Rams Trade Ben Skowronek to Texans! Rams Wide Reciever Depth Chart, How Many Primetime Games For LA?

the Rams trade Ben Gonic to the Houston Texans what does that mean for the Rams wide receiver room we're going to take a look at the depth chart also how many Prime Time games will the Rams have in 2024 that's coming up next here on lock on [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 family and welcome to another episode of lockon rams your daily podcast covering your Los Angeles Rams free and available rev podcast lockon Rams part of lockon 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 subscribe to the lockdown Rams YouTube channel hit that subscribe button hit that notification Bell hit that like button and also let us know what is your reaction to the Rams trading Ben scronic to the Houston Texans and and also drop your Ram schedule predictions how many Prime Time games will the Rams have in 2024 my name is Doug McCain you can follow me on exit Instagram at dmac corla I've been covering LA Sports for over a decade SI 247 Sports Dodgers nation and as always I'm joined by the Rams prea and postgame show host for the Rams flagship radio station ESPN 710 La he's entering his ninth 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 show the Rams make a trade trading Ben scronic to the Houston Texans we're going to tell you why and what that means for the Rams wide receiver depth chart also we're taking a look at the schedule release it's going to be next week and we're going to tell you how many Prime Time games we think the Rams will have but Travis got a little surprise trade I'm not saying that lesne watches the show but who knows right moving on from Ben scronic because of the Winnington draft choice and that's exactly what they did and it was first reported they had cut him but then later comes out that they traded him to the Houston Texans and they swapped a sixth round pick and a seventh round pick for Ben scarani they sent him to the Houston Texans fourth year was his final year of his rookie contract he was the ram special teams Captain they were the one of the worst special teams in the league last season wasn't because of him but I think it's good to see him get this opportunity with another team because his role was really diminished here in La yeah you know I I think had a nice little run with the Rams he won a Super Bowl he he played in that Super Bowl you remember that the the Rams wide receivers were dropping like flies in that game and that they was down to Cooper cup and Hopkins and scaron and some others there really were not a ton of options at that point and you know he he he made an impact with the Rams how big of an impact you know we could go around and around he's a tough guy did a lot of good things for them and I'm happy uh that he landed on a good team you know the the Houston Texans are are one of the teams to look at in the AFC for sure I think what what you can take out of this is that the Rams special teams are going to be really different I I think you could even go a step further than that and say that the NFL special teams are going to be really different I there was the the the the player from and His Name Escapes me at the moment for the Pittsburgh Steelers who was talking about them using maybe one of their running backs in a return situation with the new um with the new special teams rules and and I think that there's something there I I think that with the scronic trade being the special team's captain and with the new rules there I think you're going to see some teams try some stuff I don't think anybody knows for sure what is and what isn't going to work but I think they have some ideas I think that they want to be maybe a little bit more athletic in some certain spots and I I think that uh you're going to see a lot of teams do things with guys like Ben gronic guys that were you know not exclusively special teamers but were used frequently on special teams and and try to create maybe a little bit of of something other than your traditional unit and I think that's a big part of why he's on a new team as well I agree and that's what makes it really interesting right is cu you're evaluate him with two different position groups the Special Teams and the wide receiver group and like you said just the entire landscape of special teams is changing for the National Football League and I think with Ben scronic yes of course he was the team captain for the Special Teams and they struggled last season but it wasn't because of him honestly he was one of the few bright spots on special team so I don't think it was because of their performance last season I think it's more of what he can do or can do as a wide receiver and some of these guys that won of course they drafted Whittington out of Texas they're high on him you got Smith Xavier Smith undrafted free agent out of FAMU he's really the fastest guy on the team what can he do as a possible returner on special teams you got Tyler Johnson he made a touchdown catch in the Rams win over the 49ers in week 18 so I think they're trying to look at the margins in some of these younger receivers that can make that wide receiver room and help this team and I also think too Travis is it's another good example of how this organization really does right by their players I mean you save just $825,000 but no one wants to be cut and they found a way to trade him to a better situation that really he could have a role yeah I I think you're right I think it's those little things like that that making sure that making sure that guys land in good places is why agents and players will be far more likely to say hey look the Rams might be a good spot for you because even if it doesn't work out they're going to make sure that at least you're treated fairly uh when they move on when they decide that maybe they want to go in another Direction you mentioned uh the wide receiver room that scronic of course is is no longer going to be a part of and and the Special Teams whole that is left by his absence as well I I I really do think this is another opportunity for two two Atwell to kind of slide in and maybe try to fill that role that that he has to impact this team in a Way Beyond two or three catches down the field every year and really you haven't even gotten that every single year I know he's a smaller guy I know that maybe durability is something that is never going to be something that he is is known for but when we're talking about Playmakers when you're talking about speed when you're talking about guys that can make people Miss in small areas I wonder if tutu isn't the guy that's going to get the first crack at that and obviously with one less guy in the receiver room that's another opportunity for two two they do very different things clearly but it you know there's one football to go around and and I think that this gives 2u one last decent shot to maybe make an impact on this team whether it's in the return game or the receiving game there's no doubt about it and we know that this team every single off season it feels like momentum is trending in the right direction for 22 at well he got to a really nice start and then the emergence of pukaa and then had Demarcus Robinson he was really moved down the depth chart as the season progressed but look at the end of the day anytime you have speed you're going to get more opportunities in this league because you can't teach that right you can't coach that so and also too they're interested in I mean they met with Romo dun right you went out there and you were interested in Mike Evans there was a lot of rumors that they wanted another receiver I mean they were in the mix to trade up right so I think for them that's kind of the big thing is can you find another weapon that brings a different Dynamic than Cooper cup and pukan Deo and I think that they're definitely interested in bringing that I think for Benny sco he was a fan favorite though I mean anytime you lose a fan favorite it kind of hurts a little bit and he played in 71% of the special team snaps in 2023 in 2022 you started 11 games with all those injuries caught 39 passes for 376 yards but for me if I'm Ben chronic I'm saying you know what two catches for 12 yards in the Super Bowl that is my memory of being in the horns oh yeah that's the high water mark and he's got a championship ring and you know he got to play in a Super Bowl he got to win a Super Bowl and look this is their job right and this is where they go and very few people stay on one team for their entire career that's just life as a professional athlete that's life as an NFL player and if you go from a Super Bowl winning team to another team that you know in Houston that seems to be ascending a little bit as well uh I I think that's very good news for him I wish him the best of luck he was he was a very good Rams player and he's going to be one of those guys that you know 10 years from now it's like hey what was that guy's name that kind of did a little fullback for them returned a little bit caught a couple passes in the Super Bowl he's going to be a he's going to be a guy that you remember yeah cue the Sarah mclin I'll remember you right the Moose is in Houston but coming up next we're going to take a quick look at where the wide receiver depth chart stands now and also how many Prime Time games will the Rams have in 2024 that's coming up next here on lock on Rams all right so wouldn't it be great if you could see all of your investments in one spot right all of your retirement information in one place you can with Yahoo finance you can consolidate your views from multiple accounts into one Hub and access the expert analysis you need to tend to your entire portfolio with confidence so maybe you have something over 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listening to every single episode of lockon rams and you can be an everyday listener too you just listen to every episode on the podcast watch every episode on YouTube and then you won't miss a thing about your Los Angeles and also are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day have to turn down the volume with all that shouting make the switch to locked on sports today a free 247 sports streaming Channel program for your everyday watching to bring you the biggest Sports stories without all the screaming lock on sports today brings you can't miss analysis opinions and news streaming 247 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day all right Travis so here in our second segment going to take a quick look at where this wide receiver room looks right now and talk about are they a top 10 wide receiver room in the NFL and of course wr1 now is pukan Dea after the year he had there's no doubt about it Cooper cup might be able to get there we'll see if he's healthy but right now heading into this season I think it's objectively PUK Anda followed by Cooper CB then you got DeMarcus Robinson then you got 2 two Atwell then Winnington and then you have Johnson so I think that's where it stands right now I think it's a quality group I think it depends on can pukaa avoid that sophomore slump will Cooper cup stay healthy can Demarcus Robinson be that third option but it's definitely a quality group of guys for sure heading into the 2024 season yeah I think so I I think when you go through and you try to figure out where it ranks with the rest of the league it's going to determine you know much more on the top of the the the pile than on the bottom and and you mentioned the two names I think that the Ram wide receiver group will be determined by two things number one and and and I agree with you dmac I think that puka probably is the number one but I don't think he's the most important person when it comes to figuring out where this group is going to fall I still think that's Cooper cup if Cooper cup does what he did last year and that's kind of the new normal for him I be hard for the Rams to be considered one of those top groups if Cooper cup goes back to what we've seen him be historically I think that they do fall into that category because you you know him at his best there aren't too many people that are better than that now that may be you know unrealistic he may not be at that point in his career where he can continue to do the things like he's done previously I think that's number one as far as trying to figure out where it is as far as number two goes I think it's puka you mentioned a sophomore slump it doesn't have to be a slump he he put together one of the great offensive Seasons at wide receiver that we've seen anybody have and he happened to do it in his rookie year it would be a it would be a huge mistake to think that coming into this season that puka pukaa is going to be able to repeat what he did in his rookie year if you just said listen he's GNA give you 85% of every category that he had last year and you can put that in the bank I think every Rams Fans would run to deposit that right that that he had such a good year last year that cannot be the expectation it's going to come back because it has to he's not going to you know look if he doesn't then you're talking about a whole different class of player to be sure so I think when you're looking at this wide receiver group Demarcus Robinson I think is a really good third player you I I you know you saw what that offense looked like when he was more uh integrated into it it kind of opened it up it gave Matthew Stafford another option there I know it's not a wide receiver but I think have the tight end play you're going to get this year might open that group up even more because the tight end may be used as a weapon um with par with Parkinson or with with Allen or whoever it may be I think the Rams have a good group but whether it can go from good to Great depends on the Kuan cup yeah 100% I mean Cooper cup of course it hinges on his health pukaa I mean is he going to have 1,486 receiving yards I was fourth in the NFL I mean that's going to be a big ask can you build on that I think you're going to see a leaner version of panu I mean if you've seen his body he's dropped some weight so I'm very interested to see how that translates to the field how that impacts his performance because one of the best things about pukan nio was that it was almost like this hybrid type player that just ran over DBS with that strength and does he lose any of that and do you trade that for the ability to just be a little more Nimble on the field that's going to be something I'm looking at Cooper cup is pretty simple if he's healthy is he's going to be just level a level of Effectiveness I mean I don't think that he's going to completely drop off or anything like that the question is does he get back to being a pro bowl level player because if that's the case then you have two top 10 to 15 anytime you have two top 10 to 15 receivers doesn't matter who your number three receiver is you're right up there towards the top of the league I mean you look at the best receiver rooms think you got Miami with Hill with Wadd I mean you got Philly with cample with Devonte Parker of course you got Devonte Smith the Bengals the 49ers I mean the Bears like groups like that but I think it all depends on do you get the best version of Cooper Cup right now you get a version of pukaa that's close to what we saw last season and then Demarcus Robinson it's tough for me because he's just I mean he's a guy that is a journeyman type right he's not someone that's really established himself with one team I think with two two at I think he should just start going by chatarius like his real name like he just sounds like he could like chatarius Atwell he just kind of Rebrand I mean what are your thoughts on that I think that could change everything for him because chatarius Atwell sounds like a better receiver than tutu Atwell when you when you have to Rebrand I think that tells you one thing to begin with but that doesn't mean it doesn't work right sometimes like hey what's that oh that looks pretty good let me get let me make get a little taste of that I I whatever it takes to keep him on the field whatever it takes to have him be the player that they used the second round Draft pick on a few years ago I would change it to 2 two or anything else I I'm here for it I just want to see him get the football and make plays and not be on the sidelines telling you tarius Atwell goes hard but I think two I think you're going to see more two tight end sets like we saw in previous years I mean Kobe Parkinson's and Parkinson is definitely someone I think that they're high on but yeah I like this group I think I'm really excited to see what Jordan Winnington can do I mean this guy is was a little overshadowed at Texas comes from a big program it shows you a vote of confidence in him that they moved off of Ben scanic so really excited to see him during training camp and I think that this group as a whole I think they wanted a bigger Dynamic receiver but I think they're happy with the group they have for sure I do too and it's going to you know the the depth is nice and having a guy that can step in and have a day here and there is nice and having a game where you know on my postgame show where you know maybe we start to say hey you know the guy who stole the show today is Demarcus Robinson that that's a fun day to do that room will determine whether or not it's successful with cup and with ncua ncua if he's close to what he was great cup needs to be better than he was a year ago great I'm optimistic about both of those things but if either of those things are not true then it may turn into the kyen Willam show a little bit more than we saw last year yeah absolutely and I think with cup it's okay great off seon body looks great but then boom an injury happens like that like okay here we go again right so hopefully he can just stay healthy and they've done whatever they could to try to make that happen but yeah that's really just the biggest question for this wide receiver group there's no doubt about it but coming up next how many Prime Time games will the Rams have in 2024 we're going to get into that next here on lock on RAM RS this segment of locked on Rams is brought To Us by our sponsor better help and I think we all know this right that sometimes you just need the opportunity to get something off your chest to just kind of get it out there bigger small certain things can really start to get to you a little bit it's important to let that out especially to somebody who's unbiased in your life so today I want to tell you how I feel about something you might even be thinking about the same thing this week although I would be surprised you know what drives me crazy when people call a baseball team a club it just it's just it it's a team let's just call it a team it just the club thing feels insane to me but that's not important right you can have a lot of different things that you want to get off of your chest right and therapy that can really help it can be different for everyone most of us have much bigger problems in our lives than Sports and all that crazy stuff but just talking it out helps right so if you've been thinking about starting therapy give better help a try it is entirely online it's designed to be flexible it is designed to be suitable uh suited to your schedule if you have a therapist that you don't exactly connect with on that first try of course you can switch for no fees right there so visit better health.com locked on to get 10% off of your first month that's betterhelp hp.com locked on and welcome back to locked on Rams thank you for making lockon Rams your first listen every single weekday free and available wherever you get your podcast locked on Rams part of lockon podcast Network your team every day Travis some shots fired at the new Rebrand for Oklahoma City Baseball because they're now the Oklahoma City Baseball Club but I'm with you though just call the team just call the team you know you got to know where your place is in a ball Club you got to make sure that you know you know he really helps our club you know we got a good club this year can we just say team please please it's just it's just it's just and by the way it's not just baseball hockey does it too so hockey teams you guys need to start calling yourselves teams we got a great Club yeah look I w't it doesn't bother you too for me if you ever call a baseball run points then I'm in my life okay the dod score seven points okay like that will end friendships that that is we're done here like I can't do it with you they're not bro football and basketball have points hockey has goals baseball has runs okay simple it's not complicated it's not complicated we're good listen though you'll catch people slipping you'll catch people slipping but we got the schedule release next week Rams Fans in all the talk right now is one how these matchups shake out and when will they take place in the season but also the Prime Time games are we going to see more Prime Time games for the Rams you had the Monday Night Football game on the road against the Bengals you had the tnf game against the Saints but not much love for the Rams in 2023 of course you're coming off a losing season where you go 5 and 12 different expectations this year I mean I think this Rams team heading into this season you're going to get more Prime Time games and for me I'll just go right out the gates I think the obvious choice is the Detroit Lions at Detroit question for me absolute lock slam dunk 100% but where the debate comes is is it a Thanksgiving game could it be a Thanksgiving game because that's my I think you're probably going to go division opponent on that one but I want to see it on turkey day oh I you know it's funny I I hadn't even put two and yeah that's certainly a possibility you imagine that like I I I it feels okay here's the thing with the Lions the the lions are entering new territory right they're good the the lions are favored to win their division the lions are you know a team that went to the NFC championship game that being said that that lion that 9:30 game on Thursday morning that we have out here on the West Coast with the lions that first Thanksgiving game that's usually not a very good game right the Cowboys will sometimes get a decent opponent and then that Thursday night game is usually pretty good they usually go division or something that really isn't awesome there Rams Lions is such it's a it's a rematch of a playoff game it's Matthew Stafford going back to Detroit again it's it's La it's all of these it feels like it's too good to put on Thursday morning again because it's it's early in the it's that's 9:30 in the morning in La that's pretty early um I I think it feels more like a Sunday nighter to me I I because Sunday night is The Sweet Spot Sunday night is the Marquee game of the week Monday night's still really good but Sunday night is the game and that has to be the game of that week it's just it's just too juicy so I if they did it on Thanksgiving it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world but I think that's more like it's the one game that I would bet my house on is a standalone game uh but I think it'll probably land on Sunday night I I agree with you it will be on Sunday I think it's definitely has SNF written all over it but I mean I'm just telling you I mean third if was on Thanksgiving those if you look at the ratings even though there's like a passive watching experience because it's on Thanksgiving right you're like oh I got to do this gota do that I got it on over here it's not like Su Night Football where you're like completely locked in that would be huge and I I think that the NFL is so sick of that game being such a watch right I mean people want to watch football because it's Thanksgiving but a lot of times that game isn't as compelling but outside of that I got the ners is a lot too I think ners game is a Lo to me it feels like we're get the classic ners on the road Monday night somewhere in November that that feels those are the two that I am entirely confident in saying are going to wind up as Standalone games Prime Time games that that the Niners and the Rams seem to always have a Prime Time game it seems to always be in San Francisco and because Detroit is on the road because I I think you're more likely to get San Francisco on the road because I think some other potential primetimers are at Sofi Stadium they like putting Sofi Stadium on TV so I think if they're going to play the ners in prime time I think it's up in San Francisco because they got some other matchups uh at home that I think are likely to get uh Prime Time attention as well yeah 100% I think in years past you probably could sneak in a Seahawks game possibly on a Thursday but I don't think you're going get a Seahawks Prime Time game this year I don't think there's any chance of that next one I think the highest probability is is Raiders Raiders I think maybe Halloween maybe Halloween Thursday for me I mean we saw a couple years ago Baker Mayfield he gets off the plane he beats the Raiders shout out to Van Jefferson wherever he is these days of course Falcons but still I think I I love Raiders Rams I love anytime you get Raiders Rams any Chargers any of those kind of regional teams because it feels kind of college bow like right where you get fans from both sides I mean really kind of feels like that for a lot of rams games these days but it's a little territorial with Raiders Rams and chargers teams like that well I think the Raiders are always a really good candidate because of their footprint in Los Angeles you know I I'm not going to pretend here that look ready sorry Rams Fans you're not gonna like the Raiders are still the most popular team in La they are you know and they're probably going to be for a while the Rams have done an incredible job of closing that Gap and I think that they've done as good of a job at doing that as you possibly could have through the first uh you know whe this be nine Seasons coming up here but the Raiders are a big deal in LA it looks good on TV and I I don't know if I'd put it as one of mine but if it landed in there I wouldn't be stunned yeah I agree with you on that one I don't think that you would be surprised I think it's definitely a feel it screams tnf to me and then now we get into the ones that I think are pretty interesting in my eyes this is I'm throwing this out there I haven't seen really anyone say this Rams Dolphins Sunday Night Football Rams Dolphins think about this the Dolphins I mean you look at their Super Bowl odds they're right there kind of with the Rams at the top 10 I think it's a sexy match up you got Miami coming to La we know the Rams are 2-2 all time against this Miami team is it likely maybe not but I think it's it kind of feels like it could be one of those early season Prime Time games I'm going I'm just want to throw something out there because I just I know a lot of people are saying Eagles I'm gonna say Dolphins over Eagles but I don't know I like that matchup yeah that would be kind of fun I look at Tyreek Hill in Ino fight Stadium doing his thing I'm not a big Tu a fan at all I I I think that's why that being a super Contender is kind of a farce quite frankly but Tyreek fun to watch I I get that uh I I tend to go to the other one day M like you mentioned I think Philadelphia uh may maybe late in the year right Philadelphia and the Rams could both potentially be battling for seating they could both be contending for division leads that feels like who could maybe potentially have HomeField in a in a potential playoff matchup that feels like a very juicy non division but inside the conference matchup that uh a lot of people and by the way two very very large television markets too keep that in mind now I'll be honest I saw your your segment on ESPN about this and I just don't want to have the same predictions as you I'm just kind of for forcing some of this stuff but I know the Bears are interesting too I know that you're going to want to Market Caleb Williams I think the Bears at Chicago could be something maybe sun Night Football maybe Monday Night Football but a last one that I think is a sneaky one as a possibility you always going of get that East Coast Mond Night Football game where the Rams are included how about Rams at Jets early September Monday Night Football A- Rod back if you want to take advantage of the Jets do it early in the season yeah maybe Rams add jets for M Night Football New York La not a bad not not a bad I just the Jets like you said but you know the way you lay it out maybe it is early before they turn into the Jets all over again which they seem to do every single year um I you know I have not seen the Rams they play these divisions once every four years right you cycle through the AFC once every four years so I know I've seen them play the Jets they had that terrible loss to the Jets a couple of years ago uh that the Jets were win I think they were 0 and 13 or 14 coming into that one and they beat the Rams um so there's a little bit there but I I just it I if I had to pick one more I think I'd pick Buffalo I I think that just feels like one of those games that uh Buffalo Rams you got Josh Allen prime time they'd like to put him on the bills are you know probably going to be a pretty good team again I think that's one that I would keep my eye on yeah and then we saw the Rams open their season with buffalo on ring night a couple years ago that's one I think you got the Packers too if I'm not mistaken as a possible match up I could see the Packers as well but hey at the very least National Football League you owe us get four at least we're looking for four bare minimum we'll take six seven every night we'll be the Notre Dame of the NFL put us on NBC why not every week we'll take that if you can give it to us but that's G do it for this episode of lockon rams my name is Doug McCain you can follow me on X and Instagram dmac corla and of course you can follow the peop champ Mr Travis Rogers Travis Rogers until next time who's house it's locked on Rams house