Here’s Where Rookie Terrance Ferguson Gives Rams Leg Up

Matthew Stafford dropped to pass, looked left to hold the safety, then fired a red-zone touchdown to Terrance Ferguson in the right corner. Stafford saw an obvious mismatch at the line, the 6-5, 247-pound rookie against a college free-agent cornerback A.J. Green.

Seven-on-seven touchdown passes at a June 5 OTA session obviously isn’t SoFi Stadium on Sept. 7 against All-Pro Derek Stingley and the Texans, but it’s all the Rams have right now. And that’s more than Stafford, Sean McVay and the offense have had from tight ends the last two seasons.

According to The 33rd Team, Ferguson ranked third in the nation over the last two years (2023-24) with 14 red-zone touchdown receptions at Oregon, where he played with Bo Nix in 2023 and Dillon Gabriel. Over the same period, Rams tight ends totaled just nine (tied for 25th in the NFL).

“I can actually say,” behind-the-scenes cameras caught Les Snead saying on Episode 2 of Behind the Grind, “if I was ever confident in taking a risk knowing you would be pissed losing the player, this is as confident as I’ve ever been.”

That confidence paid off on April 25, the day after Snead traded his first-round selection to Atlanta and obtained the second-round choice he used to draft Ferguson at 46 overall. And long before the second round kicked off that night, McVay already had Ferguson in his crosshairs.

“We have too much conviction, right? No doubt,” McVay told Snead. You know how I feel. From the first (expletive) time we put this guy on, there was a vision.”

One aspect of that vision is the ability to use more double-tight-end formations, especially near the goal line. Ferguson combined with incumbent Tyler Higbee figure to give McVay a new chapter of play-call options, whether utilizing Kyren Williams out of the backfield, or even capitalizing on mismatches Stafford sees with Davante Adams and Puka Nacua.

“A little 12 personnel now, Tony?” McVay shouted in the draft room after taking Ferguson, yelling at vice president of football and business administration Tony Pastoors.

Last season, the Rams in the red zone (52.38 percent) ranked 25th in the league in scoring touchdowns on possessions inside the 20-yard line. The year before, they were much better at 63.64 percent, fourth in the NFL. Still, Higbee and tight end Davis Allen combined for just three overall touchdown receptions that season.

When the Rams won the Super Bowl in 2021, Higbee matched his single-season career best with five touchdown receptions. However, the Rams ranked tied for 16th in the league with a 60.0-percent conversion rate inside the red zone.

The addition of Ferguson gives the Rams their most dangerous pair of red-zone targets from the tight end position during the McVay era (2017-present).

Twitter (X) is a fantastic source for breaking Rams news. Follow @RamsInsideronSI and @BrockVierra to get the latest breaking news daily.

And, don’t forget the Facebook page here to stay updated with Rams fans, share feedback, ask questions and more.