Sean McVay’s New Rams Offense Looks a Lot Like the Patriots Dynasty

The NFL has always been a cyclical and copycat league. Offenses and defenses have always had to adjust to one another. Despite Sean McVay being with the Los Angeles Rams for just 10 years, we’ve already seen three iterations of his offense.

McVay and the Rams initially took the league by storm with a wide zone run game and ran play action off of it. When defenses moved to 6-1 fronts, the Rams traded for Matthew Stafford and started to operate primarily out of empty formations. The Rams then completely reshaped their run game and started utilizing more gap and power schemes, which has led into the current offense that has shifted from three wide receiver sets and 11 personnel to multiple tight end sets.

As the Rams move to heavier tight end usage and build their team around that philosophy, it’s hard not to see a modern version of the mid-2010s New England Patriots. When you also consider that “Ryan Wendell, who played for the Patriots during that era, is on the Rams’ coaching staff, it makes even more sense.

For much of McVay's tenure, the Rams have been an 11 personnel team built around Shanahan-style condensed formations and outside zone runs. However, the current roster construction suggests they no longer want to live in that world. Instead, the Rams want to lean into the 12 and 13 personnel usage that they found success with last season. McVay wants to get back to his roots of using multiple tight ends that can move around the formation.

The Brady Blueprint for Stafford

With Matthew Stafford getting older and entering his age 38 season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rams take a ‘less is more’ approach with their quarterback. Last season, Stafford had 597 pass attempts. If the Rams want to get the most out of Stafford, that type of workload is no longer realistic going forward.

Given how the Rams are building the offense, it suggests that they want Stafford to operate more like the point guard of the offense in the 2014-2018 Tom Brady model instead of the 2021 Stafford model in which he had to carry the offense. Stafford is certainly capable of that and it’s why he’s so valuable to the offense. At the same time, it’s not something that they want to be relying on every week.

Instead of having to hold the ball to push it vertically, the Rams are creating a system that allows Stafford to get the ball out quickly, which allows him to play more efficiently. This allows the Rams to manage Stafford like the Patriots did Brady late in his career. The Rams understand Stafford is playing at a high level, but heavier personnel improves pass protection, allows the offense to stay on schedule, and reduces pure dropback volume.

In 2015, Brady was entering his age 38 season. The Patriots quarterback’s average depth of target was 8.3 yards which was his lowest since 2010. In 2014, Brady was sacked 24 times which was his fewest since 2009. With Stafford’s back, the Rams know he can’t continue to take hits. Creating easy completions and YAC opportunities will only help with Stafford’s longevity. This will also help simplify things when Ty Simpson eventually takes over.

The Patriots-Like Rotation in the Rams Backfield

For the first time in the McVay era, the Rams didn’t have a true workhorse at running back last season. Between Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, the Rams had nearly 2,000 yards rushing. Williams handled approximately 65 percent of those carries. It was the lowest percentage for a Rams starting running back in the McVay era. The season before, he was tied for the highest carry percentage, taking 73.7 percent of the Rams rushing attempts.

The Patriots rarely treated their starting running back as a traditional workhorse. Instead, their running backs were used situationally. While Williams is still the lead back in the Rams offense, the offense seems to be heading more towards creating role-specific usage.

While Blake Corum and Kyren Williams are built similarly, they serve a different purpose. Corum changes the texture of the run game due to his shiftier run style and his ability to run outside to the corner. He stresses the defense horizontally.

Williams gives the Rams some of what the Patriots had in James White and Dion Lewis, especially in the passing game. He’s excellent in pass protection and has shown an ability to be a threat as a receiver. Williams’ 36 receptions last season were a career-high.

Last season, the Rams running game became one of the most efficient in the NFL, especially in heavier personnel packages. They averaged 0.07 EPA per rush out of 13 personnel compared to 0.01 EPA per rush out of 11 personnel.

A wild card here is undrafted free agent running back Dean Connors. Connors has a similar style as Rex Burkhead and is a threat in the passing game. That’s not to say that Connors is going to be a major part of the offense, but he’s a name to watch this offseason.

Ferguson and Klare Could Unlock the Offense

This is where the comparison becomes obvious. Directly comparing Terrance Ferguson and Max Klare to Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez would be unfair. Removing the names of the players, the roles project to be similar.

With Gronkowski and Hernandez, the Patriots changed the way the league views tight ends. Hernandez functioned like a slot receiver while Gronk dominated in-line and the seam. Max Klare may not have an immediate role in 2026, but his skill set is designed for the Kupp role as the underneath, middle of the field threat. He moves like a wide receiver and has the ability to generate yards after the catch. Klare is also extremely versatile. Drafting him in the second round was a clear signal that a schematic shift was coming.

While Kupp was a receiver that blocked like a tight end, Klare is a tight end who moves like a receiver. Klare will allow the Rams to take advantage of the defense in their base personnel as he can dominate in space. Because of Klare’s speed, the Rams aren’t sacrificing speed by getting heavier.

Again, it’s unfair to compare Ferguson to a first-ballot Hall of Fame player in Gronkowski. This isn’t comparing the two players at all, but rather their roles in the offense. The Rams are getting bigger without sacrificing what they can do in the passing game. Ferguson needs to continue developing, but his skill set should stress defenses vertically down the seam. If he can develop as a blocker, he becomes an in-line threat as defenses have to respect his speed.

In limited action, Ferguson was one of the NFL’s more productive tight ends on deep passes. He led all tight ends in downfield targets and was second in receptions. His 180 yards on passes of 20 yards or more ranked third in the NFL. The Rams can create the same conflicts that they did in 11 personnel without giving the defense any added information.

The Rams No Longer Need Three Wide Receivers

Throughout the mid-2010s, the Patriots typically didn’t place a lot of value on the wide receiver position. Gronkowski was the team’s top wide receiver. The Rams have Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. It’s simply a different conversation.

The wide receivers in the Patriots’ system were very role specific. Nacua is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL which allows the Rams to do a lot more. The Rams have a top receiver who can block, can win from anywhere along the formation, and is dominant after the catch.

From Adams’ perspective, he takes the Gronkowski or Randy Moss role. He’s someone on the perimeter that defenses have to account for and he still has the ability to win isolated matchups.

Many were surprised when the Rams didn’t draft a wide receiver. However, as the Rams move to an offense that’s more tight end driven, the value of the third wide receiver is lessened. It also allows the Rams to conserve their injury-prone wide receivers. Instead of Nacua playing 90 percent of the offensive snaps, he may play closer to 70-80 percent.

If one of Nacua or Adams has to miss a game, it also allows them to manage that situation better. In last year’s win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Stafford completed a pass to 10 different players.

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