With the unfortunate injury to Cooper Kupp, someone on the Los Angeles Rams needs to step up. Josh Reynolds will get the first crack at it, playing in the slot where Kupp did his damage.
The slot wide receiver is a vital role in the Rams offense. In eight games, Kupp had 40 receptions for 566 yards and six touchdowns. Kupp lined up in the slot 73% of his snaps this year, and he was absolutely lethal.
Kupp produced while playing alongside Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods, who were also putting up big numbers. He was flourishing in his second season in the NFL, helping the Rams offense roll through opposing defenses with ease. Reynolds has big shoes to fill, but he has the talent to do so.
Reynolds was the Rams' 4th round pick (117th overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft after starting three years at Texas A&M. In those three seasons, he had 164 receptions, 2,788 yards, and 30 touchdowns. He'll need to be a touchdown machine for the Rams as well.
Reynolds is a big body wide receiver, standing at 6-foot-3. This makes him a viable red zone target, just like Kupp was before his injury.
Earlier this year when Kupp was out in Week 8, Reynolds scored two touchdowns in the red zone against the Green Bay Packers. The Rams need that type of production from the second-year wideout.
It was Reynolds' first multi-touchdown game in his career, as he has just five total touchdowns in his short career. He'll likely add-on to that moving forward as the Rams' primary slot wide receiver.
Reynolds' play will be critical to the Rams' success for the rest of the season and in the playoffs. He likely won't have to shoulder the whole responsibility for filling in for Kupp, though.
Sean McVay has shown he wants to get their tight ends more involved as well. Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee have become more acclimated in the offense in recent weeks, especially in the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night when Everett tallied two fourth quarter scores.
Reynolds will slide into the slot with Kupp gone, making him the most likely recipient to get a huge boost in targets. Still, it remains to be seen how the Rams plan on using Reynolds throughout the rest of the season.
The Rams offense has shown no signs of slowing down, but an injury to Kupp could hinder their dominance. If Reynolds struggles, teams will start game planning differently to take certain guys out of the game.
Todd Gurley will likely shoulder a slightly bigger workload with Kupp being out as well. Reynolds is being given a magnificent opportunity to show the Rams he should regularly become a part of this high-powered offense.
Finally we got to see Reynolds unleashed in the Monday night shootout against the Chiefs. Reynolds had 6 receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. It was a nice outing by the second-year product out of Texas A&M.
In the three games the Rams have been without Kupp this season, Reynolds has 10 receptions for 141 yards and 3 touchdowns. As he gets more comfortable being a focal point of the offense, he'll continue to get better.
Most importantly, Jared Goff has looked his way 14 times in those three games. That shows there's a sense of trust between the two players, making this transition easier on Reynolds.
He did in fact line up in the slot a ton, essentially taking on Kupp's regular role. The production will come with time, as Reynolds will need to get adjusted quickly.
A genius like McVay will find a multitude of ways to utilize Reynolds. Although he is inexperienced, Reynolds is the tallest wide receiver on this roster, making him an obvious threat in the red zone.
If Reynolds' play continues to trend in the right direction, the Rams offense becomes even more dangerous going forward. We'll see in the coming weeks if that comes into fruition. A bye week in Week 12 can help his development in this near-unstoppable offense.
If the Rams want to be sitting pretty come January, they'll need guys like Reynolds to assume a bigger role in their offense. There's not many teams that can stand in the Rams' way of their ultimate goal, a Super Bowl.
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