Sean McVay: Brycen Hopkins has been ‘one of the bright spots’ of Rams camp

Sean McVay has been really pleased with what he’s seen from Brycen Hopkins this summer, giving him confidence in the whole TE room

Tyler Higbee isn’t going anywhere as the Rams’ starting tight end, locking down that position for yet another year in 2023. There were some questions earlier this offseason about who would back him up after the Rams acquired Hunter Long from the Dolphins and added Davis Allen in the draft.

There isn’t much question anymore because Brycen Hopkins seems entrenched as the No. 2 tight end – and not just because Long and Allen have been injured. He’s done a great job all offseason, according to Sean McVay, and has been one of the bright spots of training camp.

“I feel great about Brycen Hopkins. I think he’s had an excellent camp,” McVay said Thursday. “If you said, ‘What’s one of the bright spots of training camp?’ Brycen Hopkins is one of the guys that comes to mind right away for me. I think he’s done an excellent job.”

Hopkins is in his fourth season in the NFL but has started just one game up to this point. He’s also caught just eight total passes in the regular season through three years, gaining 118 yards without a single touchdown.

This could be the year Hopkins really emerges and breaks out, though. Tight ends typically take a few years to adjust fully to the NFL, given the responsibilities that come with playing the position.

The Rams don’t run a ton of two-tight end sets, preferring 11 personnel with one tight end and three receivers, but they’ve been using some more 12 personnel in recent years, which should carry over into this season and give Hopkins more opportunities to catch passes.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Brycen Hopkins had a sweet interaction with 2 young Rams fans after Week 18 loss

Two young Rams fans left an impression on Brycen Hopkins after LA’s loss to the Seahawks, reminding him of what’s important

Brycen Hopkins just wrapped up his third NFL season, doing so with a heartbreaking loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon. It was a bitter end to a tough year for the Los Angeles Rams, leaving the team with more questions than answers as they enter the 2023 offseason.

As disappointed as Hopkins was, two young fans reminded him of what’s important as he was walking off the field at Lumen Field. Hopkins apologized to the kids for the Rams losing to Seattle, and their response was simple but left a strong impression on the tight end: “That’s okay, you guys did amazing! We’re always proud of you!”

Hopkins gave the two boys his gloves from the game and is hoping to get them to another Rams game next season – this time at SoFi Stadium.

He shared the full story in a note on Twitter, which you can read by clicking the tweet below.

Hopkins had the most productive season of his career in 2022, catching seven passes for 109 yards. He played 173 total snaps on offense, which is significantly more than the 61 he played in his first two years combined.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby8n025panb709 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Brycen Hopkins moved by chance meeting with young Rams fans

Young fans provided an instant lesson for Rams TE Brycen Hopkins

The Los Angeles Rams’ season had come to an end Sunday with an overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Tight end Brycen Hopkins was walking off the field when he met a couple of young Rams fans.

The chance encounter provided a moving memory for the tight end who had just completed his third season with the team.

Who steps up as Rams’ No. 2 TE with Brycen Hopkins suspended?

Brycen Hopkins’ suspension leaves Tyler Higbee as the only TE on the Rams’ roster. So who takes Hopkins’ place?

Usually when a guy who plays four snaps per game gets suspended, it’s not a huge deal. But for the Los Angeles Rams, losing Brycen Hopkins for three games creates a hole on the roster.

They came into the year with just two tight ends on the active roster, a surprising move considering Hopkins has played so little in his first two years. All offseason, everyone expected the Rams to keep Tyler Higbee, Hopkins and Kendall Blanton. Now, they probably wish they’d kept Blanton.

Of course, Sean McVay and Les Snead couldn’t have predicted that Hopkins would get hit with a three-game suspension, but this was the risk they took by only keeping two tight ends. They smartly signed two tight ends to the practice squad, but Roger Carter Jr. and Jared Pinkney have never played a regular-season game.

So where do the Rams go from here with Hopkins out three games? Their best option might be to use Ben Skowronek as their No. 2 tight end. Against the Falcons on Sunday, Skowronek was kind of already playing the role of a tight end.

He lined up in the backfield as a fullback, as well as tight to the formation to help block in the running game. Though he’s technically a wide receiver, Skowronek can use his 6-foot-3 frame to block like a tight end. He’s only 1 inch shorter and 9 pounds lighter than Johnny Mundt, who was the Rams’ No. 2 tight end when healthy the last two years.

Skowronek might actually be a better blocker than he is a receiver, which makes him a perfect fit for the TE2 role Mundt held in the past. The Rams’ second tight end doesn’t have to be a dynamic receiver. They don’t need him to be Gerald Everett. Skowronek just has to know the offense and block the way he did in Week 2 against the Falcons.

It’s not as if the Rams were utilizing Hopkins much anyway. He played four snaps in each of the first two games and wasn’t targeted once. Skowronek is capable of filling in for Hopkins for three weeks, and with McVay’s creativity, he’ll find ways to mix up the personnel like he did on Sunday.

The bigger concern is the possibility of losing Higbee to injury. He’s almost always available for the Rams, but Higbee has dealt with his share of bumps and bruises in the last two years. He left the NFC title game with a knee injury, which kept him out of the Super Bowl two weeks later.

The Rams absolutely cannot afford to lose Higbee in the next three weeks while Hopkins is suspended. If that were to happen, they’d be left without a single experienced tight end – and with how often McVay likes to use 11 personnel with one tight end on the field at all times, it would be a huge challenge.

It’s possible that the Rams will promote Carter or Pinkney from the practice squad in the next three weeks, just to have another true tight end on the team in case an injury does occur. But they don’t have to panic and sign someone to replace Hopkins – who, again, has only played eight snaps.

His suspension isn’t ideal, but it’s something the Rams can overcome by using Skowronek in different ways.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby8n025panb709 player_id=none image=https://theramswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Bryce Hopkins suspended 3 games for violating league’s substance abuse policy

Brycen Hopkins will miss the next 3 games for the Rams due to violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

The Los Angeles Rams only have two tight ends on their active roster, but they are now down to one following Wednesday’s news. Ahead of the team’s Week 3 matchup versus the Arizona Cardinals, Brycen Hopkins has been suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, the team announced.

The only two tight ends on the roster in the first two weeks of the season were Tyler Higbee and Hopkins. Considering that the Rams run a vast majority of their offense out of 11 personnel, Hopkins has only played eight offensive snaps this season.

Besides missing this week’s bout with the Cardinals, the former fourth-round pick will miss upcoming games against the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys. Hopkins is now the second player on the Rams to be suspended for at least three games, with Bobby Brown receiving a six-game suspension before the season for a PED violation.

With Hopkins inactive for the next three games, the Rams could promote Roger Carter Jr. or Jared Pinkney from their practice squad to provide depth behind Higbee. There’s also a chance we see Ben Skowronek have an expanded role that includes him being the temporary backup to Higbee.

Brycen Hopkins has finally become the No. 2 TE the Rams expected him to be

In Year 3, Brycen Hopkins has finally established himself as the No. 2 tight end the Rams saw him as when they drafted him in 2020.

When the Los Angeles Rams drafted Brycen Hopkins in the fourth round in 2020, it was viewed as a little bit of a luxury pick. They already had Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett on the roster, so it’s not as if they needed another receiving tight end at the time.

But knowing Everett’s contract was expiring after the season, they saw an opportunity to select an athletic tight end who could eventually step into that No. 2 role behind Tyler Higbee – and maybe eventually a starter if Higbee leaves.

Things didn’t look great for Hopkins in his first two seasons, playing only 2 offensive snaps as a rookie and 59 in Year 2 last season. And despite only catching one pass for 9 yards in his first two years, he’s finally ascended into that TE2 spot.

After cutting Kendall Blanton a week ago, the Rams made it clear that Hopkins is their No. 2 tight end. And Sean McVay left no doubt about it after Saturday’s loss to the Bengals, either.

“Brycen, obviously, he is clearly our No. 2 tight end, and so we wanted to be able to get a chance to evaluate those younger guys,” McVay said of why Hopkins was held out of the game.

Where Hopkins’ rise really began was in the playoffs last year. He was targeted four times in the three games he played, catching all four passes for 47 yards and picking up three first downs.

All of those receptions came in the Super Bowl when Higbee was out, getting more playing time and opportunities than Blanton, who started the game.

His block on Cooper Kupp’s critical fourth-down run in the Super Bowl can’t be overlooked, even if it doesn’t appear on the stat sheet. Without that block, Kupp probably doesn’t pick up the first down and the Rams may not go on to score the game-winning touchdown.

Given Higbee’s injury history, and with McVay wanting to run more two-tight end sets, Hopkins could get a real opportunity to contribute this year. The Rams are betting big on him by waiving Blanton, a strong vote of confidence for Hopkins in Year 3.

For a player who looked like he might struggle to carve out a role, he’s proved doubters otherwise by ascending to TE2. Now it’s up to him to take advantage of it.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby8n025panb709 player_id=none image=https://theramswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

6 training camp battles to watch for the Rams

The Rams will begin training camp soon and there are plenty of position battles to keep an eye on.

Training camps are right around the corner in the NFL, which means we’ll soon have football on our television screens again. It seems like forever ago that the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl, but the reigning champions have their sights set on defending their title in 2022.

Throughout the offseason, the Rams made a flurry of moves, most notably adding Allen Robinson and Bobby Wagner. While those two guys aren’t at risk of having limited playing time in the upcoming season, there will be a handful of position battles taking place at training camp for Los Angeles.

With mere days until training camp begins for the Rams, let’s take a look at six training camp battles that fans should keep close tabs on.

Is Brycen Hopkins ready to step up as Rams’ No. 2 tight end in 2022?

With Johnny Mundt gone, there’s a void at TE2 on the Rams’ roster. Is this the year Brycen Hopkins finally ascends to that position?

Brycen Hopkins was supposed to be the player to replace Gerald Everett at tight end when he inevitably left in free agency. The Rams drafted him to be that type of player in 2020, knowing Everett might be on his way out before the 2021 season.

It didn’t work exactly to plan, with Hopkins playing a total of 61 snaps in his first two years in the NFL and catching only one pass for 9 yards in 10 games played. The Rams have been patient with him, however, and Hopkins started to show some promise in the Super Bowl when he caught four passes for 47 yards as the top tight end with Higbee sidelined due to injury.

Can Hopkins carry over that momentum into 2022? He’ll once again get the opportunity to be the Rams’ No. 2 tight end, just as he had last year. Johnny Mundt, who was the TE2 last season, signed with the Vikings in free agency, opening the door for Hopkins for the second year in a row.

Hopkins won’t necessarily face a ton of competition for that job. Kendall Blanton is the other tight end who will be battling for the backup role at tight end, and he was the Rams’ preferred choice at that spot after Mundt got hurt.

Blanton played 11 games, made two starts and played 21% of the offensive snaps. He came alive in the playoffs, catching all seven of his targets for 75 yards and a touchdown, picking up five first downs – outperforming Hopkins. But it was Hopkins who contributed the most in the Super Bowl, which was a surprising development.

Heading into 2022, it’s anyone’s guess who will win the job as Higbee’s backup. But what we do know is how important that role is. Higbee is pretty durable but he hasn’t played a full season since 2018. Not to mention, the Rams like to have a capable blocker as their No. 2 tight end when they deploy 12 personnel with two receivers and two tight ends on the field together.

Neither Hopkins nor Blanton is a particularly good blocker, but Hopkins made a couple of key blocks in the running game during Super Bowl LVI. It’s not a lack of effort, but rather a need to improve his technique when it comes to sealing off defenders when the Rams run the ball outside.

Los Angeles would probably prefer if Hopkins beat out Blanton as the No. 2 tight end, hopefully validating the team’s decision to draft him in the fourth round two years ago. Sean McVay won’t complain so long as one of the two step up, but Hopkins might have the slightly better opportunity to after his performance in the Super Bowl.

5 younger Rams players who could take a leap forward in 2022

Robert Rochell and Brycen Hopkins are two younger players who could have bigger roles with the Rams next season.

When the Los Angeles Rams add rookies in the draft, they don’t typically expect them to contribute in a big way in Year 1. Les Snead and Sean McVay like to draft a year or two in advance, knowing those players will be asked to step up eventually after starters depart in free agency.

For these five players, that time could be now.

The Rams will need players to step up after the team suffered several free-agent losses, creating voids on the roster. These five younger players could take a leap forward in 2022 thanks to potentially bigger roles.

Rams inactives: Brycen Hopkins still not playing vs. Lions

Sony Michel is active and ready to go against the Lions after being listed as questionable, but Brycen Hopkins is inactive again.

The Rams’ injury report was pretty clean this week leading up to their matchup with the Lions, listing only one player with an injury on Friday. Sony Michel was questionable to play with a shoulder injury but he’s healthy and active today.

All of the Rams’ inactive are healthy scratches, including Bobby Brown III once again. Brycen Hopkins is inactive, too, which is surprising considering the Rams are seeking help with Johnny Mundt out for the year.

Below is the full list of the Rams’ inactives for Sunday’s game.

Jacob Harris and Kendall Blanton will likely be the primary options to replace Mundt as the No. 2 tight end behind Tyler Higbee, though it remains to be seen how much either will play.