The Los Angeles Rams’ offense is top-heavy, including at wide receiver, where Davante Adams and Puka Nacua have commanded 85 targets in 136 pass attempts (62.5%) from quarterback Matthew Stafford. That has left little for players like Tutu Atwell.
Atwell is eager to make an impact for the Rams and did just that in Week 4, corralling a pass from Stafford for an 88-yard touchdown to put the Rams up for good against the Indianapolis Colts.
Now, the fifth-year wideout is looking for more after a slow start to the season.
Rams WR Tutu Atwell Looking for Larger Role in Rams’ Offense
GettyTutu Atwell #5 of the Los Angeles Rams hauls in a touchdown pass against the Indianapolis Colts.
Atwell, who turns 26 in October, was a second-round pick by the Rams in the 2021 draft. He set career-highs in 2024 with 42 receptions for 562 yards, but failed to score. Atwell tallied a career-best 3 TD receptions in 2023.
So far in 2025, the speedy playmaker has two receptions for 92 yards and the lone scoring grab from this past weekend against the Colts.
“Just waiting for my number to be called. It’s something I’ve been doing the whole year, all these years I’ve been here. It’s my fifth season. So when that op to come, man, make the most of it,” Atwell told reporters in the Rams’ locker room after the game on September 28. “Whatever it takes for us to win.”
The Athletic’s Nate Atkins noted Atwell, the Rams’ “forgotten man,” got “his moment” in Week 4.
“Tutu Atwell and everyone around him have been saying for weeks that he was ready to do something special when his number was called,” Atkins wrote on September 29. “Nobody had any idea he’d do this. Not even Atwell.
Atkins wrote that Atwell’s play not only broke the 20-20 tie against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3, but it also helped “breathe life into Atwell’s perplexing 2025 season to date.”
Rams React to Tutu Atwell’s TD
GettyTutu Atwell #5 of the Los Angeles Rams walks off the field after catching the pass to beat the Indianapolis Colts.
The Rams’ decision to re-sign Atwell this past offseason drew criticism, particularly due to his one-year, $10 million contract. But Adams offered his telling take on Atwell’s splash play and its impact on the Rams as a whole in the contest.
“I almost cried, to be honest,” Adams said, per Atkins. “Just being on the sideline, you could just feel the emotion, obviously. With ‘Tu’ being here, this is not his first year, and he’s made a lot of plays for this organization. The fans are on his side. The team and everybody in this building just loves ‘Tu’ and what he brings.”
The play was the longest touchdown on a pass of Atwell and Matthew Stafford’s careers.
“I’m saying wild stuff,” Stafford said of his reaction to the play, per Atkins, noting that he was wearing a mic. “I was coming off the field, I’m like, ‘Hey, man, we’re gonna have to do some heavy editing.’ It’ll probably just be a lot of silence.”
Atkins and the Rams will host the 3-1 San Francisco 49ers in Week 5. The Rams are 4-4 against the 49ers with Stafford, but they have won three straight meetings between the two franchises.
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