What we learned after the first week of Rams OTAs

The Rams began OTAs and here’s what we learned during the first week

The Los Angeles Rams wrapped up their first week of Organized Team Activities. This was the first time this season that all players were on the field at the same time, outside of those that missed for injury or personal reasons. The Rams will wrap up OTAs next week with practices on Tuesday and Wednesday before “offseason workouts” begin. Here are a few things that we learned in the first week of OTAs.

1. Blake Corum is Picking Up The Offense

Ever since the Rams drafted Blake Corum out of Michigan in the third round, there has been an aura of excitement about him. This is a player that dominated for the Wolverines and scored 27 rushing touchdowns last season. With Kyren Williams out due to a foot injury, Corum has been tasked with more responsibility than he may have otherwise.

As detailed by The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue,

“Corum has already been given almost three-quarters of the playbook despite being so new…On Corum’s first official day on-site, coaches handed him five different packets of pages…But he quickly learned that each part of McVay’s run game interconnects with another, and another, and soon builds a larger picture.”

Corum getting involved early is a good thing for the Rams. Getting reps and earning trust now will only pass off later in the season when it matters. After Williams played at a high level last season, it’s hard to know exactly what the split between this duo will look like. However, Corum picking up the playbook and getting involved in OTAs allows him to continue to grow throughout the offseason — much like Puka Nacua did a year ago.

2. The Rams are not talking about Matthew Stafford’s Contract

The Rams are keeping things ‘in house’ according to Sean McVay. Within a series of four straight questions regarding Matthew Stafford’s contract situation, McVay re-iterated four different times that the Rams were going to keep things in-house. Said McVay,

“Out of respect for the situation, we’ll just keep it in house…Really just going to keep it in-house…In-house. I respect the questions, I really do. But you know, out of respect for just the totality of the situation and really, there’s just a lot of things that we want to be able to just keep in house…I’m confident that he’s been out here leading the way and that’s really where we’ll kind of keep it right now.”

It’s no surprise that Stafford was at OTAs despite the situation regarding his contract. Not many would have expected him to hold out. It’s something that the Rams seem to be actively working on and it’s something that could possibly get done before training camp. This will be a situation to monitor, but in case you need a reminder, the Rams are keeping it in-house.

3. Braden Fiske and Jared Verse Making Early Impression

It’s difficult for defensive linemen and edge rushers to make an impact during OTAs because the players don’t have pads on and they won’t until training camp. With that said, rookies Jared Verse and Braden Fiske are still getting noticed by the coaching staff. As detailed by TheRams.com’s Stu Jackson, “If you saw grass flying up from the field, there’s a good chance it was because of the fast feet of rookie defensive tackle Braden Fiske. So far it’s one of the telling signs of how his motor runs during these sessions.” Head coach Sean McVay seemed to agree in his lone media availability and said,

“I’ve liked both their presences. These guys, they love football. They’re locked in. They’re engaged in meetings. They work. They do everything that we ask. They’re receptive to coaching and then you feel their energy, you feel their presence on the grass. But it’s been So I’ve certainly been encouraged. I’s been a real positive and want to just keeps taking steps in the right direction.”

There will be a lot of eyes on Verse and Fiske throughout the offseason and a lot of pressure for both players to perform as rookies. Verse was the team’s first round selection and the Rams gave up a lot to move up and select Fiske. It’s been so far so good for the Florida State duo.

4. Steve Avila Making Transition to Center

One of the bigger storylines this offseason has been Steve Avila’s transition to center. Unlike some players, it shouldn’t be seen as a huge deal despite Avila playing well at left guard last season. Avila played two years at center at TCU. However, the position switch will still be an adjustment. According to TheRams.com, Avila said,

“I started as early as I could, as soon I as I found out I was moving to center, to try to get everything packed up and ready for these OTAs. I feel like I did a good job with that. As soon as we started going faster, everything started feeling a bit more natural. So we still got a long way to go, but I’m really excited for it.”

Avila mentioned that the transition to center is more technical for him than mental. There will be the adjustment of having to make the protection calls at the line of scrimmage, but playing next to Coleman Shelton last year and having a veteran quarterback should help. This is something we’ll continue to monitor throughout the offseason.

5. Byron Young Getting Bigger

While Byron Young cooled off as the season went along last season, he started off strong and will be expected to take a jump in year two. One of the changes that he’s been tasked to make is with his body. Young was asked to gain some weight this offseason and he’s done exactly that. The second year player out of Tennessee said via TheRams.com,

“It’s good to be bigger and fast. They wanted me to see if I get to this weight and see if I could play with that, see if I could sustain that and that’s what I’m doing right now. It feels great. Getting close to up to 260, so it’s good. It’s definitely something that helps me with the run game, pass game, setting the edge and all of that, for sure.”

Young was thrown into the fire last year as a third round pick and stepped up to the task with eight sacks. However, this season he’ll have a true partner in crime in Jared Verse. Young was an older rookie last year and will be 26 in year two. His development will certainly be one to monitor.

Other Notes

The play-by-play reporting during OTAs can be quite pointless. These are the first days of install and it’s more about getting the rust off than performing and competing at an extremely high level. On top of that, the Rams don’t allow a lot of that type of reporting from the media.

It is worth pointing out that TuTu Atwell made a nice one-handed grab that was captured and shared by the Rams media team. Atwell made some strides in year three and will look to build off of that. Jackson from TheRams.com also noted interceptions from Cobie Durant and Tre Tomlinson.