7 hot and not so hot takes heading into the Rams 2024 season
The Los Angeles Rams will begin their season on Sunday Night Football against the Detroit Lions. Before the beginning of the year, it’s always a good time put out some predictions on how specific players or the overall team may perform. Here are some hot and not so hot takes that I have heading into 2024.
Kyren Williams will eclipse 1,000 yards and show he is the lead back
After the Rams drafted running back Blake Corum in the third round of the NFL Draft, there was some talk in media circles that he may take over for Kyren Williams. However, make no mistake, McVay loves Williams. This was a different offense with Williams on the field last season and there’s no question that McVay recognizes that.
While Corum may cut into some of Williams’ touches, this is still his backfield. He may not be the bell cow that he was last year, but he’s still going to get a majority of the carries. Expect Williams to still hit the 1,000-yard mark and do so for the second consecutive season.
This will be Cooper Kupp’s Final Year With the Rams
At this point last year, not many would have expected Ernest Jones to be playing his final year with the Rams. The same can be said when the Rams moved on from Robert Woods. There’s a reason why the Rams didn’t touch Kupp’s contract this offseason when they could have to create more cap space.
This could be a passing of the torch type season for Kupp and Puka Nacua. By trading Kupp, the Rams would save $12M next year and could save $15M with a post-June 1 cut designation. The Rams seem to do right by the player in these situations and try to allow them to pick their designation on the trade market. With Nacua’s contract up for negotiation following the 2025 season, the Rams could look to move on from Kupp to have clean cap at the position when they get to the negotiation table.
Rams defense will surprise and finish top-15 after the bye week
Navigating a new defensive coordinator, a young defense, and life after Aaron Donald, it may take some time for the Rams defense to find its footing. This is a group that will be tested right out of the gate with games against the Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, and Chicago Bears all to start the year. Those are five daunting offenses and at least three of then could finish the season inside the top-10.
This group took time to find themselves last year as well. However, after the Week 10 bye week, from Weeks 11-17, they finished 13th in EPA per play. After some early tests, the defense will find its identity and start playing like a top-15 unit from Weeks 6-18.
The Rams will finish ahead of the 49ers in the NFC West
This isn’t necessarily to say that the Rams will win the NFC West. However, the past two NFC representatives in the Super Bowl that lost suffered a Super Bowl hangover. The Rams missed the playoffs at 5-12 while the Eagles started hot, but stumbled down the stretch. Throughout the offseason, the 49ers have gone through contract drama with Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams. Both situations have gotten figured out, but both spent all of the offseason program away from the team.
The 49ers have one of the more talented rosters in the NFL, but they also play a difficult schedule. It’s possible that due to the offseason drama that this team stumbles out of the gate and isn’t able to recover. If the Rams play how some are expecting them to and come out of the gate at full speed, it may give them the edge over their division rival.
Run Game will bring back flashes of 2017-18 versions of the offense
It would not be surprising if the Rams run game was one of the more efficient units in the NFL. With that in mind, the 2024 version of the Rams offense has the potential to be the most complete unit under Sean McVay since the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
While Todd Gurley was the engine of those offenses, the thing that stuck out about those teams was the marriage between the run and the pass. Even when the Rams won the Super Bowl in 2021, they didn’t have much of a run game that they could fall back on. The identity of the offense was to let Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp run the show. Heading into this year, McVay has had an offseason to continue to build on the gap concepts introduced last season and that should result in the passing game evolving around that. We could see a lot more pistol formations and play action off of that as Kyren Williams and Blake Corum handle the run game.
Tight ends will play large role in the offense
After spending on Colby Parkinson in free agency, it should be expected that the Rams utilize the tight ends more in the offense. This could mean Davis Allen lining up out wide or as a “big slot” receiver in addition to Colby Parkinson also getting involved in the passing game. Parkinson should also add a lot as a blocker in the run game.
At the end of the day, the Rams offense is always going to primarily operate out of 11 personnel. With that said, that doesn’t mean that McVay won’t introduce more 12 personnel and heavier looks. With two primary wide receivers in Kupp and Nacua, the Rams should have more flexibility to play more two tight end sets. This isn’t to say that Allen or Parkinson are going to each have 500 yards receiving, but there should definitely be a little more involvement.
Braden Fiske will lead rookies in sacks
Last season, it was Kobie Turner who led all rookies in sacks with Byron Young not too far behind. Fiske was one of the more impressive rookies throughout the offseason and there’s nothing to say that won’t carry on into the regular season. Fiske’s energy was felt in OTAs and that carried into training camp with pads. It’s hard to have Turner expectations for Fiske, but the opportunity is certainly there.
Fiske has the potential to hit the ground running to start the year and it wouldn’t be totally surprising if he did finish around eight or nine sacks. With the lack of defensive talent among the rookie class and more sacks available with Aaron Donald gone, Fiske has the opportunity to step right in and make an immediate impact on this defense.
