No Rams player stood out more in the preseason opener than Lance McCutcheon. The undrafted rookie receiver dominated on offense, catching five of his six targets for 87 yards and two touchdowns – including the game-winner to beat the Chargers.
The biggest play of the game by either side was McCutcheon’s 60-yard touchdown reception from Bryce Perkins. It wasn’t an easy catch, going up and over the defender to make the grab and then shake off the tackler down the sideline.
McCutcheon hasn’t done it against starting cornerbacks, but he couldn’t have started much better than he did on Saturday night. The Rams’ top five receivers are essentially set, and you can make it six if you include Brandon Powell, but Sean McVay isn’t ruling out the possibility of keeping McCutcheon as No. 7.
He’s not putting a cap on the number of receivers the Rams keep, though they’re aiming for a number between six and eight. And McCutcheon has a realistic chance to be one of them.
“I think certainly,” he said of whether McCutcheon has a shot to make the team. “A lot of that is predicated on, you look at the 53, but I’m really interested in the 48. How do these guys get up on game day and that’s a big part of it to be able to help Joe D and Jeremy Springer? Especially when you send your starting 11 out, whether it’s in 12 personnel, 11 personnel, if you’re not on the field, for you to have a jersey and dress with the 48, you better be willing to help on special teams. That all weighs into it. If you said anywhere between six and eight, but ideally, you’re saying you’ve got five guys up and sometimes we used to carry six because Mike Thomas was such a unique contributor on special teams. There’s a lot of layers to it.”
.@TDN_Perk GOING DEEEEP TO @mccutcheonlance!
📺 @ABC7 📱 https://t.co/4beUdmlymg pic.twitter.com/UroH4dWZuo
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 14, 2022
McVay continued by saying once again that McCutcheon could make the team, especially given his ability on special teams. That’s an important trait for players on the back end of the roster, needing to contribute to Joe DeCamillis’ unit.
“I would say yes, he’s a very realistic candidate to make this roster,” McVay continued. “But in a lot of instances, you think about not necessarily the 53 but the 48, knowing that’s a moving target with injuries. But I would say between six and eight you’re talking about, but it’s not a finite deal and every year would provide a different answer based on who’s helping Joe D and what are those body types like outside of the clear-cut starters.”
McCutcheon will get a shot to keep things going on Friday night against the Texans, which is the Rams’ second preseason game of the year. After that, they’ll trim down to 80 players by Aug. 23 before final cuts on Aug. 30.
