The Los Angeles Rams offense will have a new look in 2025. While veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford returns to steer the offense in 2025, the team will not have three familiar faces at wide receiver. Gone are veteran receivers Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks), Demarcus Robinson (San Francisco 49ers) and Tyler Johnson (New York Jets). So far, the team has added former New York Jets – Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams.
Other receivers will need to step up in 2025.
While plenty of discussions have already taken place over the new projected starting combination of Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, and Tutu Atwell, has Jordan Whittington been overlooked? After all, the rookie wide receiver flashed solid NFL potential in 278 offensive snaps, catching 22 of 28 passes for 293 yards. His catch rate of 78.5 percent is impressive enough, but it shines even brighter when you consider he caught three of four passes from backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo against the starting secondary of the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18 for 86 yards.
Whittington did not put up jaw-dropping numbers like his teammate Puka Nacua in his rookie season. But he was targeted 28 times, not 160 times as was the case for Nacua’s rookie season. Had he been targeted the same number of times, Whittington proportionally was on track to post over 1600+ receiving yards.
That’s a lot of real estate.
The Rams offense will be looking for players to step up in 2025. With three contributors from 2024 gone with only one new addition, there should be room to grow Whittington’s role in the offense in 2025. But does he deserve the opportunity?
Without a doubt.
The team was so desperate to get the football into his hands, that they added the kick return role to his responsibilities. He responded by returning 16 kickoffs for 453 yards. Will he resume his special teams function in 2025? Will he be targeted more often in the upcoming season? Here’s why the Rams would be very wise to steer more work his way:
Here are some Rams roster and depth chart articles you may like:
(3) – Jordan Whittington has incredible versatility
Second-year wide receiver Jordan Whittington stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 202 pounds on paper. While that is pretty much par for the course for Rams receivers, Whittington is a bit unique in that he arrived on the Rams roster fully versed in the ‘other duties as assigned,’ functions that are challenging to teach NFL rookie receivers. That means he came with the technical know-how of blocking, a full appreciation of precise route running, and a thirst for knowing how to improve his game.
Whittington is not just a receiver. He is an offensive weapon. That is, he is dangerous running the football, catching the football, or even returning the football. And his skill set is such that he can be effective however the offense sees fit to use him.
As good as some NFL players are, we often miss the fact that they achieve great statistical heights due to their heavy workload. That is something that the Rams have yet to afford Whittington. He has done everything asked of him very well. The challenge for the Rams offense is to ask more from him.
(2) – Rams roster clearly set up to throw more targets his way in 2025
Rams wide receiver coach Eric Yarber is entering his eighth season as wide receiver’s coach for the team. Over that time, he has coached up many great wide receivers like Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks, and Puka Nacua. But second-year wide receiver Jordan Whittington could be the next receiver to add his name to the list of 1000+ yard receivers in this offense.
In 2024, seven wide receivers were active in the Rams offense. Of that group, Whittington was targeted the sixth-fewest times. Only WR Xavier Smith was targeted less. While you could make the point that players earn their targets in the Rams passing office, that argument comes with its own Catch-22. That is, inexperienced receivers cannot earn more targets until they get more experience.
That means, veterans have a built-in advantage over rookies in terms of offensive opportunities.
With the exodus of Tyler Johnson, Demarcus Robinson, and Cooper Kupp, the Rams offense vacated 205 targets from 2024. Many of those will be diverted to WR Davante Adams. Some will go to Tutu Atwell. But some should be redirected to Jordan Whittington as well.
Puka Nacua broke through the Rams WR logjam in 2023 by filling in remarkably well for an injured Cooper Kupp. When Kupp returned to health, the offense stuck with Nacua, and traded away Van Jefferson to level out the workload among remaining receivers. In 2024, Wittington did not break through in a similar fashion. That created a bit of a log jam at the wide receiver position.
With the team parting ways with three solid wide receivers from last season, the road is paved for Whittington’s role to grown significantly in the offense this season. How much so remains to be seen. The floor for 2025 right now is 60 targets, which is more than double his workload from 2024.
(1) – He overachieved in 2024 (in a good way)
The Los Angeles Rams selected Texas rookie WR Jordan Whittington in Round 6 of the 2024 NFL Draft with the 213th overall pick. That’s easy to overlook, because Whittington has always shown up well whenever he steps foot onto a football field. But solid performers are uncommon from Round 6 or 7 in and NFL draft.
I was very surprised to learn that Jordan Whittington’s 293 receiving yards was the most recorded by a Rams rookie from Round 6 or later since Bucky Pope did so in 1964. That was sixty years ago:
And yet, I’m conflicted over the belief that had Whittington had a larger role in the offense, he could have been that much more productive for the team.
Whittington was not a Pro Bowler in 2024. But catching nearly 80 percent of his targets for nearly 300 yards as a rookie is nothing to sneeze at. Whittington average 10.5 yards per target, and 13.3 yards per catch. In 22 catches, he moved the chains 14 times. He rushed twice for 12 yards, and moved the chains for a first down with each rushing attempt.
The only thing Whittington was not asked to do in 2024 was drop back and pass the football.
Whittington never had a bad game. Whenever thrown to three times or less in a game, he caught every pass. When thrown to four times, he caught three passes. When thrown to eight times, he caught six passes. When thrown to 10 times, he caught seven passes. But the Rams failed to target him at all in 11 games in 2024.
Staying mentally prepared for each game in a 17-game schedule takes a great deal of mental discipline. Rookies are often unable to flip the switch from no work to suddenly being involved in the game. Somehow, Whittington mastered that ability in his first NFL season.
While the Rams are still constructing their roster, the team is set with the wide receiver rotation already for 2025. If the team starts Davante Adams, Puka Nacua, and Tutu Atwell, then Jordan Whittington and Xavier Smith become the team’s primary rotational receivers. That affords this team an opportunity to let the chips fall where they may in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.
Perhaps the Rams will add offensive weapons. But they are not forced to. After all, Jordan Whittington’s stock is rising for good reason. It may simply be a matter of sitting back and watching Whittington do his stuff in 2025.
As always, thanks for reading.