Los Angeles Rams: 5 trade targets prior to NFL trade deadline

O.J. Howard, Tight End, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

O.J. Howard still has yet to find his footing at the pro level. After a dominant college career at Alabama, showing elite athleticism and feel for the position on the professional level, Howard has failed to produce as expected in Tampa Bay. Whether it has been due to poor coaching or quarterback play is up to debate, but Tampa will more than likely be willing to part ways with their young pass catcher.

This type of addition to Goff’s array of weapons should be able to provide a kind of weapon that Goff has not yet had in his career, an athletic tight end to act as a security blanket. If Los Angeles is to succeed on offense now that teams know what makes them struggle (loaded fronts), they will need to reinvent themselves.

This not only means the C-gap runs and bubble screens that McVay has attempted to implement (which have failed so far), but also quick passing concepts to keep defenses honest outside of simply interior runs and play action.

The closest thing to a security blanket the Los Angeles Rams currently have is Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett, neither of which are world-class athletes that can open up a game like Howard could with the right coaching. A dynamic addition such as Howard could open up a whole new dimension of game planning and schematics for McVay and would be a fun toy for the Rams offense to utilize.