Key early draft pick for Los Angeles Rams named one of the best scheme fits in the 2025 NFL Draft
The Los Angeles Rams had a strong draft class in the 2025 NFL Draft, coming out with several potential starters and key role players emerging out of the six players they drafted. One of those players was named one of the ten best scheme fits in the draft by The Athletic's Ted Nguyen. "Few teams are […]
The Los Angeles Rams had a strong draft class in the 2025 NFL Draft, coming out with several potential starters and key role players emerging out of the six players they drafted.
One of those players was named one of the ten best scheme fits in the draft by The Athletic's Ted Nguyen.
"Few teams are as adept at understanding a prospect’s strengths and weaknesses and how they fit into their scheme as the Rams. Their latest was Ferguson, whom they said they were targeting in the first round, before trading down and still landing him in the second round. Sean McVay compared Ferguson’s play style to Chris Cooley and Travis Kelce, who are closer to big slots than in-line tight ends….Though Adams gives the Rams more juice downfield in the passing game, Kupp did a lot of the dirty work for the Rams in the run game and created yards after the catch. Ferguson will help replace some of what Kupp did as a blocker. McVay won’t ask Ferguson to block defensive ends one-on-one frequently as a rookie — they still have Tyler Higbee for that — but he’ll be able to crack block and insert on linebackers. Also, with Nacua and Adams lifting the coverage, Ferguson can work choice routes against linebackers and run after the catch."
Shortly after selecting Ferguson, McVay alluded to Ferguson's ability to scheme "some different things" for their offense. General manager Les Snead confirmed the vision for McVay's offense later on during a segment on the Pat McAfee show.
"I know there’s an element of Tyler being at the end of his career. Who’s going to replace him? And then just adding another tight end to the field. I think when Sean McVay came to us from Washington, they did a lot of 12 personnel, so maybe we’ll add a little bit of that to our repertoire."
With Higbee in-line and Ferguson acting as a detached slot receiver, the Rams use 12-personnel with the illusion of 11, keeping multiple linebackers on the field and creating mismatches all over the field. Against teams that are match-coverage heavy, like the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, and other 2025 opponents such as the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs, this is a deadly weapon for Sean McVay's offense. McVay frequently deploys out of stacked and bunched sets and runs motion out of everywhere. If teams are forced to match the multiple tight end sets, one of these targets will end up one-on-one with a linebacker, generating an easy mismatch that Matthew Stafford will pick apart teams with.
Even against spot drop heavy teams, the Rams' offense is full of players who work open and find holes in zone easily, made even more so by teams forcing multiple linebackers onto the field instead of defensive backs.
This unit has the potential to be one of McVay's best, and it's encouraging to see others recognize that.
