The Los Angeles Rams' offense finished the 2023 season as one of the best in the NFL and is poised to be an elite unit in the 2024 season. They've never hurt for offensive talent under Sean McVay, but the 2024 offense could go down as their best overall unit of the last few seasons. Adopting the pistol offense transformed their 2023 team and made their 2024 unit even more intriguing.
ESPN agrees, ranking the Rams' skill position units among the top ten in the NFL. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell ranked every team’s skill position groups, with the Rams coming in at ninth overall.
"It helps when a team finds two of the most valuable contributors at their positions on Day 3 of the draft. Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua emerged as stars last season, accelerating Los Angeles' offensive rebuild and helping create a path forward for a team that had been overly reliant on Cooper Kupp. When Kupp, Nacua and Williams all were on the field together, Matthew Stafford posted a 72.1 QBR. That would have been the third-best mark in football over the full season, within one point of leaders Brock Purdy and Dak Prescott."
There's very little reason to doubt the Rams will continue their offensive fireworks next season, but the durability of some key weapons puts a cloud over projecting just how good the offense can be.
"I'm a little hesitant to push the Rams higher out of concerns surrounding two of those standouts. Kupp was on the way to repeating (or at least approximating) his stunning 2021 campaign during the first half of 2022, but he wasn't on the same level after returning from his ankle injury. He averaged a whopping 3.2 yards per route run in 2021 and 2.5 in 2022, which would still be elite performance. He was down below 2.0 yards per route run last season, and while that's still starting-caliber work, he is 31 and also missed time with a hamstring injury.
Williams is also an injury concern. After breaking his foot as a rookie, Williams was held back from OTAs with another foot issue. Coach Sean McVay said the injury is nothing to be concerned about, but McVay isn't exactly known for being truthful about injuries, even as games are going on in real-time. Williams has missed time in both of his seasons with ankle injuries. I'm hoping he plays 17 games in 2024, but that can't be the expectation heading into camp."
The lack of depth on both sides of the ball is a key issue that has to be resolved, given these durability concerns. Fortunately, the Rams drafted Blake Corum (who might be better than Kyren Williams) to shore up the running back room, but their wide receiver room leaves a little to be desired. If Kupp (or Nacua) has to miss time, the team is relying on journeyman depth player Demarcus Robinson and then players like Tutu Atwell, who might not even make the roster. While the team makes up for it with a solid and promising tight end room, they'd be wise to snag some players ahead of roster cuts to shore up their wide receiver room.
Overall, the Rams' offense in 2024 enters the season as one of the most talented units in the league. With a dynamic 1-2 punch at RB and WR, Matthew Stafford under center, a powerful offensive line, and Sean McVay calling plays, expect plenty of points this season if the Rams can stay healthy.
