With the release of Cooper Kupp this offseason, the Los Angeles Rams' wide receiver room is already assured a vastly different distribution of pass-catching responsibilities in the 2025 season.
While the obvious stars like Puka Nacua and the newly signed Davante Adams will still receive more than their fair share of the targets, according to head coach Sean McVay there's also an opportunity for a less-heralded player, Tutu Atwell, to find a bigger role.
"I think when you look at his body of work, when he's been able to play, especially in some of the times that he was playing (like) when Cooper was on IR, there was a lot of production," McVay said recently, via the team website. "And if you project that over the course of 17 games, you just watch what he was able to do. He's matured as a young man. I love the person, getting to know him, and I think that he's only getting better."
Atwell has played four seasons in Los Angeles, but has only 23 career starts to his name in that span. He has posted just 1,343 receiving yards, a total that both Nacua and Adams have previously surpassed in a single season.
But when called upon in the 2024 season while Nacua and Kupp were both out with injuries, Atwell impressed. In four games from Weeks 3-7, Atwell tallied 284 yards, averaging 14.2 yards per catch.
While Atwell's usage was limited, McVay evidently saw that small sample size as an indication of something more and re-signed the wideout this offseason, saying that "I think the fans are accurate in that I haven't done a good enough job of utilizing him."
To McVay's point, if you were to extrapolate his output from that four-game span, maintaining that rate of production would have earned him 85 catches for 1,207 receiving yards over a 17-game slate. That's a lot of "ifs," but still an avenue McVay is interested in pursuing as he formulates the 2025 Rams offense.
"When you look at the times when he's been able to play, whether that be because some people were out or not, he has produced and he's delivered, and we're looking forward to seeing more of that ascension," McVay said. "He's going to be on the field a lot more, particularly in a lot of those three-receiver sets where, when he's been on the field, he's done a really good job. And like I said, if you project that over the course of 17 games, and hopefully you're in the right to play afterwards, I think that's going to be something that's well worth the investment we made in him."
The Rams still have other opportunities to add receiving threats before all is said and done, including with the draft in three weeks, if they so choose. But if Atwell can produce at the level McVay hopes for, adding another weapon might not be necessary.
