Despite having the NFL’s highest-scoring offense in 2017, the Los Angeles Rams got very little production from the tight end position. Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett combined for just 539 yards and three touchdowns. Coach Sean McVay loves to feature tight ends in his offense, but just didn’t get what he needed from Higbee and Everett. To put their numbers into perspective, during McVay’s final year as the Washington Redskins’ offensive coordinator in 2016, his top two tight ends – Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis – combined for 1,269 yards and eight touchdowns. Tight end was the one thing missing from the Rams’ potent offense last season, and it’s the most important position for the team in 2018.

McVay has spoken at length about his desire for more production and diversity out of his tight ends. He talked at the end of last season about how the team was relegated to almost exclusively using one-tight end formations not by choice, but because he couldn’t count on the group. Everett, in particular, saw his playing time cut severely toward the end of the year, playing just 47 snaps over the final four games. The 44th overall pick in 2017 and still just 23 years old, Everett is the one who seems most likely to step up as the featured tight end and become McVay’s next Reed. McVay recently said Everett “stood out” during OTAs.

Higbee has had an up and down career since entering the league as a fourth-round pick in 2016. He received a ton of hype his rookie training camp but ultimately failed to do much his first season. Then the Rams drafted Everett, and Higbee’s future with the team was thrown into doubt. While he played more than Everett in 2017, in the team’s ideal world he’s the number two to Everett’s number one. Still, McVay has shown he can make great use of two tight ends at the same time, and if Higbee can make a third-year leap he can still have a big role with the team.

The wild card is 2016 sixth-round pick Temarrick Hemingway. Hemingway missed all of last season with a broken fibula but is back on the field and participating fully in the Rams’ offseason program. McVay recently spoke highly of Hemingway, raving about his versatility as both a blocker and receiving option. All of the attention will be on Everett and Higbee, but with a strong camp Hemingway could sneak up on everyone and force himself into the equation.

McVay broke into the league as a tight ends coach, and certainly knows the position. Current Rams tight ends coach and passing coordinator Shane Waldron recently spoke with the media and also stressed the importance of the group. He seemed encouraged by the progress in his position room, saying “these guys have really taken that next step.”

About Everett, Waldron said he has “dynamic ball skills” and that he’s hoping to see a “great jump” in his second year. Speaking of Higbee, Waldron said “he’s really bought in and is doing everything the right way all the time — provides a good option as a tight end in all three phases of the game, whether the run game, the pass game, and in the pass protection.” Waldron also had good things to say about Hemingway, adding “I can’t say enough about a guy that had a pretty catastrophic injury last year and came in at the beginning of this OTA time, kinda getting his feet wet again and then the next thing you know these last couple of days he has really hit his stride” adding that “he’s catching the ball well” and is “big physical presence.”

The tight end is key to opening things up for others, and the Rams didn’t get that in 2017. It’s a large part of the reason Sammy Watkins wasn’t as effective as many would’ve hoped, because teams were able to devote extra defensive attention to him and other Rams receivers. It’s so crucial for the Rams because it will cause defenses to scheme differently and help the Rams’ other pass-catchers. In 2016, despite Reed and Davis racking up 110 receptions and nearly 1,300 yards, the Redskins still managed to have two other 1,000-plus yard receivers in DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon, with Jamison Crowder also having 847 yards. If Higbee, Everett, or Hemingway can step up in 2018, it should help Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp, and Robert Woods find more space to get open .

Overall, the competition within and development of the group will be one of the most interesting things to watch during training camp. While almost every other offensive position was stellar last year, this is the one area where there is clear room to grow. With improved tight end play, it’s not unreasonable to think the Rams offense could somehow be even better than last year’s, and that’s why tight end is the most important position for the Rams in 2018.