For the first time since January, the Los Angeles Rams’ starters took the field for a game on Sunday. They sat out the preseason and though we had an idea of who the starters and backups were from practice, not every position was so clear-cut.
We learned a lot about the depth chart and roster as a whole in the Rams’ Week 1 win over the Houston Texans, shining some light on how the coaching staff views each player. The snap counts show that the WR3 spot is wide open, there’s a committee at tight end (that doesn’t include Terrance Ferguson yet) and the cornerback rotation is slightly different than anticipated.
Here are the full snap counts from Sunday’s win, followed by six takeaways.
Offense
Defense
Who is the No. 3 receiver?
Tutu Atwell had been operating as the Rams’ WR3 all offseason and he’s certainly being paid like it with $10 million fully guaranteed, but there’s plenty of competition. Jordan Whittington actually out-snapped Atwell, 30 to 25, though that could be partly because of the time Puka Nacua missed with a cut on his head.
Konata Mumpfield played six snaps and Xavier Smith played two snaps, as well, but the WR3 spot is down to Whittington and Atwell.
There’s a committee at TE – and it doesn’t include Terrance Ferguson
Three different tight ends played between 37% and 58% of the offensive snaps, but Ferguson wasn’t one of them. Tyler Higbee led the way with a 58% snap share, followed by Colby Parkinson (48%) and Davis Allen (37%).
Ferguson didn’t play a single snap on offense, only playing five special teams snaps. It’s understandable that he’ll take some time getting up to speed, but there’s clearly a lot of talent ahead of him.
No lightened workload for Kyren Williams
The Rams have long talked about wanting to lighten Williams’ workload, but it’s not happening yet. He played 82% of the offensive snaps, leaving only 10 snaps for Blake Corum. And Corum only touched the ball twice: a 14-yard catch and a 2-yard run.
Jarquez Hunter was inactive, further cementing Williams as the unquestioned bell cow.
Darious Williams absent from CB rotation
There was a little bit of a surprise at cornerback on Sunday when Ahkello Witherspoon and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. were the starters. That left Cobie Durant and Williams to come off the bench, but only one of them did.
Williams didn’t play a single snap on defense or special teams, sitting out the entire game. There was no reported injury, either. Durant played 40% of the defensive snaps and had a spectacular interception, so his impact was felt.
This corner rotation could change throughout the year but for now, it appears Witherspoon and Forbes are the starters, with Durant as the No. 3 CB.
Tyler Davis is a key contributor
Davis had a sack against the Texans, making a terrific play to get C.J. Stroud on the ground. He played 33% of the snaps, which was only five plays fewer than starting nose tackle Poona Ford. The Rams view Davis as one of their four starters on the defensive line and that turned out to be true because he’s right in the mix up front, playing meaningful snaps in Week 1.
Minimal snaps for backup OLBs
Jared Verse and Byron Young might not get much of a break this year. Verse played 57 of 63 possible snaps in the opener, with Young playing 54 snaps himself. Josaiah Stewart was the first guy off the bench, only playing 15 snaps in the win, and Nick Hampton got in just one play.
Stewart could play more as the season goes on but for now, Verse and Young will have a big workload on the edge.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: What we learned from Rams’ Week 1 snap counts: WR3 is open, top CB benched, TE committee
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
