Davante Adams will help Matthew Stafford in this area next season

The Rams added WWR Davante Adams, but can he fix Matthew Stafford’s red zone problems?

Throughout the Sean McVay era, the Los Angeles Rams have lacked overall efficiency in the red zone. The Rams offense getting to the red zone has rarely been the issue, but rather how they have tended to stall once they get there. It’s a reason why they lost to the Detroit Lions in the playoffs in 2023.

Last season, the Rams offense ranked 24th in points per red zone trip at 4.6 and 25th in red zone touchdown percentage at 51.4 percent. That was despite the fact that quarterback Matthew Stafford was 10th in red zone passing attempts and running back Kyren Williams had the most red zone rushing attempts.

Heading into 2025, this is simply an area of the field in which the Rams need to be better. They were one of just three playoff teams along with the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers to rank inside the bottom-10 in points per red zone trip. For the Rams to take that next step as many expect them to, they need to be more efficient.

In the red zone last season, the Rams and Matthew Stafford ranked just 14th in EPA per pass in the red zone and his 16 red zone touchdowns ranked 15th. Among quarterbacks with at least 50 red zone pass attempts, Stafford was 20th in completion percentage, completing 46.2 percent of his passes with a -22.4 completion percentage over expectation. Additionally, he had just a 52.7 percent catchable throw percentage. That ranked last in the NFL. In fact, the gap between Stafford at 21 and Geno Smith at 20 was the same as Smith at 20 and Jalen Hurts at 11.

Stafford and McVay both need to execute better and at times be more creative in the red zone if the Rams are to be more efficient. At the same time, this past offseason, the Rams signed arguably one of the NFL’s best red zone wide receivers in Davante Adams.

Over the past three seasons, Adams’ contested catch rate in the red zone has been the best in the NFL. His catch-rate of 66.7 percent and two touchdowns on end zone fades was also the best among wide receivers last season. While Adams didn’t have as much success with the Las Vegas Raiders on these routes, in 2021 he caught his lone target on this route which resulted in a touchdown.

The end zone fade is something that McVay has incorporated into the offense in the red zone. It was the play that McVay went to in 2021 to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl. However, in 2024, the Rams didn’t have much success on this route.

Much of this and Stafford’s lack of success in the red zone had to do with the drop-off in level from Cooper Kupp. The Rams simply didn’t have a reliable red zone target. Kupp had just 10 red zone targets last season which was down from 18 in 2023. In Stafford’s first two years, Kupp was one of the best red zone wide receivers. In 2022, Kupp caught 72.7 percent of his red zone targets, resulting in four touchdowns. During his triple crown season in 2021, Kupp had 26 red zone receptions and 13 of them went for touchdowns.

While Stafford has lacked red zone accuracy the last two years, he did throw 17 touchdowns to zero interceptions in 2023. In 2021, the Rams quarterback completed more than 50 percent of his red zone passes while throwing 32 touchdowns. He also had a catchable throw percentage of 69.6 percent.

With Adams, the Rams quarterback will once again have a legitimate threat in the red zone. When he’s had one, Stafford has been efficient. In 2020 with the Detroit Lions, that was TJ Hockenson. It’s worth noting that the Rams also added a big receiving tight end in Terrance Ferguson. Before Hockenson, it was Calvin Johnson. Johnson typically had a low catch-rate in the red zone, but in 2011 he caught 13 passes and nine of them went for touchdowns. While he only caught 10 of his 23 red zone targets in 2013, Johnson converted seven of those into touchdowns. Those were also two of Stafford’s better years in the red zone as a passer.

The Rams will need to rely on more than just throwing it up to Adams in the red zone and hoping for the best to increase their red zone success. McVay will still need to get creative and not have an over-reliance on the end zone fade. At the same time, Adams’ size and body control should give the Rams an advantage in this area of the field that they lacked last season.

If the Rams offense is going to hit its full potential next season, they’ll need to be more efficient in the red zone. While the Rams ranked 16th in red zone efficiency in 2021, they had a touchdown rate of 59 percent and were third in red zone scoring attempts per game. The offense will need to get back to that if they are to take the next step.

With Davante Adams giving Stafford a reliable target in the red zone, it will be up to McVay to put his new chess piece in position to succeed. If Stafford, Adams, and McVay can all get on the same page, they’ll unlock a part of their offense that has been missing.