AFC and NFC championship showed Rams’ clear need for speed in 2021

The Rams lack speed on offense, and it’s something that must change next season.

There’s a reason draft prospects run the 40-yard dash each year at the NFL Scouting Combine. It’s a way to show their straight-line speed, even if it doesn’t directly apply to players along the offensive or defensive lines.

There’s also a reason this saying exists: “Speed kills.”

Any Rams fan watching Sunday’s conference championship games could see very clearly the impact that speed can have on an offense. Many fans probably thought to themselves just how badly the Rams need someone who can blow the top off of a defense by stretching the field vertically.

That was a role held by Brandin Cooks for two seasons before the Rams traded him to the Texans, and it’s a type of receiver they badly missed this season. Josh Reynolds was supposed to replace Cooks as the vertical threat, but his speed doesn’t quite match that of Cooks’ 4.33 in the 40-yard dash.

And so the Rams offense was condensed. Defenses didn’t have to respect deep passes because Los Angeles didn’t have a wide receiver who threatened that area of the field.

The Buccaneers have a couple of fast receivers, with possibly none quicker than Scotty Miller.

His 39-yard touchdown just before halftime in the Bucs’ win over Green Bay was a major difference in the game, and he scored by simply running by Kevin King.

In the same game, Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers. It was a perfect throw by the likely MVP, but Valdes-Scantling turned on the jets and used his 4.37 speed to pull away from the cornerback on his way to the deep grab.

That’s not a play many Rams receivers can make because they don’t have the speed to run away from defenders.

As good as Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp are after the catch, there’s a difference between their movement skills and those of a player like Mecole Hardman.

Take a look at this 50-yard run by Hardman in the Chiefs’ win over the Bills, which happened in the blink of an eye.

Yes, the blocking certainly helped, but Hardman’s speed turned what probably would’ve been a 30-yard gain by an average receiver into a 50-yarder.

Of course, he’s not even the fastest guy on the Chiefs. That title belongs to Tyreek Hill, who’s faster than just about anyone in the NFL today.

This was a 71-yard gain, and it came on a simple slant route where Hill broke inside and weaved through the entire Bills defense before going out inside the 10. Now, players like Hill don’t grow on trees and he might be the most dangerous wideout in football. But if that pass goes to Kupp or Woods, it’s probably a 10-yard pickup.

No one is saying the Rams have to find the next Tyreek Hill. That’s a nearly impossible task because he’s a rare talent. But they absolutely need an injection of speed at the wide receiver position.

John Ross will be a free agent in March and he should be on the Rams’ radar as an affordable speed threat. Kenny Stills will also be available and he can stretch the field like Cooks did – though at what’s likely to be a much lower cost.

If D’Wayne Eskridge out of Western Michigan slips to, say, the third round in the draft this year, he could also be an option for the Rams if they choose to address their need for a deep threat; he averaged 23.3 yards per catch in college.

Regardless of how the Rams get it done, they need to add more speed on offense. Van Jefferson has some wheels, but not in the way that Cooks did, or the way even Sammy Watkins did. The Rams offense would take a big step forward if they simply inject more explosiveness this offseason.

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