A year ago tight end Gerald Everett was a fresh-faced rookie going through his first NFL offseason — tasked with learning a completely new scheme, while adapting to the quick speed of the league.
Fast forward to 2018 and Everett is now taking on his second OTAs with the Rams. And now that he has a year of professional experience, the South Alabama product has been able to attack practices with a different mentality.
"Just understanding my role and what is going to be expected of me," he said of the biggest difference in Year 2.
Check out photos from Day 6 of the Los Angeles Rams OTAs.
"I'm not spinning as much as when I still had the college stuff in my mind."
Everett returns this season to join a familiar set of players under a consistent scheme. Once again, the tight end will be catching passes from quarterback Jared Goff and being lead by head coach Sean McVay.
He will also be operating under the same playbook, something Everett says has allowed him to have more confidence and truly "cut loose" during practices.
"I don't have to think as much," he acknowledged. "Last year, I was spinning to say the least. But now that I can finally relax and just compete, it feels pretty good."
This season, Everett will be competing for a larger role in the Rams' offense.
In 2017, the tight end recorded 244 receiving yards for two touchdowns. But this year, he is hoping to develop into a more complete playmaker, able to be utilized by McVay as both an in-line tight end or receiver — developing as a blocker on the inside and a pass catcher on the outside.
"Being whatever the team needs me to be so we can go further than last year," he said. "We look at ourselves in the mirror and know that we all have to get better, so that's exactly what we're doing now."
And though Everett has no specific personal goals for the rest of the team's offseason program, he is excited about continuing to grasp the offense and perfect it.
"Really just working on myself, trying to develop some more chemistry with the guys and just be the team [player] that I can be," he said.
