So much attention gets paid to Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua in the Rams’ receiver room, and understandably so. Together, they give Los Angeles one of the best wideout tandems in the NFL. But the team’s No. 3 receiver shouldn’t get overlooked.
Demarcus Robinson proved last season that he can be a legitimate playmaker alongside Kupp and Nacua. From Week 13 to the playoff loss in Detroit, Robinson caught 24 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns in seven games, and that includes a zero-catch showing in Week 18 when the Rams rested most of their starters.
He became an integral part of the passing game and the Rams brought him back as a free agent this offseason so that he could pick up where he left off. Nacua made sure to give Robinson some praise when speaking to Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated Thursday, saying he can run “every route.”
“The movement pattern he has, I think, is unreal,” Nacua said. “The energy that he has is something that we thrive off in the receiver room. He can go out there and run every route.
“Being the ‘X’ receiver, he’s kind of on the back side solo. He has a lot of opportunities to run some of those ‘X’ receiver routes, but the versatility that he has to run the short game, intermediate game, and especially to go out there and run the deep ball. That’s what we saw him do last year.”
Between Kupp, Nacua and Robinson, the Rams have a very versatile group of receivers who can line up anywhere, whether it’s on the outside or in the slot. They’re all very good blockers, too, which allows McVay to call run plays out of 11 personnel.
Nacua and Kupp are the two pass catchers who will make this offense flourish, but Robinson is a key and critical player, too.
