The Los Angeles Rams should not trade for A.J. Brown, as reports have recently suggested they might, or any of the many other wide receivers being talked about as additional weapons for quarterback Matthew Stafford. The reason comes down to basic math.
If the Rams are as committed to running 13 personnel as often as they did during the latter half of last season, as general manager Les Snead has suggested Sean McVay plans to do in 2026, there won’t be enough snaps to feed an extra body like Brown.
We already saw how Brown’s lack of enthusiasm for an offense that doesn’t feed him can backfire.
Why would you spend draft capital and take on another contract if there aren’t enough targets to go around?
Snap and target math
In an average NFL game there are 63 offensive plays. In a single back scheme, which is what the Rams typically use, that leaves four receivers and/or tight ends on the field on every play, giving that group 252 snaps per game, or 4,284 over a 17 game season.
In 2023, the Rams ran 11 personnel 91% of the time, leaving three receivers on the field and giving them 3,094 snaps, plus a piece of the remaining 9%. Let’s round that up to roughly 3,250 receiver snaps for the season, while tight ends accounted for approximately 1,034.
In 2026, it looks like they intend to go 13 personnel at least 50% of the time.
If we estimate the Rams will use 13 personnel 50% of the time, 12 personnel 10% of the time, and 11 personnel 40% of the time, the snaps available will be 2,040 for receivers and 2,244 for tight ends. Where does that leave the Rams?
The WR snap count is reduced by over 1,000!
The Tight Ends
When the Rams drafted tight end Max Klare in the second round, I was shocked. Every mock I did, and probably every mock I saw, had Snead taking at least one receiver in the top two rounds.
I started to see the light after Snead and McVay’s presser on that Friday night when they let us in on the change in offensive strategy.
Adding Klare helps maintain it, and signals those multiple tight end sets will remain a staple for L.A.’s offense in 2026.
“We plan to be able to build on some of the things that we did last year,” McVay said. “I think that was a benefit for us.”
“All four of the (other Rams TEs) are productive in both phases,” McVay said. “So that’s what you’re looking for. If you’re going to be treated like a tight end, you got to be an extension of the run surface. You got to be functional enough that to be used as one of the five eligibles. And so (Klare) does do that.”
The Rams regime is emphasizing that Klare is not intended to be stashed away for the future, nor will L.A. jettison half of the tight end room this year. McVay expects every tight end to contribute, leaving less room for receivers.
By my math, tight ends will be getting at least 1,000 more snaps next season than they did in 2023.
After watching multiple clips on how the Rams used 13 personnel, it became clear that not all the tight ends are being used the same. And Klare is not a great blocker yet, meaning that his best specialized role in 2026 will be as a receiver. In the same way that receivers have different designations in a formation between X, Y, and Z, so too should tight ends be thought of moving forward.
Davis Allen and Tyler Higbee are inline tight ends, while Colby Parkinson and Terrance Ferguson are slot tight ends, and Klare could be used all over the place.
No to A.J. Brown
As the Rams depth chart is currently constructed, with Puka Nacua as one of the top receivers in the NFL and a favorite target of Matthew Stafford already, alongside a potential future Hall of Famer in Davante Adams, there’s no room to add another starting receiver given McVay’s usage of tight ends. The Rams would likely have to move either Nacua or Adams in a trade for Brown for the deal to make sense, but those feel like parallel moves, if not downgrades.
Instead, McVay and Snead should trust that between their top two receivers, their diverse set of tight ends, and the depth at receiver starting with Jordan Whittington, that L.A. does not need to sacrifice future draft capital for more pass catchers. They have enough already and should trust that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
