The Rams may have stumbled onto another summer favorite in CJ Daniels, and it hasn’t taken long for the rookie wideout to make noise at training camp.
Every year brings one of those names that starts popping up once the pads come off and the reps start stacking up. For the Rams, that list has included Puka Nacua, Jordan Whittington and Nelson Spruce.
Sometimes the buzz turns into something real, sometimes it fades. Either way, Daniels is already in that conversation.
The third receiver job was one of the more interesting battles heading into camp, especially with Puka Nacua and Davante Adams locked in at the top. The question was who would separate from the pack behind them. Daniels, a Miami wide receiver drafted in April, has made a strong early case.
So far, he’s done most of his work with the backups, but the connection with Stetson Bennett has been hard to miss. Daniels has become Bennett’s preferred target in the passing game, and on Monday he reportedly hauled in nearly everything thrown his way. That was part of a pattern that started early and kept building.
On Day 2, while Nacua and Adams were turning heads with Matthew Stafford, Daniels was doing the same with Bennett and the second-team offense. He caught just about everything sent his direction. By Day 4, the two were still clicking during 11-on-11 work.
Nacua noticed it too.
“I think there's a confidence when he goes out there on the football field of his skill set,” said Nacua. “I think that's something that CJ has gone out of his way to make sure that he's got to have an understanding of what we're thinking and what obviously is that the game plan that we have in our offensive plays.”
The Rams do have depth behind Nacua and Adams, but there’s still a path for someone to carve out a role. Whittington is entering year three, though most of his damage has come from the slot. Daniels offers something different on the outside behind Adams because of his size and physicality.
He may not be a burner who runs away from defenders vertically, but he’s strong at the catch point, and that matters for a Rams receiver room that didn’t have much of that last season. Xavier Smith’s smaller frame limits him, and Konata Mumpfield finished his rookie year having caught 10-of-21 targets.
That’s why Daniels has started to stand out. He looks smooth, he’s shown good hands, and he gives the Rams another body type they can use outside.
One reaction summed up the early buzz this way: “CJ Daniels looks incredibly smooth and looks like he has some nice hands too! Rams may have found themselves WR No. 3 in this draft!
😁🙌🙏 #RamsHouse”
It would still be tough for Daniels to jump Whittington because of the experience edge. But the Rams may not need this to be a one-man race. With the way each player wins, a WR3a/WR3b setup could make sense.
Daniels still has to get past Smith and Mumpfield, but if he keeps earning the staff’s trust, he could be in position to do that by the start of the regular season. The Rams haven’t practiced in pads yet, and that should only make Daniels’ physical style stand out more. If this keeps rolling, the Rams may not have much choice but to move their latest training camp darling up the depth chart.
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