Rams had one of the slowest WR groups in the NFL this season
The Rams receiving corps has undergone countless changes over the last six years, with players such as Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks and DeSean Jackson coming and going. The group Los Angeles fielded this past season was an underwhelming one, even with Cooper Kupp leading the way.
Allen Robinson was a major disappointment after signing in free agency, Tutu Atwell wasn’t nearly consistent enough, Van Jefferson was hurt and Ben Skowronek is more of a blocker than receiver. Collectively, it was one of the slowest receiving groups in the NFL, too.
According to Arjun Menon of Pro Football Focus, the Rams’ wide receivers were the fourth-slowest in football based on average 40-yard-dash time weighted by routes run. In other words, the players who ran the most routes were weighted more heavily.
The Giants had the slowest group of receivers, with an average time of almost 4.6 seconds. The Seahawks had the fastest group, boasting a weighted average of about 4.37 seconds.
Feels like a dataviz crime but multiple people have asked so rescaled the y-axis so the differences in speed are easier to see.https://t.co/g6BeZ4lllX pic.twitter.com/hN4Kksfgh0
— Arjun Menon (@arjunmenon100) January 30, 2023
No one will confuse Kupp or Robinson for speed receivers. The same goes for Skowronek. Atwell and Jefferson do have some speed to burn, though.
It’s just that they didn’t run nearly as many routes as someone like Kupp this season, so their speeds were weighted less in this exercise. Even with everyone healthy, the Rams could use some more speed at wide receiver in 2023.
