The St Louis Rams added several key pieces at the receiver position and each of these players is somewhat complementary in nature. From the veteran addition of Steve Smith to the draft choices of Brian Quick and Chris Givens, the Rams added a real diversity to their group of pass catchers this offseason.
Starting with Smith who is obviously the possession receiver, he fits right in with incumbent wideouts Danny Amendola, Austin Pettis, and Greg Salas. Second round pick Brian Quick is also one of those guys capable of running the dig routes that made the Rams so famous back in the greatest show on turf days. These shorter patterns may seem less important than the deep bombs, but every yard counts and teams have to pick up ten every four downs to move the chains. Each of these guys fills that role perfectly.
Without the deep threat to take the top off of the defense however, those short patterns become more and more congested and impossible to complete. That is where Givens comes in with his impressive deep speed. Wide receivers coach Ray Sherman says: “He can get deep. He’s got that kind of speed. When people see that on tape, see that he’s able to run like that, then they’re going to respect him. It helps everybody else because you know he can do that.” That respect that he talks about is defense playing a deeper coverage that opens up the underneath routes as well as holes for the running game.
Plenty of parts need to work in harmony for an offense to function correctly in today’s NFL, but the St Louis Rams have each necessary element on their current roster to achieve that. Each of these receivers need to continue refining their craft and getting into rhythm with quarterback Sam Bradford as the regular season gets closer.
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