The Rams’ special teams unit was far from special in 2020. It was one of the worst groups in the NFL, finishing 30th in Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings. Their struggles led Sean McVay to make a change, hiring Joe DeCamillis as his new special teams coordinator and shifting John Bonamego into a senior assistant role.
No matter where you look, the Rams had issues – whether it was in field goal accuracy, kickoffs, punting and the return game. Specifically on kickoff returns, the Rams ranked 22nd with an average of only 20.6 yards per return. And on punt returns, they were just as bad: 23rd in return average (6.9).
DeCamillis was introduced to the media on Thursday and he emphasized the importance of having a great returner.
“We’ve got to get a great returner. We’ve got to get a guy that can ring the bell and drop the ball over the goal line,” he said.
This doesn’t sound like good news for Nsimba Webster, who was the Rams’ primary return specialist last season. However, DeCamillis clarified that the team is still evaluating the return game and blocking is a big part of that.
They’d love to find a Devin Hester-type of returner, but when the blocking is good, it makes life a lot easier for the returner.
DeCamillis: "Now where you get special is when it's a guy that has Devin Hester-type ability, you know, those type of things, that that's where you can really become special. But we've got to make sure that we get the holes open at the start."
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) February 11, 2021
Whether in the draft or in free agency, the Rams will likely add some competition at that spot this offseason. The shorter the field they can give the offense, the better off they will be in 2021 – and they simply didn’t get the job done in that regard last season.
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