Tag: ben skowronek

Look: Ben Skowronek rocking Matthew Stafford’s high school jersey before playoff game

Ben Skowronek showing respect to Matthew Stafford by rocking his high school jersey before kickoff

Matthew Stafford is back in Detroit for his first game since being traded to the Lions three years ago and he has his entire team rallying around him. Rams receiver Ben Skowronek showed Stafford some respect before kickoff by rocking the quarterback’s high school jersey from his days at Highland Park in Texas.

Stafford was a star at Highland Park and eventually went on to play at Georgia and was drafted first overall by the Lions in 2009. He never won a playoff game with the Lions, but he’s gone 4-0 in the postseason with Los Angeles and will try to make it 5-0 tonight.

Sean McVay applauds Puka Nacua, Ben Skowronek for their contributions in the run game

Sean McVay spoke highly of Puka Nacua and Ben Skowronek for helping the Rams run the ball with success vs. the Cardinals.

The duo of Puka Nacua and Ben Skowronek finished with four receptions for 26 yards on seven targets — which was all contributed by Nacua — for the Los Angeles Rams in their win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Even though they didn’t contribute gaudy numbers in the passing game, Sean McVay credited Nacua and Skowronek for their contributions in the rushing attack.

“The toughness, the selflessness,” McVay said of what he saw from them. “You’re looking at guys playing the receiver position, all the different things that we ask of them. I’m glad you brought up Puka too, because some of the things that we were doing with him, based on their personnel groupings and their matches, you can’t do that unless you have a player like Puka Nacua. He was a huge factor, basically an extension of the line and the tight ends. The run game, we talk about it taking all 11. I thought Matthew’s management of getting us in and out of some of the right looks was key and critical, but it was truly the epitome of it takes all 11 to be able to run the football efficiently and that was on display. I love those guys.”

The Rams ran the ball only three times in the first half, entering the locker room with a 9-6 deficit after two quarters. McVay and the Rams would make a concerted effort to pound the rock in the second half, finishing the game with 179 rushing yards and a touchdown on 28 attempts en route to a 26-9 victory.

Kyren Williams led the way with 158 yards and a score on 20 attempts, and he ripped a few explosive runs. For the running game to be firing on all cylinders, McVay has always preferred to have receivers who can contribute in both facets of the offense.

Nacua has become a trustworthy option for Matthew Stafford through the air, but he’s always able to display his physicality when he’s blocking in the run game. Meanwhile, Skowronek rarely sees any action in the passing attack as the Rams deploy him as a run blocker more often than not.

The offensive line unquestionably deserves a ton of credit for manufacturing rushing lanes for Williams and company in the second half. At the same time, guys like Nacua and Skowronek have proven to be invaluable in the running game for the Rams at the receiver position.

Rams injury report: Alaric Jackson a game-time decision, 2 others questionable

Alaric Jackson, Tyler Higbee and Ben Skowronek will all be questionable for Sunday’s game against the Colts

The Los Angeles Rams haven’t had many injury questions through three games this season, but they have a few heading into Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. Sean McVay said Friday that three players will be questionable to play: Alaric Jackson, Tyler Higbee and Ben Skowronek.

Jackson is dealing with a hamstring injury suffered Monday night against the Bengals, while Higbee and Skowronek have Achilles injuries that could affect their statuses for Sunday’s matchup with the Colts.

McVay said Jackson will likely be a game-time decision, which is concerning for the Rams. After Jackson went down in Monday’s loss, the offensive line took a major step back. If Jackson misses the game, it’s unlikely the Rams would plug Zach Thomas in at left tackle again.

John Johnson III, who has only played four defensive snaps, is questionable with a face injury after being added to the report Friday.

On the Colts’ side, Anthony Richardson has cleared the concussion protocol and is expected to play against the Rams. The statuses for Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner are unknown for Sunday, as both of them are listed as questionable.

Starting center Ryan Kelly has also been ruled out, as has tackle Bernhard Raimann.

Predicting which WRs will be active for Rams in Week 1 vs. Seahawks

Sean McVay pictures the Rams keeping 5 or 6 WRs active on game days, so who could those players be in Week 1?

The time is nearly here for the Los Angeles Rams — and the other teams in the NFL — to trim their roster down to 53 players ahead of Week 1. Sean McVay was recently asked about how many wide receivers the Rams plan on making active on game days, and the seventh-year head coach shared some insight on the team’s current plan.

“That’s a good question. I don’t know that I have an ideal,” McVay said. “A lot of times my mindset goes to, what does the 48 look like on game day? And there’s different ways you can get to that. I would say that probably would be anywhere between five and six, if I was going to guess who I anticipate being active on game day. Now what the active roster looks like, there could be a little bit more flexibility and there’s a lot of things that affect that relative to other position groups. Who are the guys that are right on the cusp of, in that 53? But in a lot of instances, my mindset and mentality goes to, what does the 48 look like not exclusive to just the 53? And that’s typically been in the five to six range for us.”

Under McVay, the Rams have typically had five or six receivers dress on game days as each team can make 48 of their 53 players active. It appears the Rams will deploy the same strategy this season, beginning in Week 1 versus the Seattle Seahawks.

With the Rams preparing to make roster cuts in the coming weeks, we’ll be predicting the six wide receivers that will be active in the season opener against the Seahawks.

Mike LaFleur provides update on Rams’ WR competition in training camp

Mike LaFleur spoke about the WR competition that is taking place during Rams’ training camp right now.

Outside of Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson, none of the other wide receivers on the Los Angeles Rams have secured definitive roles in the offense yet. Among other position battles that are going on, Mike LaFleur shared an update on the current wide receiver competition that is taking place during training camp.

“Similar to the (Offensive) O-line there’s a lot of guys that played last year at that position, a lot of positions across this team, that weren’t planning on it, no different with the receivers,” LaFleur said. “Probably (not) having (WR) Cooper (Kupp) in (Organized Team Activities) OTAs was good for all of us. As much as we always want Cooper out there, because he is one of the best to do it, it’s been good that those other guys got to get a rapport with (QB) Matthew (Stafford) and that won’t stop. So there’s been some really good competition. It will be really fun to see how this thing shakes out, particularly when we get into the preseason. It always works itself out, but there is good competition.”

At the moment, it appears that Puka Nacua, Tutu Atwell, Ben Skowronek, and Demarcus Robinson are competing for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart. And then you have Tyler Johnson, Lance McCutcheon, Austin Trammell, Xavier Smith, Braxton Burmeister, and Tyler Hudson competing for a spot on the roster.

With Kupp coming off a season-ending ankle ailment from last season, the Rams have gradually brought him along this offseason, which allowed the other wide receivers to get reps with Matthew Stafford. Having Stafford available for OTAs and training camp has been a positive for the Rams as he’s been able to work with all of the wideouts on the roster after being limited last offseason.

Nacua has been a popular name in training camp already and Robinson has made some impressive catches to garner the attention of the coaching staff. While it remains to be seen who emerges behind Kupp and Jefferson, LaFleur is ecstatic to see all of the wideouts get opportunities leading into the preseason.

Fantasy football: Los Angeles Rams wide receiver preview

Examining Cooper Kupp and beyond through the lens of fake football.

After finishing fifth in the NFL in passing in 2021, the Los Angeles Rams tumbled all the way to 27th a year ago, averaging just 182.8 yards per game through the air. In addition, only two teams threw fewer touchdown passes (16), and just two clubs surrendered more sacks (59). Injuries were a big factor to be sure as stars quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp played nine games apiece, while others that were penciled in as key contributors — such as WRs Allen Robinson (now with the Pittsburgh Steelers) and Van Jefferson — missed significant time as well.

The question for 2023 is how will things be different? And, will anyone, other than Kupp, hold value among the Rams receivers?

Rams’ 23 most important players for 2023 – No. 21: WR Ben Skowronek

Ben Skowronek will once again compete to be the Rams’ No. 3 receiver, but he can contribute in several other ways

Ben Skowronek is entering his third season in the NFL and despite being somewhat of an afterthought as a former seventh-round pick, he’s made 12 starts already and has 509 yards receiving in his career.

Going into the 2023 season, Skowronek will have another chance to be the Rams’ No. 3 receiver. Los Angeles has a lot of competition for that position, even after trading away Allen Robinson, but Skowronek is a favorite of Sean McVay and does the little things to earn playing time.

Skowronek should not only make the 53-man roster again, but if he emerges as the third receiver, he’ll be one of their 23 most important players this season.

Making the case for (and against) Ben Skowronek as the Rams’ No. 3 receiver

Ben Skowronek is competing for the WR3 role with the Rams, but should he be their top choice?

Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson will get the bulk of the targets on offense for the Rams this season, but Los Angeles could still use a No. 3 receiver – particularly with Sean McVay’s heavy usage of 11 personnel. The Rams have plenty of candidates competing for that role, including Tutu Atwell, Ben Skowronek, Puka Nacua and others.

We already made the case for and against Atwell as the No. 3 receiver, and now we’re doing the way with Skowronek. He might be considered the front-runner for the job heading into training camp if he’s healthy, given his experience and toughness.

This could be Rams’ first year without a traditional WR trio under Sean McVay

The Rams have typically relied on 3 WRs to play most of the snaps, but that could change in 2023

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

Since Sean McVay became the head coach of the Rams, Los Angeles has had a pretty clear-cut setup atop the depth chart at wide receiver. The Rams use a ton of 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs) on offense, more so than any other team since 2017, and they don’t often rotate their top three receivers unless it’s out of necessity due to injury.

In 2017, it was Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Sammy Watkins. In 2018 and 2019, they had Kupp, Woods and Brandin Cooks. Josh Reynolds was thrust into the No. 3 spot in 2020 alongside Kupp and Woods, a role Van Jefferson took on in 2021 after Reynolds left. And finally, last year, it was supposed to be Kupp, Allen Robinson and Jefferson as the top three before Jefferson got hurt and Ben Skowronek stepped up.

This year, the Rams won’t have a wide receiver trio in the traditional sense, the first time in the McVay era. We know Kupp will be the top target, with Jefferson almost certainly starting with him as the No. 2 receiver. Right now, there’s no clear indication who the No. 3 wideout will be, which is why training camp is going to be so important at that position.

There’s so much competition alongside Kupp and Jefferson that even the Rams don’t know who will be the third starter. Skowronek, Tutu Atwell and Puka Nacua are the top contenders to start next to Kupp and Jefferson, with Demarcus Robinson, Tyler Johnson and Lance McCutcheon also in the mix.

What makes this battle so interesting is the variety of players Los Angeles has at wide receiver. Skowronek is never going to wow anyone with his athleticism or speed, but he’s physical enough to line up as a fullback or tight end. Atwell might be the fastest player on the team and is a legitimate vertical threat. Nacua is a rookie but he can turn short receptions into big gains with his elusiveness and he’s very comfortable taking handoffs as a runner the way Woods often did.

The Rams can (and will) be more situational with their wide receivers this year compared to past seasons when they trotted out the same three wideouts on the majority of their offensive snaps.

Need a good blocker in the slot? Call Skowronek’s name. Need to make a big play down the field? Atwell’s the guy. Third-and-short? Nacua could end up being their chain-mover on that crucial down.

The Rams probably won’t rotate their third receiver snaps evenly between several different players, but they’re likely to get all of them involved one way or another. That hasn’t been McVay’s approach in recent years but it might just be his best plan of attack on offense.

McVay has complimented Atwell several times already this offseason and he’s done the same with Nacua, a fast-learning rookie who’s impressed his coaches and teammates already. Skowronek has been injured but he’s expected to be back for training camp.

Wide receiver trios are fun and the Rams have had some of the best in the NFL under McVay, but their depth at the position will help bring some variety to the offense and keep everyone fresh throughout the season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

PFF ranks Rams’ receiving corps as the 14th-best in the NFL

PFF’s Trevor Sikkema ranked every receiving corps in the NFL and the Rams came in at No. 14, largely due to Cooper Kupp.

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

Cooper Kupp remains one of the premier wide receivers in the NFL, which is why it’s tough to rank the Los Angeles Rams too low when speaking about receiving corps. In a recent article, the Rams’ receiving corps was ranked as the 14th-best in the NFL by PFF’s Trevor Sikkema.

Here is what Sikkema said about the Rams’ receiving group ahead of the 2023 campaign:

It was pretty tough to place the Rams on this list. If you replace Cooper Kupp with even an above-average wide receiver, this is probably a bottom-five group in the league. But like the Justin Jefferson effect with Minnesota, Kupp is one year removed from one of the most insanely productive seasons we’ve seen, earning a 93.1 receiving grade with over 2,400 receiving yards on their Super Bowl run.

Van Jefferson is a solid player, and Tyler Higbee has been an underrated tight end with over 500 yards in each of his last four seasons.

Kupp does the heavy lifting here, but with him healthy, it’s hard to put this group much lower.

When healthy, Kupp is one of the best wideouts in the NFL. While the 2021 Offensive Player of the Year missed eight games in 2022, he was on pace for 142 receptions, 1,534 receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns on 185 targets.

Besides Kupp, the Rams have a handful of unproven or inexperienced pass-catchers. Van Jefferson and Tyler Higbee are solid players, but Tutu Atwell, Ben Skowronek, rookie Puka Nacua, Tyler Johnson, and Demarcus Robinson are all competing for roles in the offense.

The good news for the Rams is that Kupp appears to be trending upward in his recovery after undergoing ankle surgery in the offseason. Despite turning 30 years old recently, Kupp is the primary reason why many still believe the Rams have a receiving corps that is in the top half of the league.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]