Super psyched
Rams receiver Robert Woods is excited about the new faces in the team’s camp this year.
Robert Woods began the Rams’ spring workouts this month with a new quarterback, new teammates at wide receiver and the promise of a new-look offense.
“I’m still trying to figure out what it will look like,” the wide receiver said Tuesday. “But it’s exciting to see all the pieces.”
All of this change could be unnerving. Woods must earn the trust of quarterback Matthew Stafford after four years of Jared Goff. Adding free agent DeSean Jackson and rookie Tutu Atwell could force Woods to share the ball with more targets. When coach Sean McVay said the receiver corps needed jazzing up, the consistently productive Woods and Cooper Kupp could have taken it personally.
Woods said he sees only positives.
“Whatever weapons (the team adds) — running backs, receivers, quarterbacks — we’ve got a team goal, we’re trying to win a Super Bowl,” Woods said after the Rams’ second day of organized team activities (OTAs) in Thousand Oaks. “We’ve got a loaded team. We’re bringing in receivers (who) bring explosiveness to our offense.”
Kupp (92 catches, 974 yards, 3 touchdowns in 2020) and Woods (90, 936, 8) should continue to lead the Rams’ receivers, while a bigger role for Van Jefferson (19, 220, 1) in his second year can make up for losing free agent Josh Reynolds.
Jackson and Atwell will be expected to add a deeppass dimension the Rams have lacked since Brandin Cooks was traded before the 2020 season.
It remains to be seen how many passes go to Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson, now established, respectively, as the No. 1 and 2 running backs.
“I don’t think it affects me. I think it’s going to be affecting the defenses this year,” Woods said of the new receivers. “We’re going to be coming at them with a lot of speed, a lot of weapons in our rotation.”
That could make him more productive, not less. Woods had his highestyardage NFL season, with a team-high 1,219, in 2018 when Cooks and Gurley were helping to distract defenses.
Woods certainly is comfortable with Jackson. Woods, 29, from Serra High and USC, is old friends with Jackson, 34, from Long Beach Poly and Cal.
And Stafford has the arm to get the ball to any of the receivers anywhere on the field.
“Great touch, great quarterback, great addition to our offense,” Woods said.
It was pointed out that the Rams are a trendy pick to go the Super Bowl LVI (at SoFi Stadium), second to the Buccaneers in NFC title odds in some books.
“Last time we were picked to go to the Super Bowl (2018), we went, so I think that’s a good thing,” Woods said.
“At this point, it’s obviously just talk and goals and potential. But we’re a loaded team. We have all the parts, we have all the pieces to get where we need to go. Now the work takes place.”
‘A lot of eyes have been opened’
Woods, who was outspoken about racial justice after the killing of George
Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman May 25, 2020, said he’s pleased by some of what has happened in the past year.
“A lot of eyes have been opened. A lot of attention’s been brought to what’s been going on across America,” Woods said. “I think it’s been super impactful, players being able to voice their opinion and speak on these things, the NFL getting involved, the NBA getting involved.
“Just seeing where we’ve come in a year brings joy to me, but I think there’s still a ways to go.”
Safety Jordan Fuller, the other Rams player who spoke with reporters Tuesday, said the conviction of Derek Chauvin means the officer faces accountability.
“There’s a lot of hate in the world, but there’s also a lot of love,” Fuller said, “and we need to focus on that and spread that even more.”
Capacity crowds
The Rams confirmed they plan to have capacity crowds at SoFi Stadium for the 2021 season after the COVID-19 pandemic kept the stands empty last year.
The announcement Tuesday was no surprise. California businesses and entertainment venues are due to reopen fully June 15. The Dodgers said last week that they’ll return full capacity that night.
Open practice
The Rams will cap spring workouts with an open practice June 10 at SoFi Stadium, the last day of mandatory minicamp.
Free tickets must be reserved in advance, with priority going to seasonticket holders. The event will start at 4 p.m., with practice at 5. Details are on the Rams’ website.