Gerald Everett is a sleeping giant in Rams Offense...

Gerald Everett is a sleeping giant in Rams offense

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Steve Rebeiro

When Sean McVay took over the Rams in 2017, the team was without a first-round pick. The first pick of the McVay era would be 44th overall in the second round. They chose to select a high-upside tight end out of South Alabama.

Gerald Everett immediately drew comparisons to Washington’s Jordan Reed. Many assumed that McVay believed Everett could develop similarly to Reed, who McVay coached in Washington. Reed was recruited to the University of Florida as a dual-threat quarterback but quickly switched to tight end. He showed enough promise to be confident enough to leave after his junior season despite having under 1,000 career receiving yards. His risk did pay off, however, when Washington selected him in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Everett’s path to the NFL may have been even more unlikely. He didn’t play football until his senior year of high school. He attended community college for two years before joining UAB’s football program for the 2014 season. Everett had just 17 receptions for 292 yards in his one season at UAB before the university shut down their football program. He finished out his career at South Alabama, piling up nearly 1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns in his two years with the Jaguars.

Reed put up better numbers than Everett over their first two seasons in the NFL, but both guys were still viewed as high-upside guys who occasionally flashed why the team was so high on them. In Year 3, Reed finally burst onto the scene as one of the NFL’s best tight ends, hauling in 952 yards and 11 touchdowns in just 14 games and nine starts. Could Everett also be heading for a breakout season in Year 3 under McVay?

Last season, Everett was on the field for 34.55% of the team’s offensive snaps, the seventh-highest among Rams pass-catchers. He was targeted on just over 13% of these snaps. This was the highest percentage on the team. More than Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks, and even Cooper Kupp.

Everett is clearly one of Goff’s favorite targets when he’s on the field. You can see it in both the numbers and the eye test. How many big receptions do you remember Everett hauling in last year? He was responsible for the game-winning touchdown against Kansas City and grabbed a massive 39-yard reception late in the NFC championship. Everett doesn’t need to earn Goff’s trust to break out. He already has it.

The biggest obstacle for Everett to overcome is his low snap count. Tyler Higbee dominated the overall snap-share last year and he remains the Rams starting tight end. But if you dig into the numbers, the tide did start to shift near the end of the season. Everett out-snapped Higbee in five of the team’s last seven games, including the playoff run. He was on the field for 68% of the team’s snaps in both the NFC championship and the Super Bowl.

Everett needs to continue to develop as a run blocker to overtake Higbee full-time and dominate the snap-share at tight end. He’s already viewed as the far superior pass catcher, and the numbers show it. He just isn’t the trusted run blocker that Higbee is.

Everett stepping into a larger role doesn’t mean he’s going to eat targets like he’s at a Chinese buffet and become a dominant fantasy option. But if he can take the next step and become a dual-threat tight end who’s a dangerous downfield pass-catcher, he would add yet another dynamic to the Rams offense. Defenses are already accounting for the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year and three guys who could be the WR1 on other teams in the league. How many teams have five must-defend passing targets on the field together?

An Everett breakout season most likely wouldn’t look like the 11-touchdown season Reed had in 2015. But it would take the Rams passing game to another level, which doesn’t even feel plausible after last season. Both Everett and Reed were project players who were tutored by McVay. His experiment with Jordan Reed panned out. Will it with Gerald Everett? It certainly feels possible.