For me it's moreso about keeping Coop where he's best utilized in the slot. At that position he's a mismatch for anyone teams put on him outside of a small collection of CB1 type corners. That step he gets on the release just magnifies his ability to get open quick and the size (he is a mini-TE basically) helps him eat up most of the slot corners.
So following that logic if the Rams were to get let's say Raegor (who is more likely IMO than the big wideouts Higgins & Mims), I envision him lining up at Z with Woody being the sin eater as it were at X. But of course that job could be shared between him and Kupp, it's just that Kupp is more deadly in the slot.
But what really is intriguing is if they have an X type like Mims fall to them (IMO Higgins isn't gonna happen). At that point the dynamics of the entire wideout corps changes and suddenly the Rams find themselves with a greater threat on the edge. Cooks wasn't feared outside the hashes really by teams due to his micro catch radius and general iffiness on contested catches (key read with him is not letting him get on your feet as a DB ) and that is why neither the Pats nor the Saints paid him. Mims would change that and it would allow Woody to settle in as a Z with a more dangerous release while still keeping Kupp in the slot.
Another thing here IMO is that the wideouts slated for that late first round into the second range should be PRAYING they fall to the Rams. Because certain guys in this particular offense just have the opportunity to explode. With Raegor or Aiyuk both of those guys would be schemed up a bit by McVay as rookies and have a chance for big impact in this offense (Raegor in particular due to his route tree but Aiyuk would be uniquely deadly on jets and screens on top of short routes). And down the road they'd settle in as interchangeable parts 3 deep in 11 sets where you basically pick your poison as a DC and decide who you want your CB1 on while the other two eat your defense up. Mims or Claypool are going to probably take more time and would be used moreso in one spot.
Been a bit long winded here but the bottom line is in today's NFL a good secondary can take away 2 wideouts by putting their CB1 on your WR2 and doubling your WR1. The Rams have two matchup problems for a defense in 11 personnel and have been limited to two since Cooks got his last concussion (he was not the same guy when he returned). Higs stepping up like he did was huge for that reason but the fact remains that if you want to field a top offense having 3x threats in your wideout group for 11 sets is ideal. And as to who the Rams will target I agree it won't necessarily be a speed type like Duvernay, because this offense requires snap on your routes and consistent execution and McVay won't bend on that.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2020 06:49AM by merlin.
