The 5 Ws about Rams training camp

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The 5 Ws about Rams training camp
Who, what, where, when, why — and HOW the Rams are doing at 2021 training camp

By Kenneth Arthur@KennethArthuRS Jul 26, 2021, 2:04pm CDT

NFL: Los Angeles Rams Minicamp
Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
In his final season with Washington, DeSean Jackson was targeted 100 times over 15 games, finishing with 56 catches for 1,005 yards and four touchdowns. That year, the 30-year-old Jackson led the NFL in yards per reception (17.9) and his 10.1 yards per target was third-best among players with at least 90 targets, behind only Julio Jones and Adam Thielen.

His quarterback was Kirk Cousins, his head coach was Jay Gruden, and his offensive coordinator was Sean McVay.

A year later, Jackson had signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and though he was targeted just as often, he wasn’t nearly as effective. Playing with Jameis Winston as his quarterback, Dirk Koetter as his head coach, and Todd Monken as his OC, Jackson averaged only 13.4 yards per catch and 7.4 yards per target.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, his old offensive coordinator from the previous three seasons — two of which resulted in Jackson leading the NFL in YPC — had turned the Rams around from the worst offense in the league to the highest-scoring in just one offseason.

Four years later, McVay and Jackson are back together again. But somehow in spite of the fact that Jackson is one of the most famous players on the whole team, the addition of one of the NFL’s most explosive wide receivers has become an afterthought to a franchise that features the biggest trade acquisition of 2021 and an upcoming fan-packed debut of the most expensive stadium in the world.

The most obvious answer as to why people aren’t talking more about DeSean Jackson as we head into training camp is the fact that he’s one of the oldest active players in the league and because injuries have cost him 24 games over the last two seasons. Even if those are both true and noteworthy facts, Jackson is still the player who had an 81-yard touchdown reception in his most recent game.


That was in a game with Jalen Hurts as his quarterback. Now Jackson is paired with Matthew Stafford, arguably the most talented quarterback who he has played with since Donovan McNabb in 2009 (all due respect to Michael Vick, who wasn’t much of a thrower). And Stafford might just have the best arm of any player who Jackson has ever been teammates with.

Not many people are talking about what kind of a season DeSean Jackson is going to have, instead assuming that because of age, injuries, and opportunities, he’ll only show up for the occasional deep bomb or trick play or punt return. However, McVay coached Jackson for three years, which is nearly as many as he’s had with Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp.


One question I’ll definitely have going into camp is: How big of a role will Jackson have this season? It’s safe to assume an answer like “Only on a limited basis.” But answering questions like this one is never safe. We should expect surprises.

Here are six more questions that cover the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of Rams 2021 training camp:

Who will have the greatest chemistry with Matthew Stafford?
Few wide receiver duos can truly claim to be “equals” but Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp have roughly been that since joining the Rams in 2017. Last season, Woods was targeted 129 times in 16 games, Kupp was targeted 124 times in 15 games.

In 2019, Woods was targeted 139 times in 15 games, Kupp was targeted 134 times in 16 games.

In 2019, Woods was targeted 130 times in 16 games, Brandin Cooks was targeted 117 times in 16 games, Kupp was on pace for 110 targets but only played in eight games.


Given what we just covered with regards to Jackson, I don’t think that it is outlandish to suggest that McVay would like Stafford to spread it around to those three players as much as possible. If Jackson is anything like the player he was in Washington, we know that McVay would most likely prefer utilizing him in a role similar to that of Cooks — but we’re also making a lot of assumptions about how much Jared Goff had to do with those breakdowns.

Last season with the Lions, Matthew Stafford threw 115 passes to Marvin Jones, 101 to tight end T.J. Hockenson, and then 69 to Danny Amendola. He clearly favored Jones over all other receivers once Kenny Golladay was down for the count.

In 2018, Stafford threw 119 passes to Golladay, then 69 to Golden Tate, again showing a wide disparity between his number one receiver and his number two.

Will Stafford show any favoritism towards Woods, Kupp, or Jackson in camp, or are these previous numbers just a byproduct of not having great “number two options” when he was in Detroit?