Rams Have Two Burgeoning Playmakers Shining in Expanded Role

Rams OC Mike LaFleur spoke about Allen, complementing his pass catching ability.

“He has mitts," stated LaFleur. "You could see that coming out of Clemson. I thought [General Manager] Les [Snead] and their team did an awesome job at seeing what his superpower really is. It’s not just that, obviously he’s in both phases. He's doing a really good job. That whole group is.”

LaFleur was asked about his development.

"It's been good," continued LaFleur. :He came in as a mature rookie and did some things, particularly in that back half of the year. You think about the screen that he caught versus Baltimore for a touchdown. Awesome ‘Stick China’ [route type] that he caught versus Detroit in the playoff game amongst other things. That was his rookie year, so his development has only continued. He's only gotten more and more comfortable. He’s a good player, better person.”

Terrance Ferguson

Imagine tall Cooper Kupp. While that's not the perfect of examples, both men share multiple traits that are crucial to the offense. Big and fast, intelligent and able to find holes in coverage, and willing/ able blockers.

Ferguson has played in the slot, forcing defensive coordinators to either put in a linebacker, which gives the Rams the edge in the pass game or a defensive back, which gives the Rams an edge on the run.

I asked Matthew Stafford for his thoughts on Ferguson's development earlier this week.

“It's exactly what you just said. I think he's continuing to develop," stated Stafford. "You have to give him a lot of credit. He's put a lot of work in. He's a guy that has a natural skillset. He's a really talented player. He's done a nice job the last couple weeks of, hey, here's your role this week and can you go out there and master that and make the plays when you get the chances and go out there and compete, have fun and do all the things that we want you to do."

"He's done a great job of that. I think he has three other guys in that room and a coach that he can really lean on to show him how it's done. He's absorbed that information and feedback and done a great job of translating that onto the grass.”