing time during the preseason. However, he did make a 52-yard touchdown catch during a recent combined Training Camp practice against the Los Angeles Chargers.
