PFF grades: 12 personnel and TE usage revamp LA’s run game

Hunter Long and Colby Parkinson played a key role in Kyren Williams’ three-score effort

Pro Football Focus (PFF) has released their grades for the majority of the Week 3 contests, including the Los Angeles Rams’ improbable comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Let’s take a look at the top five grades from each side of the ball, and I’ll throw in some interesting notes and takeaways from the game data.

Top five grades on offense:

1 – Hunter Long, TE: 80.8

The Rams surprised out of the gates by departing from their usual 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE) arrangement and instead lining up in 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TE’s). Hunter Long played 28 snaps, of which 21 came as a blocker. He ran only 7 routes as a receiver, so it’s clear the reason he was on the field.

Long did his job and performed admirably. His 85.2 run blocking grade was better than any individual lineman and ranked second on the team in this game… and we will get to the first place player in just a moment.

2 – Tutu Atwell, WR: 79.3

Atwell was the standout player on offense in this game. He hauled in four of his five targets for 93 yards. It won’t show up on the stat sheet, but he also forced a defensive pass interference penalty that resulted in a 45+ yard gain. Atwell is a spark plug and is a playmaker when given the opportunity; however, the story of his four-year career is that the Rams haven’t given him enough opportunities.

Atwell also threw a pass intended for Demarcus Robinson, but Robinson couldn’t secure the ball as he went to the ground.

3 – Jordan Whittington, WR: 79.2

LA’s rookie receiver caught all three of his targets for 28 yards. He looks dangerous as a runner after the catch point, and it seems likely only a matter of time before he rips off a long gain.

However, Whittington’s most important contributions came in the running game where PFF gave him a near-elite mark of 88.6 on 11 run blocking snaps. This grade led the offense. Whittington was the lead blocker on one of Kyren Williams’ touchdowns.

While Whittington played 24 snaps, it’s clear he deserves more opportunity with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua still out—especially because he is the clear replacement for both Kupp and Nacua in the running game.

4 – Rob Havenstein, RT: 72.7

Havenstein has been a stabilizing force along the offensive line since returning last week. While a grade of 72.7 is far from elite, LA’s replacement tackles were well below that watermark. Havenstein brings both veteran leadership and steady play when he’s in the lineup.

5 – Matthew Stafford, QB: 69.7

Stafford was pressured on 45% of his 29 dropbacks, which is a very high rate. However, the veteran quarterback had an average depth of target (ADOT) of 10.5 yards, so it’s clear the Rams were wanting to push the ball down the field despite porous play from the offensive line. Stafford’s time to throw in this game was 2.77 seconds which is faster than his mark last week versus the Arizona Cardinals (2.94) but slow than his effort in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions (2.58).

PFF credited Stafford with one big-time throw, and more importantly, no turnover-worthy plays. Credit to the veteran for not putting the ball in harm’s way, especially considering the Rams were down 0-14 early.

Before the Sunday night and Monday night grades are in the system, Stafford has now positioned himself as PFF’s 24th rated signal caller which is up several spots from around 28th where he was after two games.

Other notes on offense:

LA allowed 12 pressures in pass protection, including three sacks. Here’s how PFF assigned the blame:

Kevin Dotson, RG – five

Alaric Jackson, LT – three

Logan Bruss, LG – two

Beaux Limmer, C – one

Rob Havenstein, RT – one

Matthew Stafford, QB – one

Dotson, who is playing through an ankle injury, was given a pass blocking grade of just 25.2. That was the lowest on the offense, though Logan Bruss wasn’t too far behind at 33.0. Jackson had a tough matchup against Nick Bosa and mostly held his own. Bosa easily could have wrecked LA’s offensive game plan just as Aidan Hutchinson and Dennis Gardeck did in the first two games.

Colby Parkinson posted the third-highest run blocking grade behind Long and Whittington, which underscores just how important the utilization of 12 personnel was in Williams’ best rushing effort on the season so far.

Top five grades on defense:

1 – Byron Young, OLB: 80.6

LA pressured Brock Purdy 27 times in Week 3. Seven came from each of Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner, and another four came from Young and Jared Verse. Young recorded the Rams’ only sack on the day, and he stripped the ball from Purdy to force a turnover.

Young posted an elite pass rushing grade of 90.3 and a strong pass coverage grade of 76.8. In coverage he allowed just one catch for two yards on two targets.

2 – Jaylen McCollough, DB: 66.4

While rookie Kamren Kitchens continues to struggle in coverage, Jaylen McCollough has been reliable in limited regular season opportunities and in the preseason. With John Johnson out, it may be worth giving McCollough extended looks over Kinchens.

McCollough played 11 snaps and all came in coverage, which could suggest the Rams either view him as a liability in the run game or he’s being used in a sub package in obvious passing situations.

3 – Michael Hoecht, OLB: 65.1

Hoecht was fine as a pass rusher, posting two pressures and a pass rush grade of 73.1. His tackling grade of 29.6 is unfortunate and he missed one tackle on four opportunities.

4 – Desjuan Johnson, DE: 64.0

Johnson was in the game for just six snaps, five of which came against the run. He posted a run defense grade of 62.8 and a tackling grade of 69.6.

5 – Jared Verse, OLB: 63.9

LA’s standout rookie makes another appearance in the top five, though this might be his worst overall outing on the young season so far. After being eluded often by Kyler Murray last week, Verse missed four tackles on eight opportunities again against Purdy and the 49ers—good for a tackling grade of just 24.9 (worst on the defense).

It’s encouraging that Verse is productive as a pass rusher and is often in the backfield, but there’s room to improve in terms of finishing plays. That’s where he can take the next step.

Other notes on defense:

Brock Purdy posted an elite offensive grade of 91.1 as he scrambled seven times to evade LA’s productive pass rush. Purdy demonstrated how important mobility is when the offensive line is struggling in pass protection, and he was able to throw for 295 yards in three touchdowns by extending plays with his legs and finding holes in the backend of the defense.

The bottom three players in defensive grade all came from the secondary in Kamren Curl, Cobie Durant, and Quentin Lake. These three players were given the lowest coverage grades on the day at 49.6, 41.0, and 38.4, respectively. 49ers WR Jauan Jennings caught 11 passes for 175 yards and three scores.

Curl – one target, one catch, four yards, touchdown

Durant – seven targets, five catches, 54 yards

Lake – eight targets, six catches, 109 yards

Tre White – five targets, three catches, 35 yards, TD, one PBU

Kinchens – one target, one catch, 31 yards, TD

In terms of run defense, the interior of the defensive line did not fare well. Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske were given rush defense grades of just 43.3 and 40.1, respectively. These figures were the worst on the defense. While both players can be effective pass rushers, they need to make improvement on the ground as LA has given up a lot of production the last two weeks to James Connor and Jordan Mason.