Rams Faces Critical Choices Regarding Offensive Line’s Long-Term Plans
The promise of the Los Angeles Rams offense has never come to fruition. A part of that is due to injuries to Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, but the crown jewel of the offense was supposed to be the offensive line. The team invested heavily in free agency and in recent drafts to construct what was supposed to be the NFL’s most devastating units.
They drafted Steve Avila with what was at the time the Rams highest pick since 2016 — pick 36, re-signed Kevin Dotson to a large contract, and added former Detroit Lions left guard, Jonah Jackson through free agency to an even larger deal.
Will The Rams Make Avila And Jackson Starters When They Return?
All and all, they now have the third most expensive offensive line in the league and the MOST expensive offense. Period. So far the return on investment is in the red. They have scored just 100 points through six games. (The defense has scored two touchdowns) Injuries to Avila and Jackson play a huge part in this result. Right?
The trouble is their backups have played well, particularly rookie 6th-rounder Beaux Limmer. At center, he has allowed just nine pressures on 201 dropbacks and a majority of those came in his first two starts. In the last two games, he has allowed just one pressure. Logan Bruss, who was filling in at left guard, started off well but gave up seven quarterback pressures against Green Bay and was benched in favor of undrafted rookie Justin Dedich. Dedich prevented all pass rushers from getting to Stafford.
How Does Joe Noteboom Effect The Decision
But with Joe Noteboom likely making his return to the lineup, will there be another change at left guard? That is just one of many questions the Rams will have to answer as the offensive line heals.
The easy answer is to put the intended starters into the game. But continuity is one of the top markers of a successful offensive line. They all rely on each other to perform well as a group.
There hasn’t been much talk about Avila and Jackson making their returns, but if the Rams find a cohesive group of five up front, can they justify benching Limmer and Noteboom or Dedich and disrupt a good thing?
The offense lacks identity and that can be directly attributed to how much they were relying on the front five for their identity. Perhaps McVay would believe in the running game if he had his preordained maulers in front of Kyren Williams.
And that case hauls a lot of water. Last season, Williams had the second most yards before contact among all running backs — just point 1 yard less than Christian McCaffrey, at 3.0 yards. This year he has half a yard less on average. That now puts him in 23rd in that metric.
