Is Rams WR TuTu Atwell once again being phased out of the offense?

As Rams get healthier at wide receiver, will TuTu Atwell get phased out of the offense?

Whenever the Los Angeles Rams have given opportunities to TuTu Atwell, the former second-round pick takes advantage of those snaps. Atwell’s number has been called twice over the last two years when Cooper Kupp has missed time with injury and each time he has delivered. However, when Kupp has been inserted back into the lineup, Atwell finds himself back on the sideline and with limited snaps.

Last season when Atwell stepped in for Kupp, the Rams wide receiver had 22 receptions for 270 yards and a touchdown. The only wide receiver who produced more during that span was Puka Nacua. It was a similar story this season. With both Kupp and Nacua out, Atwell had 20 receptions for 284 yards and a touchdown. That led all Rams wide receivers during that span. It was also Atwell who played a big role in the Rams beating the San Francisco 49ers back in Week 3.

However, with Nacua and Kupp back in the lineup last Thursday against the Minnesota Vikings, Atwell had nine snaps on offense. This is not to say that Atwell should be playing as much or more than Nacua and Kupp. Those two are very clearly the top weapons in the Rams offense. With that said, while Atwell had nine snaps on offense, Tyler Johnson had three times as many with 27. Demarcus Robinson also had 61 snaps. With how Atwell has performed, he shouldn’t be fifth in the pecking order when it comes to snap counts at wide receiver. At the very least he should have eaten more into Johnson’s snaps and Robinson has shown that without Kupp and Nacua he disappears.

In eight games the last two seasons when given opportunity, Atwell has 42 receptions for 554 yards and two touchdowns. Over a 17 game span, that’s a pace of 89 receptions for 1177 yards and four touchdowns. Eight games is obviously a small sample size, but without Kupp and Nacua getting attention, Atwell has shown the ability to produce.

Back in 2022 with Kupp out and Atwell stepped in, McVay said at the time that Atwell “Probably should have gotten more opportunities and that’s something I won’t run away from. All this guy has done is answer the bell when he’s had his chances.”

Following the 49ers game in which Atwell had four receptions for 93 yards, McVay said,

“I wouldn’t say that I’m surprised. It makes you realize he probably should have gotten other opportunities. He’s always been called upon and he’s always kind of delivered, whether you look at early on in the season last year.”

This is now the second time that McVay has said something along the lines that Atwell ‘probably should have gotten more opportunities’, but then his snap counts immediately go back down to the bottom of the pecking order when others get healthy. At some point, it all just becomes coaches talk.

Again, this isn’t to say that Atwell should be getting snaps over Kupp or Nacua. It’s not even to say that Demarcus Robinson shouldn’t have a role in the offense. With Jordan Whittington set to return to the lineup healthy as well, that becomes another player that deserves playing time.

It’s football and only 11 players can see the field in any given play. At the end of the day, there is only one ball to go around. However, time and time again Atwell has shown that he is more than just a one-trick pony as a deep threat and can do more along the sideline and over the middle of the field. Among 96 wide receivers this season that have ran at least 100 routes, Atwell ranks eighth in yards per route run and 31st in separation score via Fantasy Data Points. Per NFL NextGen Stats, he also is tied for eighth in average yards of separation.

While Atwell isn’t necessarily known for blocking in the run game due to his smaller frame, it is worth noting that PFF has him graded as the third-best run-blocking wide receiver on the Rams behind only Puka Nacua and Jordan Whittington.

PFF

Since day one, Atwell has been under a microscope and heavily criticized due to the fact that he was drafted in favor of somebody else at a position of need. However, when given opportunities, he’s shown what type of play-maker that he can be with the ball in his hands.

Due to his frame, a lot of focus is put on what Atwell can’t do rather than what he can. There’s no question that Atwell can’t do Puka Nacua type things in the run game. However, there are a lot of things that he is capable of and that list includes more than just running a go-route. For that to continue to be effective, the Rams need to utilize Atwell in more ways to keep defenses guessing.

With Kupp and Nacua back in the equation, the Rams once again have a deep wide receiver room. Demarcus Robinson has shown that he can be a solid WR3/4 with those players on the field and Jordan Whittington has also shown promise. However, Atwell has had moments too and brings a different skillset than those players as well. It’s up to McVay to find ways to get Atwell on the field and how to balance the wide receiver rotation.