Rams OTA News & Notes, Rookie Standouts, 2024 Rams Depth Chart, Tight Ends, Colby Parkinson & More

this Rams tight end is impressing at OTAs and how many Rams can you expect on the 56 man roster and will we see more 12 Personnel that's coming up next here on lockon [Music] Rams you are locked on Rams your daily Los Angeles Rams podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every [Music] day what is up RAM and welcome to another episode of Locked on Rams your daily podcast covering your Los Angeles Rams free and available wherever you get your podcast locked on Rams part of locked on podcast Network your team every day we're also available over on YouTube so if you haven't yet do us a huge favor and join the party hit that subscribe button hit that notification Bell hit that like button and let us know what do you expect from the tight end position for the Rams you want to see more 12 Personnel what do you think about Kobe Parkson let us know down below my name is Doug McCain you can follow me on X and Instagram at dmac corla I've covering LA Sports for over a decade 24/7 Sports bleach report locked on Dodgers nation of course I'm always joined by the Rams prehab and postgame show host for the Rams flagship radio station ESPN 710 La he's enter his nth season covering your Los Angeles Rams the people's champ Mr Travis Rogers you can follow him on X Travis Rogers and on today's episode we're diving into the Rams depth chart for the 2024 season and taking a look at the tight end position and also CJ strout had some interesting comments to make about Matthew Stafford and that's what we're going to get into first because find someone that uh loves you like CJ stad loves Matthew Stafford because he was on a podcast he's been on a lot of podcasts this offseason is stoud and he said when he talked about Stafford Stafford he's another one he might be up there with Brady and them and then he stopped himself goes no that's crazy that's crazy let me go back I'm a student of the game Stafford's a dog he's a dog you don't understand you're saying that that's all I watch I don't watch anybody else I watch Mahomes at times because Mahomes does stuff that you can't coach but he was speaking very glowingly about Matthew Stafford it's really good to see the influence that he has in that Stout has great taste when it comes to watching quarterbacks well I think what it speaks to is that another guy who is a relatively young player in the league is recognizing what Matthew Stafford actually does and and stout obviously is a very uh promising quarterback in this league he had unbelievable rookie season and looks to take his craft pretty seriously which is exactly what I think resonates in his mind with Matthew Stafford that look is he Tom Brady no who is Tom Brady's the greatest quarterback of all time but what Matthew Stafford does really well and what I think stoud is responding to and and and articulating is this is a guy who's got it appear in his head who understands football at a really high level who is UN unbelievably gifted as far as physical tools go you and I have talked about this a hundred times like it's just his arm skill is is unrival maybe there are people that are as good but there I don't know if there's anybody that's better when it comes to you know being able to make certain amounts of throws he he's as good as there is there and then to just kind of Steal Stroud's word he is a dog dude's tough as you know what the guy just does not back up he plays hurt he plays tough he leads his teammates and as a quarterback I think that's what you you you you want and and stoud speaking about this I think that's what he's responding to it's not just that he can throw it through a keyhole from 30 yards it's that he's tough It's that he understands it and those are the sorts of things that I think uh o other greats or potential greats in Stout's case are are responding to yeah 100% I think that Stafford's one of those guys that where if you're going to go into a lab and make a quarterback that's the kind of arm they would put on a quarterback that your dream C as far as the success though what I really took away from st's comments is he said if you gave Matthew Stafford a chance like Aaron Rogers had I guarantee he guaranteed it he might have had more rings for sure I'd say he'd have three or four he's tough as Nails bro so I think for me look I guarantee you that if he was with this organization and Sham McVey they would have an opportunity at at least at three or four rings but I think it's t we have to remind people look this is the NFL it's very difficult to win the Super Bowl I mean you've only had 13 quarterbacks that have won multiple Super Bowls right I got Brady Bradshaw at the top Joe Montana Aman Mahomes Elway greasy Manning pton Manning plunket Ben rothberger bartar Roger stack it's not like every great quarterback goes on to win multiple Super Bowls I mean you seen Marino never won one Warren Moon Kurt Warner he wins one Kelly he doesn't win one Favre wins one so it's not a given you're going get multiple titles I I think you said it really well dmac what he would have had had he been in a better situation sooner would have been more opportunities to make a run at it because you know the name that always kind of jumps out at me is like we talked about a second ago BR put Brady in a separate category and we're about an inch away from putting Mahomes in a separate category too because he's just kind of doing things that you just don't see very often pton Manning won too P pton Manning I think was like we're talking about as prepared as smart as tough as gritty as hardworking as anybody there maybe didn't have that Canon arm the way that some of these other guys did but it was certainly good enough he won two right and one of them was he was just kind of along for the ride because they had a great defense in a running game so it's really hard to win the Super Bowl I don't think you're gonna say he's gonna get three or four more that seems to me a bit aggressive but does he show up in more NFC championship games yeah does he maybe show up in another Super Bowl or maybe show up at least in two more maybe but to to say that he'd just be racking these things up I think is more hyperbole than anything else but I I I you know the other part I took out of this to dmac was just simply circumstance matters you get drafted by a team that doesn't know what they're doing I don't care how good you are you're you're you're probably cooked before you even start you get drafted by somebody that knows what they're doing you get put in a I think Ben rothberger is a great example of this he got put in the Steeler organization and it was like all right let's go he shows up in in in another place I you know take your pick Arizona or Jacksonville or or Detroit for a long time no matter how talented you are you're you're kind of maxed out by the the support staff around you and Matthew Stafford went to one of the worst teams in the league and that finally got it figured out now Jared G obviously is is thriving there but your teammates your coaching staff and perhaps more than anything else your ownership group makes a great deal and and he just got a bad hand out of the shoot yeah 100% I think that's kind of one of the things that PE with the golf and Stafford thing my big thing is man trade should have traded from earlier man should have done anything you could to get him earlier it's like Otani going from the angels to the Dodgers except they still have to prove they can win a World Series staff are going to the Rams they've already won the Lombardi trophy they got their fingerprints all over that Trophy and I think too when you look at some of these great dynasties too I mean Brady had bich and a great defense Montana had Walsh he had rice Aman had Jimmy Johnson they had a stacked offensive line right and then you look at some of those teams that we thought were going to be dynasties the Colts who PID Manning look how they're great forever they won one Drew Brees and the Saints they were great for a decade they won one the Seattle Seahawks the legion of boom the big Dynasty they win one right shout out to Malcolm Butler but like I mean it's just Dan Marino so kind of my point is I don't want to diminish the one that Matthew Stafford has won and two I do think talent wise absolutely he is a quarterback that's capable of winning multiple Super Bowls and I still think that that is something that could be in the cards for Matthew Stafford before he hangs him up I'm going to be a dork here for a second I'm going to start barfing cliches at you but they're all true football is the ultimate team sport it is if if one of those 11 guys is not doing what they're supposed to do you're in deep trouble right that all 11 of those pieces need to work together and then oh by the way your head coach needs to work your offensive coordinator your defensive coordinator your kicker needs to make kicks your GM needs to sign the right guys needs to draft the right guys your ownership has to be made spending the right money be willing to do it and then oh by the way you got to get a little lucky like all of those things have to stack up and then maybe you got a chance to win a Super Bowl that's what's so exciting about the Rams because we know they got the coach we know they're drafting the right guys we know ownership's committed to winning you know you got a quarterback it's a matter of whether or not all those other pieces are there we got most of the pieces but this is what makes it so challenging this is why we love football the way that we do we like the athleticism and the violence and all of these things it's it's super fun to watch but I think what really kind of draws us into it is that if even one of these pieces is not firing right the whole thing stops yeah no that's the best point there is is that it's the ultimate team sport the one time Aaron Rogers had a top five defense what did they do they won the Super Bowl they a top 10 defense three times in 14 years how about this stat Travis he his 51st and 52nd touchdown passes there was the first time he had thrown a touchdown pass to a first round pick in his career and that was marcedes Lewis 28th pick in the 2006 draft out of UCLA go Bru shout out to Long Beach P too right that's right jack rabbits jack rabbit in the mix but coming up next we're diving into the depth chart who will be the ram starting tight end and how big of an impact can they expect from their tight end in 2024 got some OTA standouts that's coming up next on lock on Rams passion drive and patience that the winning formula for championships and it's also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything that you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance things like superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and a whole lot more so whether you're into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered and with over 122 million parts for your 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your Los Angeles Rams all right Travis here in our second segment talking about the tight end position because I think it's a very interesting spot this season because you got one Tyler Higg he's most likely going to be out for the majority of the Season he suffered a terrible knee injury in the Rams wild card game loss to the Detroit Lions and then on top of that you made a signing you signed Colby Parkinson to a three-year 22 A5 million deal this spring and he's been impressing during OTAs and there's been his speed his size and just the way that he's going to be included into this offense I think that's gonna be very interesting because you've had Rams Fans screaming for years you want to see a little more 12 Personnel right McVey known for the 11 personnel got the one running back the tight end three receivers right 12 Personnel you want to see some multi- tight end so if you look at McVey in 2023 he ran the 12 personel 6% of the time before that it was 14% of the time so it's been the question is will you see more of it I think with this year I don't think you have the tight end Personnel to say we're going to see it that much more frequently but I do think Kobe Parkinson is someone that if Higg were to come back and you have both of them then maybe you do so Parkinson I think is is why you might see a little bit more of it this year that's what he does right that kobby Parkinson is more of a blocking tight end than he is a receiving tight end so the question becomes who who's your receiving tight end as you mentioned higgy is very likely going to if not all of the season the vast majority of the season and even if he is able to come back towards the end he's coming off of a significant knee injury and his Effectiveness you know will be determined you know who knows I think what's really interesting is the Davis Allen of it all so you you saw him start to get used in a far more meaningful way towards I'd say maybe the last quarter or so of the Season where this was somebody that didn't play much and when he did play he was almost never a target of Matthew staffords get a little bit closer towards the end of the year that wasn't true anymore he was throwing him the ball he was getting into the end zone he was being used as more of a weapon I I know I've mentioned this I know the every dayers will probably uh this will sound familiar to them this is the one is why I think Brock Bowers was so interesting to a lot of people myself included going into the draft is the one position we haven't seen Shawn McVey have in his tool belt at at a high level has been a pass catching tight end think about what they've had as in the receiver they've had Cooper cup they've had Robert Woods they've had pukaa they they had Sammy Watkins they've had uh uh um blanket on the guys on the Texans Brandon Cooks they've had they've had a m a million guys along the way that are really good you've had Todd Gurley as your running back he was nearly an MVP at that position you've had two really good quarterbacks and Jeff uh I should say in uh in Jared gof and in Matthew Stafford the tight end position has been Tyler Higg and no disrespect to Tyler Higg who I think has done a good job but that's not somebody that that's keeping you up at night when you're game planning so we'll see Davis Allen's able to do I know that the people that I've talked to inside the Rams organization have said that the tight end position is probably outside of quarterback the most complicated position in a Shawn McVey offense that it takes time to really get cut that's why Higg has been so valuable because he's been there a long time and he speaks the language but maybe now that he's out of the mix maybe that Allen gets an opportunity that maybe not might not have been there to begin with and did have that success maybe he can grow into a role like that maybe not he's not going to turn into Travis Kelce or or or Antonio Gates or anything like that but just having somebody that seems to be kind of getting a little more comfortable in that McVey system as we move forward is interesting and then add Parkinson as a blocking option and maybe that 12 Personnel becomes more realistic yeah I think KOB Parkinson I mean in his opportunities he's proven to be dangerous in the Red Zone he's proven to be a receiving tight end as well but like you mentioned it's about the person now will dictate if they have a tight end that they can fill that role I mean back in 2019 2020 the 12 Personnel is at 29% and then 47% in 2020 so it's about having the Personnel we saw in that Gerald Everett when you had Tyler Higg all these guys receiving kind of first tight ends that can be adequate blockers but if Davis Allen takes a leap if he continues to improve he was an adequate blocker but his prowess really was as a receiving tight end he caught 10 of 11 passes and 100 and 92 snap so not a ton of action a lot of those were underneath but it's the catch radius it's the size it 66 it's the potential that he does have and I agree with you is that's really what it's going to come down to is do someone step up because if not I think you're going to see the emphasis on the Run game you're GNA see a lot of 11 personnel until some guy kind of takes the Reigns yeah I'm glad you brought up Gerald Everett because I think that's the little in a perfect world that's what we're talking about but just turned up a little bit right Gerald ever was pretty good for the Rams but you always felt like man maybe just a little bit more right there and you'd really be on to something special we've seen him go to to the other team here in La he he's a good player but he's just maybe that that one stop short of being a really special player and I think the Rams are can continue to look for that position that this might be the thing that unlocks everything else I don't know if it's on the roster right now but we've seen like you said when they had higgy and Everett together they did use those formations far more frequently than they have since he left and that's because Everett was dangerous offensively yeah and I think with Parkinson he looks fluid he's the guy they brought in and signed I mean for me it's like you go out there and sign this guy that lets me know that there was a lot behind this signing because they thought he could be additive to this Rams offense so I think when you look at the overall tight end room they could just take three tight ends right I think you could see a h you could probably see a c Nicola kalanick of course he's in the mix but really Davis Allen Hunter long and a Kobe Parkinson as your three right there and Hunter long I mean the thing about him is just he's just injured too frequently I mean he's this is someone who was selected in the third round in 2021 he was of course included in the trade with Jaylen Ramsay he's played 20 games 20 games was three starts in 230 offensive snaps so the potential is there but unfortunately for him you just can't stay on the field yeah look I hope I hope this is the year that everything comes together for him I hope this is the year that that you know that potential that you're talking about gets unlocked and he becomes a a regular part of what they're doing but uh anybody that has listened to my radio show knows and I know I've said it a lot here on locked on Rams I'm going to go with what I've seen before I'm going to assume that what you've given me previously is what I'm going to get moving forward right if you are a guy that strikes out a lot I'm going to assume you're GNA continue to strike out a lot until you don't if you're a guy that gets hurt a lot I'm gonna assume you're a guy that continues to get hurt a lot until you don't so I'm not holding my breath for Hunter long necessarily love to be wrong love to see it all come together for him right here but but uh like you mentioned when you've been in the league for that amount of time and only played that amount of football that that just doesn't fill me with confidence that it's going to change all of a sudden yeah absolutely 100% so bottom line I think three tight ends make that depth chart I think you got Parkinson think you got long I think you got long and I think you got Allan and I think it really what it comes down to is hey if it turns out that you could have a situation where it is higgy and Gerald Everett and one guy can be as the move tight end the flex tight end one guy can be the inline tight end then fine that's great but they have to prove that it makes sense for this offense in sha McVey to draw it up that way but I do think that Parkinson is definitely going to be a weapon for this team I don't think that he's going to be a brock Bowers or anything like that but I think that he's going to be a ram that early on fans are going to be like oh wow this guy's GNA be a Difference Maker but coming up next we're talking about Jared first and the Rams getting four of their top 50 in the Big Board that's coming up next here on lockon Rams and welcome back to lockon Rams thank you for making lockon Rams your first listen every single weekday free and available wherever get your podcast locked on Rams part of locked on podcast Network your team every day all right some more news and notes from Rams OTAs and this comes from Byron young so one of the things that we talked about Travis when it came to what to look for during OTAs was how are some of these other players and coaches going to talk about some of these current rookies and so far so good I mean Jared verse feels like of course rightfully so into the first round pick but people are just speaking glowingly about him players and coaches alike and Byron young said watching him the way he's doing right now doing way better than me last year coming through OTAs he's handling like a pro so I can already see he's going to be special so the question is is Jared verse GNA be special I think he absolutely has the potential to be I think the talent is there I think the fit is there within this organization but hearing some of these comments lots of pressure on him year one to step in right away and be one of the best rookies in the NFL yeah all right so I I mentioned this a second ago that if you if you listen to my radio show you probably know what's coming next guys saying their first round draft pick looks great in Camp I I I don't care I I did of course of course they're gonna say that what what would be what would be shocking to me is if I don't know man I I mean I thought we were getting one thing and I I don't know you know he's a first- round draft pick of course he's going to look good of course he's going to look good in an environment and even if he didn't no one's going to come out and say he doesn't look good let's see what it looks like when they play I think he's gonna be great I think he could be really special I think he's got all the talent in the world right all these yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah let's wait I don't like I was reading something this morning about hey Caleb Williams in Chicago of course he looks good he's the number one pick in the draft what are they going to say that he you know I think we blew this he didn't look good swinging the bat do you see him swinging no little Chris Taylor is there oh speaking we're officially under a hundred for Chris Taylor so let's make sure he gets a lot of appats every day that's very exciting his hold on I I got it right here that I wasn't even prepared for this but I know that Chris Taylor is now slugging 107 that's awesome let's make sure he gets a lot of appats anyway the point of this is I don't care what anybody says about their draft picks in Camp I care what the draft picks look like when they do those dual practices I care what their draft picks will look like when they put together the opening day depth charts I care what the the the draft picks look like when we're playing real football because I I the only thing that comes out of these camps that makes me go huh is if somebody there's even mild criticism I think that is useful because that's meant for the players ears not necessarily for our ears if you hear something like yeah he's got to put in a little more time or he's got to work a little bit harder or he's got to get in better shape like these are the sorts of things that make your eyebrows go up but the the praise of the high round draft pick of course they are they're were a first- round draft pick yeah I mean there's no doubt about it everyone it's like you said I mean it's everyone thinks that their first round pick is saying all the right things doing all the right things but until you hear those pads clacking and everyone right in the mix and they're really challenged early in the season you really don't know but I will say man I mean I love the fact that people are saying he's so vocal in practice that people are saying that he almost feels like he's a veteran as a rookie and I think with Aaron Donald gone I almost think in year one Jared verse could step up and be one of if not the team leader so I think especially on that side of the ball but Byron young would also say this kind of made me laugh byon young goes no lie if you've been here so far he's just handling like a pro his get off is insane rushing the passer every day just showing up listening being accountable me being a vet and him being a young player he's listening he's just a guy that wants to learn wait a second you're second you're a vet yeah a five Time pro bowler young blood out there right yeah I mean yeah me second year I guess by comparison to a first year player he is a vet along the way I I I will say this this is a little contradictory to what I was just saying but I do like hearing that they're taking it seriously I do like hearing that they're behaving like professional players and and I'm not talking about like not going out and tearing it up but I'm saying are you there are you in shape are you taking seriously are you are you are you handling the meetings do are are guys looking at you like dude what is this guy think he's doing or guy's looking at you like oh this guy's handling it like it's his occupation I think that is good news I do too if Aaron Donald was full like he said that's why he retired feels like verse is starving like he's hungry like wants to get out there and get after it and I just continue to I guess I'm like everyone else I'm just falling in love with your first round pick no matter what right I'm just know one of those guys too but ask G do for this episode of lockon rams my name is Doug McCain you can follow me on xit Instagram dmac corla and you can follow the people's champ Mr Travis Rogers Travis Rogers until next time whose house it's locked on Rams house