Last offseason, the Los Angeles Rams signed veteran star receiver Davante Adams to pair with third-year receiver Puka Nacua, in replacement of Cooper Kupp, who went to the Seattle Seahawks.
The Rams already expected this duo to be elite, but through three weeks, they have exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Nacua was expected to take the next step in his game this year, becoming a solidified elite wide receiver for the Rams. After being drafted as just a fifth-round pick, Nacua exploded in his first season, notching over 100 receptions and almost 1,500 yards, but he missed substantial time his sophomore season with a knee injury.
However, this year, we have seen Nacua return to form — leading the NFL in receiving yards through the first three weeks of the season.
Putting two star receivers in the same offense is never an easy task. Both of them want targets, yards, and touchdowns, but if there is one offensive mind that could create an offense to please both of them, it would be Sean McVay.
McVay, since entering the NFL, has been known as an offensive guru who is not afraid to take risks and vary his game plans. Implementing this offense might not have been simple, but adding a player with the talent and resume of Adams alongside a blossoming star in Nacuamakes for an offense that is hard to stop.
Through the first three weeks, Nacua has emerged as the Rams’ obvious No.1 receiver, leading the offense in target share at 35%, followed by Adams at 29%. Furthermore, when the Rams are trailing, they rely on Nacua even more, with his target share jumping to almost 44% and Adams dropping to 25%.
The one outlier to this ranking is when the Rams reach the red zone. McVay has favored Adams significantly more in the red zone, where his target share shoots up to almost 50%, but despite the sheer number of targets, Adams has not been productive in those opportunities, so a change to this strategy might be imminent.
The last piece to the puzzle of utilizing two prolific receivers together in an offense is having a strong-armed, experienced quarterback who can properly read a defense, and not many quarterbacks in football fill those requirements more than Matthew Stafford.
In Stafford’s 17 years as a starting quarterback, he ranks in the top ten all-time in both career passing yards and passing touchdowns, along with having the third-highest postseason passer rating in NFL history.
The Rams offense has ranked 10th in passing yards per game and 11th in points per game through the first three weeks of the season. While these rankings are an improvement from their rankings last year, they could still have potential for more.
An offensive-minded coach with a quarterback as talented as Stafford allows the Rams offense to run successfully with two star receivers in the same offense. As they continue to get more comfortable and as McVay is given more real game film to make adjustments, they will continue to improve on an already prolific offense.