Los Angeles Rams Top Breakout Candidate in 2026
Newsweek · C · trust 41/100
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Between reigning MVP Matthew Stafford, future Hall of Famer Davante Adams, All-Pro receiver Puka Nacua, and All-Pro running back Kyren Williams, the Los Angeles Rams are already loaded with superstars on offense. But pretty soon, we'll be able to add another name to that list: Terrance Ferguson.
Ferguson, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end, was the Rams' second-round pick in 2025 after a strong four years at Oregon, where he finished with 1,537 career receiving yards, the second most in program history by a tight end, along with 16 touchdowns and 134 receptions across 53 games, earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2023 and third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2024.
Yet, his rookie year in LA didn't quite live up to the hype. Ferguson caught just 11 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns, despite appearing in 14 games, playing behind veterans Tyler Higbee and Colby Parkinson for most of the year.
But in the few times the ball came his way, he showed why the Rams made him a priority in the 2025 NFL Draft. Ferguson averaged a whopping 21 yards per reception, the highest figure of any tight end in the league.
In other words, when Stafford did look his way, it wasn't a checkdown. It was a seam shot or a deep bomb down the field, the kind of role that positions him well to emerge as one of the team's top receiving options in 2026.
Head coach Sean McVay has built this offense to rely heavily on three-tight-end sets, a formation used more than any other team in football last season. There's no indication that will change this season.
In that structure, Higbee and Parkinson tend to handle more traditional in-line, blocking-heavy work, while Ferguson lines up in the slot or out wide as a big-bodied vertical threat that's a nightmare matchup for any defensive back.
That's essentially a lock for more targets, not fewer, even with Higbee back on a new two-year deal this offseason.
Outside of Adams and Nacua, the remaining receiving threats in LA are largely unproven. Names like Jordan Whittington, Xavier Smith, Konata Mumpfield, and rookie CJ Daniels aren't posing much of a threat.
If defenses have to account for true elite wide receivers, plus an explosive downfield tight end, that's a lot for even the best secondaries to juggle.
With a full season already in the books, and what's about to be his second full training camp with the Rams, Ferguson has a real shot to become the No. 3 option on this offense, a role that might see him push top 10 tight end territory by the end of the season.
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