For years the Los Angeles Rams seem to have regarded the return specialist as an afterthought. And that bears out when looking at the statistics around that position. Last season they had historically bad advanced metrics when looking at special teams as a whole. Their -9.2 DVOA was their sixth-worst ever and three times worse than any other team last year.
By in large, the return specialists weren’t the worst part of the special teams, but they also weren’t doing anything to set the team up for the best possible field position, and at the end of the day, football is still a game about the line of scrimmage. Last season, the Rams’ lead kickoff returner, Austin Trammel averaged 17.9 yards per return, the second-worst among starting kick returners. His 7.3 yards per punt return was good for third worst.
Is Jordan Whittington the Answer For The Los Angeles Rams?
But coming out of their win against the New Orleans Saints, the Rams may have discovered their answer at kick returner; rookie sixth-round wide receiver Jordan Whittington.
Whittington returned three kickoffs for exactly 100 yards. This is the first time a Rams returner has achieved such a thing since Pharoh Cooper had 110 in Week 12 of 2017, according to ESPN Research via Sarah Barshop. In that game, it took Cooper four attempts to get to that number. But he had a phenomenal year, averaging 27.4 yards per return and earning first-team All-Pro honors that year. Less than a year later he was cut by the Rams.
It is a small sample size, but when put to the task of returning kicks Whittington has shown the aptitude for the position. On six returns he has picked up 169 yards, or an average of 28.2 yards per return.
There may be some hesitancy to use Whittington as a returner based on its connection to severe injury, and he has already spent time on the injury report in his first season, but the Rams need to be far more considerate of the upside of using Whittington at the position.
