Being in the NFL for 12 seasons, Matthew Stafford has seen teammates come and go. But he’ll take on a new challenge this year on a completely different team than the one he spent the last dozen seasons with.
He had to get comfortable in the Rams offense and hit the ground running with his wide receivers, building chemistry with them before Week 1. Robert Woods says things went off without a hitch, immediately connecting with Stafford this offseason.
He can see Stafford gaining confidence in the offense, too, adding that the QB has the keys to the car and he’s seeing what it can do now.
“Him coming in, I think we reacted right away really, really well,” Woods said on the Jim Rome Show. “We crossed paths a little bit on my rookie visit in Detroit, seeing him there. But now that we’re on the same team, it’s just picked up off of that. Chemistry was strong right away, coming out here throwing. His work ethic was on point. But really, I’ll just say his leadership and grasp of the offense – I was just telling somebody, he has the keys to the car and he’s really testing it out and seeing what this car can do, making adjustments and seeing what he can do with it.”
Woods will be one of Stafford’s favorite targets this season, along with Cooper Kupp. Woods was productive with Jared Goff as his quarterback, topping 900 yards in each of his last three seasons and putting up better numbers with the Rams than he ever did in Buffalo.
But with Stafford, it wouldn’t be surprising if he sets career-highs in yards and receptions, especially in a 17-game season. To do that, he’ll need to catch more than 90 passes and 1,219 yards.
With how often the Rams figure to be throwing the ball, those numbers are certainly attainable.
