The Rams surprised -- at least a bit -- by re-signing WR Tutu Atwell to a one-year, $10 million contract before he could reach unrestricted free agency this offseason. HC Sean McVay has since said that Atwell will be on the field "a lot more," which makes sense. But the team also added WR Davante Adams just three days after the Atwell deal. So it's fair to wonder how much room the 25-year-old wideout can actually find.
McVay at the April NFL meetings in Florida: "He's going to be on the field a lot more, particularly in a lot of those three-receiver sets where, when he's been on the field, he's done a really good job. ... I thought he really improved his route detail for a smaller guy. He's got a good catch radius. He catches the ball outside of his frame really well. He's an explosive player that people know about. He creates separation."
The Rams played three-WR formations (also called "11 personnel") at the league's second-highest rate last year, according to Sumer Sports, trailing only the Falcons. That has been a staple of McVay's offenses.
Demarcus Robinson ran well ahead of Atwell as that third WR last year, playing 81.8% of snaps vs. just 39% for Atwell.
Yet Atwell trailed Robinson by just 2 targets (64-62) and beat him 42-31 in receptions. The totals -- for both players -- got boosted by Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp missing a combined 11 full games. But Atwell should hold that clear No. 3 role in 2025.
The last time the Rams got near-full healthy seasons from its top three wideouts was 2020. That year found this target distribution among them:
Reynolds drew 13.7% of the team's total pass attempts that year, with TEs Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee combining for another 7.6 targets per game.
Nacua and Adams figure to eat up at least as much target share this season as Kupp and Woods did then. Higbee and Colby Parkinson look like a similar TE duo in terms of likely roles.
So something around a 13% target share seems like a fair projection for Atwell.
That would be enough to make him a meaningful offensive contributor -- but not enough to make him much of a fantasy asset outside the deepest of leagues.
Atwell makes sense as a late-draft best ball target, though. He still sits just 94th among WRs in Underdog Fantasy ADP -- behind teammate Jordan Whittington, among many others.
That shows a lack of appropriate reaction to Atwell's contract by the draft market.
The new deal certainly doesn't guarantee Atwell anything. And perhaps Whittington outperforms him in training camp. But if the Rams envisioned Whittington earning that No. 3 job in his second season, they wouldn't have had much reason to throw $10 million at Atwell ahead of free agency and the NFL Draft.
Atwell's especially worth a look where you already have QB Matthew Stafford rostered. But his big-play potential makes the speedy wideout a fit for any build.
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