Tutu Atwell is enjoying his best season with the Los Angeles Rams already, and he has Sean McVay to thank for that. While Atwell has certainly stepped up through the first three weeks, the third-year wideout is seeing press coverage at a historically low rate.
McVay has always deployed motions in his offense since being hired by the Rams in 2017. In an attempt to find a role on offense for Atwell, McVay has motioned the speedy wideout 64 times, which is 20 more times than any other player in the league.
Motioning Atwell has given the former second-round pick plenty of advantageous matchups that have led to 17 receptions, 246 yards, and a touchdown in the first three games. According to the Next Gen Stats Analytics Team, Atwell has seen press coverage at a 3.3 percent rate, the lowest rate in the Next Gen Stats era.
Coming into the NFL, Atwell was an undersized wide receiver who primarily used his speed to make plays in college. When the Rams selected him, it was tough to see how his game would translate to the next level, and it led to him struggling in his first couple of seasons.
It was Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins who originated the quick motions that we are seeing from the Rams and Green Bay Packers early in the season (all three teams have coaches from the same coaching tree) to give speedy players free releases off of the line of scrimmage. Even though it’s a small sample size, it is safe to say that Atwell is excelling in the new role McVay has given him.