For a quarterback to break through the ceiling, sometimes he has to look beyond his own playbook. For Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, that meant spending his offseason not in the Irish film room, but deep inside the scheme of a team that redefined explosive offense in the NFL, a move that could have major ripple effects on Marcus Freeman’s entire game plan.

The Irish QB has devoted his offseason to studying the Los Angeles Rams’ offense and has spent hours diligently watching Matthew Stafford’s tape. Now, Carr wants to improve on his mobility and has learned to make those explosive Matthew Stafford throws.

“The things they’re doing schematically and the throws that (Stafford) makes … let’s go out there and try it,” CJ Carr said on March 25.

The Los Angeles Rams’ offense under head coach Sean McVay ran a modern NFL West Coast and Erhardt-Perkins hybrid that emphasizes heavy outside-zone and duo-run elements. Incorporating pre-snap motion, versatile personnel groupings, and extensive play-action elements, Matthew Stafford ran riot on NFL defenses. In the process, they also scripted history.

The Rams not only became one of the NFL’s historically most efficient offenses, but they also achieved a combo of 4,500+ passing yards and 2,000+ rushing yards for the first time in NFL history. Stafford produced 4,707 passing yards and was named the league’s MVP. Now, when comparing to Notre Dame’s schemes, the Rams’ offense is more pass-heavy and makes deeper progressions more often.

Notre Dame, though, leans on a shotgun-heavy and lighter force for 11 or 12 personnel early on. Instead, the Rams used the historic 13 personnel. While Carr didn’t run a lot last year, Stafford didn’t either, due to his age. Instead, he relied on elite decision-making and attacked deep zones frequently, as McVay gave him considerable autonomy in route adjustments. All of it paid off considerably.

Last year, Carr had several issues, ranging from early hesitation to throwing deep routes and vertical routes to relying on the run game. Never mind the freshman mistakes like telling off pre-snap reads and frustrated clapping against Texas A&M, leading to a fumble.

Now that he is watching Matthew Stafford’s tape, maybe the deep balls will come more naturally as he learns from his freshman mistakes. In the process, not only will Marcus Freeman benefit, but Carr will even improve his NFL draft stock considerably. However, when asked by a reporter about it, the Irish QB1 had a wholly different answer.

CJ Carr opens up about pressure regarding his 2027 NFL draft stock

Carr is in his redshirt sophomore year and is coming off a 2,741 passing-yard season. His interception rate is low (6 in 2025), and he is mobile in the pocket. Everything is landing perfectly for the Irish QB1 in South Bend. All he needs now is regular practice, skill advancement, and a day-by-day approach to become a first-round NFL QB. And that’s exactly what CJ Carr said when a reporter asked about pressure regarding 2027 NFL draft hopes.

“Yeah, you don’t really feel it as pressure,” CJ Carr said. “I would say I’m not on a bunch of social media or any of that. This whole team is so focused on how we can have a great Friday practice. How can we have a great weekend? Just stack practices? How can we have a great spring? And then the focus is on this year and one day at a time. We’re gonna be really good.”

Notre Dame has several similarities with the Rams’ offense, like the motion and mismatch creation. Or maybe QB commands and adjustments where QBs handle pre-snap checks, protections, and some audibles. Even though both offenses feature a run-pass balance, they still have explosive identities. But personnel formations are still on a collegiate level for Notre Dame. Passing volume is a lot different, and Notre Dame’s run game is more college-tempo and RPO-oriented. Will Marcus Freeman and Mike Denbrock make some tweaks now that Carr is learning from the Rams’ offense?