The Los Angeles Rams dramatically improved over the offseason after earning a trip to the NFC Championship game last year. It’s encouraging to see a team on the brink make blockbuster moves in hopes of reaching the Super Bowl.
But there are some marginal improvements that do not require corresponding moves. One of those this offseason for the Rams could be the second-year jump for last year’s top draft pick and 2026 breakout candidate, Terrance Ferguson.
Additional reading on Terrance Ferguson
Terrance Ferguson is one of a kind
Terrance Ferguson & Max Klare: Same position, vastly different players
While as a rookie it took Ferguson five weeks in order to earn a target, he finished with 12 catches for 250 yards and three scores in effectively 14 games. Two touchdowns and 106 of these yards came between Week 16 through the divisional round against the Chicago Bears. Ferguson missed the wildcard game due to injury; however, it still speaks to his development that the team counted on him when the outcomes grew more significant towards the end of the year.
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250 yards is a disappointing outcome for a second-round pick. There is hidden production that Ferguson left on the field. A significant driver of this was his lack of connection with star QB Matthew Stafford.
Ferguson caught just 12 of his 31 targets in 2025 (38.7% completion rate). He dropped just one pass (7.7% of targets).
One troubling trend is the fact that Ferguson hauled in just one of his eight contested catch opportunities according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). On the surface this seems slight to me because he often made difficult catches over defenders or along the sideline. In comparison, Puka Nacua was one of the NFL’s best contested catch receivers last season and converted 30 of 47 opportunities (63.8%). Davante Adams, similarly to Ferguson, struggled in this area: 10 of 34 (29.4%).
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A player that averages over 20 yards per catch, like Ferguson, may always be a low percentage receiver in terms of completion rate. As his target share within the LA offense grows, becoming more efficient and developing a stronger rapport with Stafford could make Ferguson a lethal weapon on an already potent Rams offense. The sky is the limit for such a unique player, especially as the team continues to lean further into its utilization of heavier personnel.
Ferguson may also be the answer to the Rams’ question at third receiver behind Nacua and Adams. He aligned in the slot on every one of two passing snaps he saw last year. He aligned as a traditional tight end roughly 25% of the time and then out wide the other quarter of his reps.
This helps explain why LA dipped into the tight end pool in the second round again this offseason. Max Klare is stylistically closer to Tyler Higbee than he is Ferguson, and at this point Ferguson may be considered more of a receiver than traditional tight end. He doesn’t slot squarely into a conventional depth chart.
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If this alignment continues, Ferguson will become one of the more interesting young offensive weapons around the NFL. Defenses will see that the Rams have two or three tight ends on the field and send out additional safeties, defensive linemen, or linebackers. That will spell trouble against Ferguson, who could be as lethal as a receiver and stresses the deep areas of the field.
This is the conundrum that Sean McVay hopes to put defenses into. Ferguson may be his secret tool to tip their hands and force them into disadvantageous looks.
For a player who held a minimal role on offense last year, Ferguson could be the key to fully unlocking the Rams’ offense in 2026.
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