The primary job of a wide receiver is to catch passes when targeted by the quarterback. However, that’s not the only thing wideouts are responsible for. They’re also important parts of the run game, especially for the Los Angeles Rams.
With their heavy usage of 11 personnel, which puts three receivers on the field at a time, the wideouts are required to seal off defenders both outside and in the slot on every single play. They don’t mind that aspect of playing the position, either.
Cooper Kupp said Monday that when the receivers go back and watch the tape, blocking is what gets them most excited in the film room.
Rams WR Cooper Kupp on the receivers throwing really good blocks and the reaction it gets when they're watching it in the film room:
"It might be the thing we get most excited about in our (position) room, actually."
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) December 14, 2020
After his 171-yard performance against the Patriots, Cam Akers credited not only his offensive line for creating holes, but also his wide receivers and tight ends for doing the same. Kupp and Woods have become two of the best blocking receivers in the NFL during their time with the Rams, which is what makes McVay’s high usage rate of 11 personnel possible.
Without receivers who are willing to block, that offense simply doesn’t work. McVay shared what makes Woods and Kupp such excellent blockers, primarily praising their willingness to do the dirty work that some wideouts don’t like to do.
“I just think it’s the way that they’re wired,” he said last week. “I think No. 1, there’s a willingness, there’s a selflessness, and then there’s got to be a toughness that’s involved. The technique also shows up. (WRs coach) Eric Yarber and (assistant WRs coach) Zac Robinson have done such a great job with that group. But when you’ve got two guys like Robert and Cooper that are the tone-setters for that room and they end up doing that snap-in and snap-out. I mean, it’s such a breath of fresh air to look over, they know what kind of game it is and they’re just so happy to be part of winning football. I’ve been I’ve seen a lot of different things and this is something that you don’t take for granted having a group that has such high level of production, the stats that kind of follow, but most importantly, the selflessness and I think that’s why you see a ‘C’ on both of those guys chest, because they represent all the right things.”
It’s one thing to just be a playmaker at wide receiver, but it’s another to help everyone else on offense with great blocking on the edge. Woods and Kupp certainly check both boxes.