Another two Los Angeles Rams players free to leave…
Davis Allen. The Rams selected Allen in the fifth-round in the 2023 NFL Draft and will have a big opportunity this season with Tyler Higbee injured.
With the increased opportunity, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Allen take a big step forward and improve from both a technical and production standpoint in year two. However, especially at the tight end position, it’s still important to manage and temper expectations.
Heading into the season, Allen will most likely still be the second tight end on the depth chart. The Rams signed Colby Parkinson in free agency and he will be the option that the offense mostly relies on early in the season. While Parkinson was brought in to be more of a blocking tight end, that doesn’t mean that he can’t or won’t be a threat in the passing game.
The Seattle Seahawks are notorious for under-utilizing their tight ends and Parkinson fell in that same boat. Noah Fant led Seahawk tight ends with 414 receiving yards in 2023. Parkinson wasn’t far behind with 247 yards. The season prior, Will Dissley led Seattle tight ends with 349 receiving yards. Again, Parkinson was close behind with 322. Tight end simply hasn’t been a large part of the Seahawks passing game over the past few years.
It is also worth noting that Allen is still just in year two as a fifth-round pick at tight end. The transition from college to the NFL is especially more difficult for players at the tight end position. The immediate impact of someone like Sam LaPorta doesn’t happen every year. Michael Mayer from the Las Vegas Raiders had just 304 yards receiving as a rookie and Luke Musgrave had 352. Brenton Strange was taken in the second round in 2023 by the Jacksonville Jaguars and had 52 receiving yards his rookie season and Luke Schoonmaker was the Dallas Cowboys also had under 100-yards receiving with 65.
