Rams wide receivers were to blame for many of Matthew Stafford’s incompletions in 2023
The Los Angeles Rams are considered to have one of the best wide receiver groups in the NFL with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua leading the charge. Behind Nacua and Kupp, TuTu Atwell found some success early in the season while Demarcus Robinson came on late.
However, despite a strong receiver room in 2023, the Rams receivers were responsible for some of Matthew Stafford’s incompletions a lot more than other teams. According to Sharp Football Analytics, the Rams had the second-highest rate of incompletions due to receiver error at 21 percent. The only team with a higher percentage was the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This was especially bad on third downs where 26 percent of Matthew Stafford’s incompletions were due to receiver error. The only quarterbacks with a higher-percentage were Kyler Murray and Joe Burrow.
% of 3rd down incompletions which were due to receiver error:
28% – Joe Burrow
27% – Kyler Murray
26% – Matthew Stafford
26% – Justin Herbert
23% – C.J. Stroud
22% – Dak Prescott
21% – Will Levis
18% – Trevor Lawrence
18% – Aidan O’Connell
18% – Joshua Dobbs
17% – Kirk Cousins…— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 3, 2024
That’s not to say that Stafford was perfect. In 2023, 34.9 percent of Stafford’s passes were incomplete due to inaccurate passes. This was tied for 11th in the NFL. It is worth noting that highly touted quarterbacks such as Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, and Lamar Jackson all had higher percentages.
These numbers are somewhat surprising considering the amount of precision the McVay tends to require from his receivers. Kupp has been one of the best route runners in the NFL while Nacua improved his route-running throughout the season. For comparison sake, only 14 percent of Brock Purdy’s incompletions on third down were receiver error. That was the case for all of the San Francisco 49ers incompletions as well.
The big difference here was that Rams receivers were responsible for the fourth-most drops last year. Nacua’s 13 drops led the NFL and his 10.2 percent drop percentage was the 11th highest among wide receivers with at least 50 targets. Meanwhile, a team like the 49ers only had nine drops all of 2023.
Nacua had some key drops in big moments, but his positive plays certainly made up for them. The young Rams receiver was well aware that he led the league in drops and it is something that he’s looking to improve on and not let happen again. If the Rams can clean up some of those self inflicted mental errors, the offense that was already really good in 2023 should only get better.
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