Do the Rams actually need to sign another wide receiver?

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 2: Jordan Whittington #88 of the Los Angeles Rams and Davante Adams #17 get set during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium on November 02, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images) | Getty Images If you subscribe to The Athletic and were shocked at what you read this morning in Daniel Popper’s “Best Fits” column about free agent wide receivers, you weren’t alone.

class="wp-block-paragraph">As TST’s Danny Stone pointed out in this morning’s Random Ramsdom, Popper wrote that the Rams are the best fit for former San Francisco 49er and, most recently, Washington Commander Deebo Samuel. Not only was that a surprising match, but it doesn’t jive with what the Rams are apparently planning for at wide receiver this season.

class="wp-block-paragraph">Samuel has been a productive player in the past, of course, even earing a first-team All-Pro nod in 2021. But that was five years ago now, and the reputation that precedes Samuel is far greater than his actual impact on the field now. He wasn’t terrible for Washington last season, posting 72 receptions for 727 yards and five touchdowns, but he’s now another year older and still has the same issues he’s always had, just with further diminished speed and athleticism.

class="wp-block-paragraph">This is a player that has never been a strong man-coverage beater and thus has always needed his play callers to manufacture touches for him. ESPN’s Receiver Score metrics aren’t foolproof by any means and the stats do include some noise, but their 2025 grading does paint at least a broad picture of who Samuel is right now. Who is that? It’s a player who tied for 97th out of 110 graded wide receivers in “open” score, or how often a receiver is in position to make a catch even if they’re not targeted.

class="wp-block-paragraph">It doesn’t feel like the juice is worth the squeeze for a Rams team that already has one of the best offenses in the NFL and doesn’t need to add more gimmicks to create explosives, move the ball consistently or score. It would be one thing to take a flier is Los Angeles had a paltry assortment of weapons, but that’s clearly not the case, and it’s not worth developing more hyper-specific touches for what could be the Rams’ sixth option.

Peyton Manning was absolutely disgusted about a pass hitting Deebo Samuel in the facemask and turning into an interception. 🏈 🎙️ #NFL#MNFpic.twitter.com/HpvO6qFQp5

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 28, 2025Overall, the Rams have made it obvious so far that they’re content with the group they have at wide receiver. Ty Simpson’s finally signed rookie deal eats into some of their available cap space and an Aaron Donaald return would obviously swallow most of what’s left. But there are enough options out there who wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg that if L.A. had wanted to add another receiver at some point this offseason, it could have.

class="wp-block-paragraph">This roster has a clear hierarchy both in terms of pass catchers and offensive contributors in general, and it’s hard to see a transformative role opening for anyone that Les Snead could go out and sign today. Puka Nacua is one of the five best receivers in the NFL, and Davante Adams is a potential Hall of Famer who is still easily among the best WR2s in the league. Colby Parkinson is going to be on the field a ton at tight end, and plenty of other players in that position group will get run in heavier personnel packages (such as the recently re-signed Tyler Higbee or second-round pick Max Klare). You know the Rams are going to run the ball and run it effectively. Does a guy like Samuel slot in at the back of that pack and actually get you closer to a championship? Or Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen, Zay Jones or any other veteran wide receiver still looking for a home, for that matter.

class="wp-block-paragraph">Jordan Whittington, meanwhile, is already in place and a perfectly suitable option as the No. 3 wide receiver, given what the Rams need out of that spot. He’s a strong blocker and that’s vital to the success of this offense, and it’s not like he’s an unplayable pass catcher, given his 62% career success rate (according to Pro-Football-Reference’s system) and the 41% of his targets that become first downs or touchdowns (all first downs in his case, to be fair). That’s just shy of Diggs’ career rate and above that of Samuel.

class="wp-block-paragraph">He isn’t a superstar and almost certainly won’t be given the guys in front of him, but his tangible and intangible traits make him a natural fit for this position group.

class="wp-block-paragraph">Would it be nice to have a third elite receiver that didn’t need to get the ball constantly? Sure, who wouldn’t want that? But while that’s been a need or a personnel target some analysts around the NFL have pushed for the Rams all offseason, it’s simply not an important need, and the guy they’ve already got is more that fit for the role.