[Flash]

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2018/0 ... offseason/

Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon recently took a look at the biggest standout from all 32 NFL teams’ offseason programs. When it came to the Los Angeles Rams, he made a choice that is perhaps a bit surprising, but nevertheless should be very encouraging for Rams fans.

Most of the breakout offseason discussion up until now has focused on players who will need to step up in the place of departed veterans, particularly outside linebackers such as Samson Ebukam, Matt Longacre and Justin Lawler. But Gagnon thinks the biggest standout so far has been second-year tight end Gerald Everett.

The 44th overall pick of the 2017 draft, Everett played sparingly as a rookie but flashed when he was on the field, finishing with an outstanding 15.3 yards per reception. He was never able to quite supplant Tyler Higbee as the featured tight end and his limited playing time was entirely normal for rookie tight ends, the position which usually takes the longest to transition to from the college to pro game.

That’s why the 2018 offseason will be so crucial for Everett’s development, and Gagnon thinks it’s been going well so far. Gagnon says the Rams “have been rolling on offense throughout OTAs” and that “Everett is a big part of that.”

Coach Sean McVay recently said that “Everett’s been one of the guys that’s stood out really throughout the offseason program so far in terms of getting better.” As Gagnon notes, the Everett vs. Higbee position battle will be one of the more interesting things to watch during the Rams’ training camp. Everett has the draft pedigree and the on-field playmaking ability to quickly pass Higbee on the depth chart if he can put it all together.

If all the hype and praise turns out to be true, it could be huge for the Rams. They managed to be the highest scoring offense in the NFL last season without much help from the tight end position. If Everett can step up and be the dynamic tight end that McVay loved to feature in his offensive system during his time in Washington, the sky’s the limit for the Rams offense.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

If Everett can step up and be the TE McVay envisioned our offense could be scary!

[Hacksaw]

If there was a weak spot on O last year (beside the end of some of Watkins deep routes) it appeared to be the TE position. If Everett steps it up that will make the O almost unstoppable.

Gotta block too.

[AvengerRam]

No doubt... if Everett can become a consistent weapon, the Rams' O will be exceedingly difficult to defend. With Cooks, Woods, Kupp, Gurley and Everett all running patterns, there will be some real mismatches to exploit.

[Elvis]

With Everett, Higbee and Hemingway, we have insane potential at the TE position. In DC, McVay went to the TE a lot so by comparison the position was a pretty big disappointment last year. But maybe that's because they didn't have Todd Gurley in DC? He got a ridiculous amount of touches in 2017...

[Hacksaw]

And when teams try to take Gurley away this year, along come Everett and Tamarick.

Such problems to have.. Which TE. This just feels so different than any off season I can remember.

[aeneas1]

mcvay earned a rep of liking to throw to his tight ends a lot when with the redskins, but like the 2013-2015 rams who threw a bunch to cook, a guy who was more wr than te, mcvay had the same thing in jordan reed, another guy who was more wr than te... both fish/cook (2013-2015) and mcvay/reed (2014-2016) finished in the top 5 in tight end targets.

so i guess my question is, do the rams hope that one of the current guys will emerge as this sort of te? moreover is it necessary that the rams have this type of te on their roster? a te that's much more a wr than te?

hell, the 2017 rams finished 2nd best in offensive scoring despite ranking in the bottom 3rd of the league in targeting their tight ends.

the patriots have targeted their tight ends more than any nfl team since gronk arrived, but in 2016, when gronk missed half the season, they dropped to middle of the pack in te targets, adjusted, and finished 3rd in offensive scoring and won the super bowl.

having too many offensive weapons is never a bad thing, but if the rams are hoping that one of the current tight ends becomes a dangerous receiver, that means other guys are going to see less targets, enormously productive receiving guys like gurley, woods, kupp and cooks.

then again no one says the rams have to become a team like the pats, mcvay's redskins, the cook era rams, the chiefs, eagles, etc. who threw to their tight ends over 25% of the time, they could be middle of the pack team like the 2016 pats and still have great success... anyhoo, one thing is for sure, they do need to improve in tight end catch rate in 2018, they ranked 28th in this department last season.

[Elvis]

mcvay earned a rep of liking to throw to his tight ends a lot when with the redskins, but like the 2013-2015 rams who threw a bunch to cook, a guy who was more wr than te, mcvay had the same thing in jordan reed, another guy who was more wr than te... both fish/cook (2013-2015) and mcvay/reed (2014-2016) finished in the top 5 in tight end targets.

so i guess my question is, do the rams hope that one of the current guys will emerge as this sort of te? moreover is it necessary that the rams have this type of te on their roster? a te that's much more a wr than te?

hell, the 2017 rams finished 2nd best in offensive scoring despite ranking in the bottom 3rd of the league in targeting their tight ends.

the patriots have targeted their tight ends more than any nfl team since gronk arrived, but in 2016, when gronk missed half the season, they dropped to middle of the pack in te targets, adjusted, and finished 3rd in offensive scoring and won the super bowl.

having too many offensive weapons is never a bad thing, but if the rams are hoping that one of the current tight ends becomes a dangerous receiver, that means other guys are going to see less targets, enormously productive receiving guys like gurley, woods, kupp and cooks.

then again no one says the rams have to become a team like the pats, mcvay's redskins, the cook era rams, the chiefs, eagles, etc. who threw to their tight ends over 25% of the time, they could be middle of the pack team like the 2016 pats and still have great success... anyhoo, one thing is for sure, they do need to improve in tight end catch rate in 2018, they ranked 28th in this department last season.

Taking Everett with our first pick in 2017 makes me think that's how McVay sees him. He has the speed and open field elusiveness.

I personally think the load on Gurley was probably a little too high so whether it's Cooks or Everett, or whoever, would be nice to see some more elite weapons emerge.

But again, this is the opposite of arranging deck chairs on the Titanic, our offense was pretty great last year, whatever they do is fine by me...

[max]

Who is this Gagnon guy and is he at Rams OTAs watching Everett? Just asking.

[bubbaramfan]

I'm going with Hemmingway as the player that will stand out in TC and pre-season.

[RamsFanSince82]

The agree with the guy that wrote the brief article in the OP. I'm a big believer in Everett.