Tavon Austin needs help
Most fans of the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams would view the career of the team’s de facto No. 1 wide receiver and former first-round draft pick in 2013 as bust-leaning, if only because Austin still is barely 26 years old.
With career highs of 58 receptions (in 2016), of 509 receiving yards (in 2016) and of five receiving touchdowns (five in 2015), Austin hasn’t put up what anyone would call a start to a Hall of Fame career.
But Austin has two huge assets in his favor going into 2017: running back Todd Gurley and new head coach Sean McVay.
When Gurley burst onto the season in 2015 as the NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year, Austin had his best year statistically. He had 907 yards from scrimmage (473 receiving and 436 rushing) with nine total touchdowns. That was on an offense that was forced to use both Nick Foles and Case Keenum at quarterback.
The addition of left tackle Andrew Whitworth should have a dramatic impact on the Rams offense, which was worst in the league in 2016 at 4,203 total yards for the season (262.7 per game) and 14.0 points per game. Both Gurley and Austin should be big benefactors.
In McVay’s first year as offensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins in 2014, the team finished 5,738 offensive yards and 18.8 points per game. The Redskins used three quarterbacks that year in Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy.
Pierre Garcon led Washington in receiving in 2014, gathering 68 receptions for 752 yards and three TDs. DeSean Jackson had 56 receptions for 1,169 yards and six scores.
When the Redskins decided on Cousins as their quarterback in 2015, three Redskins wide receivers had 69 receptions or more.
McVay doesn’t have any kind of quarterback controversy in Los Angeles. Jared Goff will be the Rams quarterback in 2017. If McVay can get Goff to execute his scheme that takes some of the pressure away from the quarterback, Austin can have a breakout year and Gurley might return to early 2015 form.
It stands to reason that Austin is one of the highest-paid players on the Rams offense, so McVay and the offensive staff will look to test the former West Virginia star early and often.
The only unknown surrounding Austin is his durability and Los Angeles is going to want to find out exactly how much value he brings to the Rams table. But he could have a bigger year in 2017 than Gurley, simply because Gurley has had the better stats in the previous two seasons and Austin has greater room for improvement.
But McVay needs to find a passing threat, and Austin should be the initial person to fill that void.
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