The Los Angeles Rams’ years-long struggle could be over

The Los Angeles Rams seem to have viewed the return specialist as an afterthought for years. And this is confirmed when you look at the statistics surrounding this position. Last season, when looking at special teams as a whole, they had historically poor advanced metrics. Their DVOA of -9.2 was the sixth-worst all-time and three times worse than any other team last year.

Overall, the return specialists weren’t the worst part of special teams, but they also didn’t do anything to prepare the team for the best possible field position, and at the end of the day, football is still a problem playing over the line of scrimmage. Last season, the Rams’ leading kickoff returner, Austin Trammel, averaged 17.9 yards per return, second-worst among starting kickoff returners. His return of 7.3 yards per punt was third-worst.

Is Jordan Whittington the answer for the Los Angeles Rams?

But after their win against the New Orleans Saints, the Rams may have found their answer in the kick returner; Sixth-round rookie wide receiver Jordan Whittington.

Whittington returned three kickoffs for exactly 100 yards. According to ESPN Research via Sarah Barshop, this is the first time a Rams returner has accomplished such a feat since Pharoh Cooper scored 110 points in Week 12 of 2017. In this game, Cooper needed four attempts to reach that number. But he had a phenomenal year, averaging 27.4 yards per return and was named first-team All-Pro that year. Less than a year later, he was released by the Rams.

It’s a small sample size, but when Whittington was tasked with returning kicks, he showed he was suited to the position. He amassed 169 yards on six returns, an average of 28.2 yards per return.

There may be concerns about using Whittington as a returner due to his connection to serious injuries, and he has already spent time on the injury report in his first season, but the Rams need to consider the benefits of using Whittington far more closely at the position.