Everyone is expecting the Los Angeles Rams offense to improve this season with Matthew Stafford under center. The change at quarterback should lead to more explosive plays, a more aggressive offense and better individual stats from the receivers and running backs.
In turn, that should lead to an uptick in total yards and scoring from last season, when the Rams ranked 11th and 22nd in the NFL, respectively.
Pro Football Focus took the liberty of projecting yardage totals for Stafford and four of his top playmakers this season, but the numbers aren’t as impressive as Rams fans might expect. While Stafford is projected to throw for 4,538 yards, Cooper Kupp barely tops 1,000 yards receiving and Robert Woods come in under that threshold.
Here are PFF’s predictions for the Rams’ top players on offense.
- Matthew Stafford: 4,538 yards
- Cam Akers: 1,377 total yards
- Robert Woods: 962 receiving yards
- Cooper Kupp: 1,066 receiving yards
- Tyler Higbee: 660 receiving yards
Do the Rams have a top-5 offense? pic.twitter.com/NoHmMPVzuZ
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) June 20, 2021
It’s hard to imagine Stafford throwing for 4,500 yards with Kupp and Woods only combining for 2,028 of them, especially in a 17-game season. Last year, Goff threw for 3,952 yards. Kupp had 974 yards receiving in 15 games and Woods had 936 in 16.
The Rams do have more receiving threats now with DeSean Jackson, Van Jefferson and Tutu Atwell behind Woods and Kupp, so perhaps PFF is predicting big seasons from one or two of those receivers.
But either way, 4,538 yards from Stafford would certainly be good enough for the Rams, especially if it leads them to a deep playoff run.
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