Tutu Atwell started the year incredibly strong. He had 119 yards in Week 1, 77 in Week 2 and 50 yards with a touchdown in Week 3, by far the best three-game stretch of his young career thus far. He even had five receptions in Week 4, though they only totaled 24 yards.
Since Cooper Kupp’s return in Week 5, however, Atwell’s role has almost disappeared. He hasn’t caught more than two passes in any of the last four games and has totaled just 91 yards receiving. After seeing at least eight targets in each of his first four games, he hasn’t been targeted more than five times in any game and has two games with only one or two targets.
What’s also working against Atwell is the fact that nearly a quarter of his targets this season have been inaccurately thrown by Matthew Stafford. According to TruMedia, Atwell has the highest inaccurate target rate of any wide receiver in the NFL (23.4%). He’s one of just three receivers with a rate above 20% this season.
Bottom-10 WRs (min. 40 targets) in terms of inaccurate target rate per TruMedia.
Not many surprises here given where these guys are getting their targets on the field and who they are getting them from, but a factory of sadness creating volatility for some WRs we care about. pic.twitter.com/fFu5sH3bSb
— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) October 31, 2023
Atwell’s targets have primarily been down the field on either deep digs or out routes, so it’s not entirely surprising that some of his targets have been inaccurate. But he’s also proven to be a playmaker at times, averaging 14.3 yards per catch in the last two years.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Rams to manufacture some touches for Atwell, either on screens or shorter throws where he can use his speed to pick up yards after the catch. The offense was moving the ball better when he was getting more looks.