The Rams' young group of tight ends could create a problem for Tyler Higbee when the depth chart is finalized at the start of the regular season.
There is no doubt that the Los Angeles Rams have one of the deepest tight end rooms in the entire league, but with that depth, one or two tight ends could find themselves out of the rotation.
At this point, Rams' veteran Tyler Higbee could be in danger of being out of the rotation, partly because of the youth the Rams now have at tight end.
In the previous two draft classes, the Rams have added two young tight ends in the form of Terrance Ferguson and Max Klare. Both Ferguson and Klare both showed great potential in their final seasons at the collegiate level, with Ferguson also showing flashes at the NFL level in his rookie campaign during the 2025 season.
During Ferguson's rookie season with the Rams, he totaled 11 receptions for 231 yards and three touchdowns, which led to an average of 21 yards per reception. While Ferguson was not the Rams' top tight end, he did a great job taking advantage of his opportunities and creating explosive plays.
Last season with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Klare was solid as he totaled 43 catches for 448 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 10.4 yards per catch. With the experience and production that Klare had in the Big Ten, he could be in a great position to earn a spot in the tight end rotation early on in his rookie season with Los Angeles.
Now looking at Higbee, he did have a strong showing for the Rams in 2025 as he tallied 25 receptions for 281 yards and three touchdowns with an average of 11.2 yards per reception. However, even with the production Higbee had last season, his injury history as well as his age could be something that holds him back.
Throughout Higbee's NFL career, he has suffered a few major injuries, including an MCL injury in the 2022 playoffs that forced him to miss the Super Bowl and a torn ACL and MCL in the 2024 playoffs that ended his season early and limited his 2025 season.
It is also important to note that Higbee is 33 entering the season, and with the injuries he has sustained during his career, the Rams could choose to have Ferguson and Klare over him in the tight end rotation.
The toughest part about Higbee's injury history and age is the fact that he is quite limited in generating explosive plays, which could be a reason why the Rams chose to go younger.
As previously mentioned, Higbee did average 11.2 yards per catch and had three touchdowns, but Ferguson averaged 21 yards per catch and matched the three touchdowns. Meaning that Ferguson was significantly more explosive than Higbee in 2025 and may lead to Ferguson getting significantly more targets than Higbee in 2026.
While Klare has not played in the NFL just yet, his experience with Ohio State, partnered with his youth, could help to elevate him over Higbee as well. If Klare does overtake Higbee, that would most likely put Higbee as the fourth or fifth option in the room, with Colby Parkinson seeming to still be one of the top options for Matthew Stafford.
However, Higbee is not the only veteran who could lose reps to the Rams' young tight ends. Fellow veteran Davis Allen could also lose a significant amount of his reps, as the Rams' young tight ends seem to be just as explosive, if not more explosive, and have very similar size, which should help them as blockers in the run game.
In Allen's 2025 campaign with the Rams, he totaled 24 receptions for 208 yards and three touchdowns. Although Allen has been quite reliable for the Rams, the potential that Ferguson and Klare possess could be too great for Sean McVay to keep Allen in the rotation.
With the size that Ferguson (6-5 and 252 pounds) and Klare (6-5 and 243 pounds) have, they should be able to develop into solid blockers in the run game in addition to utilizing their talent as receiving threats in the passing game to create mismatches against opposing defenses.
Overall, Parkinson, Ferguson, Klare, Higbee, and Allen all do add value to the tight end room, but the potential of Ferguson and Klare does seem to be something that could limit Higbee and Allen specifically from being in the main tight end rotation.
