One of the first moves that the Los Angeles Rams made when head coach Sean McVay took over was signing wide receiver Robert Woods from the Buffalo Bills. A somewhat controversial signing at the time, it led to being one of the most important for the new era of Rams football.
When Woods was signed by the Rams, he had never eclipsed 700 yards in a season. Over 25 percent of his total yards in 2016 came in one game against the Seattle Seahawks. However, Woods’ lack of production in Buffalo can now be attributed to poor quarterback play and lack of usage. By his second season in Los Angeles, Woods had already hit career-highs in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.
Woods became an integral piece of the McVay offense with the Rams. Again, much of that was usage based. While the Woods deal was initially seen as a bit of an overpay, the Rams found a bit of a diamond on the free agent market and McVay was able to unlock his full potential. The former Bills receiver had three straight years of 125-plus targets with the Rams which was a number that he never hit in Buffalo. What was initially a projection-based signing ended up being somewhat of a bargain. Woods was sometimes producing as much as players that he was getting paid one-third of their salary.
The Rams made a similar type of signing this offseason that could end up being seen as a key addition in 2-3 years. That player is former Seattle Seahawks tight end, Colby Parkinson. In free agency, the Rams signed Parkinson to a three-year contract worth up to $22.5M. That seems like a lot for a player that had never exceeded 25 receptions in a season and recorded over 300 yards once in four years.
While the Seahawks have had good quarterback play with Russell Wilson and Geno Smith in Parkinson’s career, much of his low numbers can be attributed to low usage. Seattle has typically been a heavy tight-end team, utilizing 12 personnel at the 10th-highest rate last year and fourth-highest rate in 2022. With that said, especially last year, their pass rate out of 12 personnel has been relatively low. They threw out of 12 personnel just 50 percent of the time last year which ranked 18th in the NFL. That was much lower than their 2022 rate of 57.1 percent which was the seventh-highest. It’s worth noting that also Parkinson’s best year as a receiver.
The Seahawks simply haven’t been a team that consistently uses their tight ends in the passing game. Jimmy Graham went from dominance in New Orleans to just one 900-yard season in Seattle. Noah Fant looked to be a young tight end on the rise in Denver, but never hit 500-yards in a season after being traded to the Seahawks. This was after hitting that mark three times with the Broncos.
Last season, Seattle ranked 22nd in tight end targets and were 26th and 21st in 2021 and 2020 respectively. Again, in 2022 when the Seahawks were more tight end usage heavy in the passing game, ranking fifth in the NFL with 136 targets, Parkinson had his best season as the third tight end in the offense.
Parkinson has simply been under-used in Seattle. In 2022, among tight ends with at least 25 targets, he ranked 19th in total EPA despite just a 5.9 percent target share. Only Noah Gray and Brock Wright had a higher total EPA with a lower target share. Parkinson’s average depth of target of 8.2 yards ranked 10th.
The 5.9 percent target share should raise significantly in the Rams offense. In a down year, Higbee had a 12 percent target share last season. That’s not to mention that Higbee will miss the early part of the season with injury. However, going back to 2020 when the Rams utilized two tight ends with Gerald Everett and Higbee, both players hovered around a 10 percent target share.
Again, going back to 2022, as a receiver Parkinson ranked ninth in yards after the catch per reception and his 1.56 yards per route run ranked 11th.
It’s hard to base things off of a projection because that typically means that we haven’t seen it before. When the Rams signed Woods, he was an unfinished product, but still very moldable at 25 years old. The same can be said about Parkinson who will enter this season at age 25. With both players, their potential could be seen, but only in small doses.
Woods became one of the most important signings to lead a new era of Rams football. The same could end up being true about Parkinson. Heading into this season, the Rams offense will be looking to take on a more physical identity as they expand on the gap-scheme run-game that they implemented last year. A key piece to that will be Parkinson who did show in Seattle that he can be effective as a blocker. However, for Parkinson to justify the contract he was given, he will need to also show out as a receiver.
McVay has already expressed his excitement in Parkinson and has said,
“You saw him climb the ladder, make a big catch today...I thought Shane (Waldron) did a great job utilizing his skillset in Seattle where you could really get a good evaluation...He’s definitely going to add real value. We’re looking forward to being able to getting the pads on and playing real football when we can kind of get a little bit better evaluation in a full speed setting. But the size, the instincts, just the overall character, we’re certainly excited about him.”
The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue has also mentioned that Parkinson’s size and speed ‘pops in practices.’
Parkinson will be able to show off more once the pads are put on and he can express more of the physical aspect of his game. However, for the time being his Rams tenure seems to be getting off to a positive start. Said Parkinson, “The offense is stellar, but I’m getting to see from the inside out now, which is really cool. Excited to be a part of it and contribute the best way I can.”
Players like Jonah Jackson and Kevin Dotson along with Kam Curl stole the headlines when it came to the Rams free agent signings. With that said, the Parkinson addition could end up being an underrated signing that pays dividends, much like the signing of Robert Woods.
