How To Fix The Rams

The NFL offseason will be in full swing before we know it, with coaching changes, free agency, and the NFL draft reshaping the 2023 fantasy football landscape. With that in mind, the Fantasy Life squad is breaking down every NFL team to determine what went wrong in 2022 and identify paths to improvement. Who knows, maybe an NFL GM will read this and realize those fantasy nerds aren’t so crazy after all – we all want the same thing, more points, and more wins!!!

How To Fix The Rams

Nov 20, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) signals a play in the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints at the Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Team Summary

The Rams got the fairy tale ending they hoped for with a Super Bowl win after going all-in on Matthew Stafford in 2021. The former No. 1 overall pick helped elevate their offense from 23.3 points per game (22nd) to 27.0 per game (6th), and Stafford and Cooper Kupp drove defensive coordinators mad.

Life sure comes at you fast – that feels like five years ago after watching the 2022 Rams finish 27th in scoring (18.1 per game) and 28th in average scoring margin (-4.5). Unfortunately, the draft capital used to acquire Stafford is one of the primary barriers to improving their roster for next season; they don’t have a first-round pick in 2023.

The Rams are also cap-strapped, projecting to be $11M over the estimated $225M threshold for 2023 due to some huge star contracts and free agency missteps, like giving Allen Robinson a three-year $46.5M contract last offseason. The current iteration of their roster looks like a DFS scrubs and studs lineup, with six players accounting for ~53% of their cap number, leading to rumors that Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, and Leonard Floyd are on the trade block.

Without much wiggle room under the cap or firepower to reload in the draft, this feels like an offseason that could be more about addition by subtraction. That means much of how we view the 2023 version of this offense comes down to maximizing what they already have.

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Pray for Health

This isn’t a creative or hot take, but it is rooted in reality. The Rams ran bad in the injury department in 2022, especially on offense. They had multiple starters miss significant portions of the season.

After the loss of Andrew Whitworth to retirement, the Rams' offensive line woes amplified thanks to extended injuries to their starting tackle and center. In 2021, the team boasted the fifth-best protection unit, allowing pressure on only 24% of dropbacks. However, in 2022, they allowed the eighth-most at 32%.

The passing game was out of rhythm due to the pressure, and they were never able to get all their complementary pieces on the field simultaneously. Early in the season, they were missing their field-stretcher in Van Jefferson and later in the year, they were without their chain-movers, Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson.

The glass-half-full view on the Rams’ offense is that the 2023 version will be very similar to the 2021 team that finished sixth in scoring. Kupp will be a high-end WR1 regardless of how the offseason goes, but guys like Cam Akers could drastically outpace ADP in an offense with an elevated scoring ceiling.

Get Something Out of Allen Robinson II

Last offseason, the Rams signed Robinson to a three-year $46.5M contract that doesn’t have an out until after the 2023 season. So the Rams are likely stuck with the 30-year-old WR whose average target share (16%) and yards per route (0.93) fell to career lows.

In the three seasons before joining the Rams, Robinson delivered 26%, 24%, and 17% target shares after adjusting for games missed. There is a chance that Robinson has simply hit a cliff over the past two seasons – it can happen at his age. However, the coaching staff also didn’t do a good job of getting the veteran into a position to succeed.

Nov 6, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Allen Robinson II (1) makes a reception against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the third quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

Historically, Robinson has been a fierce competitor on routes toward the middle of the field. In 2019 and 2020, he delivered 4.76 YPRR on slant routes and 2.99 YPRR on crossing routes. Unfortunately, only 4% of his routes were slants and just 7% were crossing routes.

While there is a chance Robinson is washed, the Rams don’t have many options. To have any chance of resurrecting his career, Sean McVay and company must find ways to play to Robinson’s strengths.

Robinson’s high-end WR2 days are gone, but he will likely be a late pick in drafts next summer and with the right offensive tweaks, he could find his way back into the WR3 conversation.

Draft Offensive Lineman in Rounds 2 and 3

One of the quickest ways to get this offense back on track is by giving Stafford more time and allowing McVay to unlock portions of the playbook that were off-limits late in 2022 due to protection challenges.

While getting Allen and Noteboom back will help the offensive line, the starting lineup only has two linemen with a PFF grade of 65 or higher. Only one lineman ranks in the top 20 at their position (Rob Havenstein).

Los Angeles must create a more competitive environment. Either the rookies will come in and earn starting jobs, or they will push the veterans to play at a higher level to remain on the field. Whoever doesn’t win the job becomes the much-needed depth the team lacked last season.

Based on the latest consensus big boards, the Rams should have quality options available at Pick 36, with offensive tackles Dawand Jones (Ohio State), Darnell Wright (Tennessee), and Cody Mauch (North Dakota State) likely on the board. Mauch and Wright are the No. 43 and 44 prospects on Mike Renner’s big board. If the Rams like all three players and each are available at their pick, they could trade down and accumulate additional draft capital.