Rams going all-in on tight ends
In 2025, the Los Angeles Rams offense evolved from a team that was primarily based on one tight end to a unit that embraced three. L.A. coach Sean McVay didn’t use the three tight end formation until Week 6 of the regular season and from then on, according to Next Gen Stats, proceeded to employ it on 43 percent of plays going forward. The Rams appear to be all-in on staying with the multiple tight end offense. They basically left the wide receiver corps alone, only adding a Round 6 draft pick (CJ Daniels) and instead drafted another receiver-first tight end, Max Klare, in Round 2. They also re-signed veteran Tyler Higbee . At eight-strong, the L.A. tight end room is a deep, solid mix of veterans and youngsters. All have good hands, are good route runners, and can attack/stretch defenses. How many will be on the Rams opening roster? A likelihood of five and the in-house competition should testing for them all. Colby Parkinson – 6’7” 252 lb. After five seasons in the NFL as a rotational player, Parkinson put up career best numbers in starts, snaps, targets, receptions, yards, touchdowns, and catch percentage. Is he ready for a breakout? Or is this his ceiling as a pro? Came out of college as a receiver-first tight end. Drafted by Seattle and Pete Carroll, the Seahawks used a lot of two tight end formations, but didn’t really harness the unit as weapons. Parkinson never really broke through over four seasons in the Great Northwest, his first three seasons were as TE#3. However, his usage did go up each season and in 2023, he was on the field for nearly 50 percent of snaps as TE#2. He also improved his blocking chops with Seattle and is now visibly bigger than when he entered the league. At his best, Parkinson shows good hands and an ability to to box out smaller defenders. He runs crisp routes and can be dangerous at all depth’s. Tyler Higbee – 6’6” 249 lb. The Rams brought Higbee back for 2026 on a two-year deal worth up to $8 mil and only half guaranteed, well-below his previous contract. Now 33 and entering his 11th season as the Rams longest tenured player, it will be interesting to see how the season wears on his body. He should be at his par early in the early going, but after being dogged by injuries for most of his career, will the Rams need him to play through the pain now that they have a fully stocked tight end room? It is quite likely that Higbee will no longer man a feature role in the Rams offense. But his role is not just dependent on the continued development of Terrance Ferguson and incoming Round 2 pick Max Klare, it may also hinge on how the youngsters are used in the 2026 offense. If they are in games as a pseudo-WR#3, Higbee should have a fair share of the rotation. He’s a better blocker than both youngsters and Sean McVay/Matthew Stafford are comfortable targeting him, particularly on screen passes. Davis Allen – 6’6” 245 lb. Allen enters his fourth season in L.A. and is in the final year of his rookie contract. He’s coming off his best season as a pro, playing in all 20 games with six starts and logging 585 offensive reps, second amongst Rams tight ends, along with 211 on special teams. According to Next Gen stats, Allen was on the field for 100 percent of snaps when the Rams aligned with three tight ends (“13” formation). He caught 24 of 33 targets (three drops) for 208 yards, accounting for three touchdowns and 12 first downs. For coming into the league as a receiver-first tight end, Allen has really worked on upgrading his blocking. Known a a vacuum coming onto the league, he strangely has had some drops. Likely best suited to shorter routes and red zone work, his burst is adequate, but lumbers in space. Good explosiveness for contested catches and jump balls. Solid hand/eye coordination and body control as well. Long, lean build doesn’t look much bigger than when he got to L.A. As a blocker, his technique and hand work are much improved, he squares up and seals off, and has become much more [... truncated ...]
