Addressing Offensive Line is Critical For Los Angeles Rams in Offseason

The offensive line was one of many struggles for the Los Angeles Rams during the 2016 season.

Can the Los Angles Rams fix the offensive line in one offseason? That’s one of many questions this team looks to address under new head coach Sean McVay over the next few months after the Rams finished with a 4-12 record during the 2016 season.

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According to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, the offensive line for Los Angeles finished 28th in PFF Rankings, which isn’t going to cut it if the franchise envisions itself competing in the division, let alone a playoff spot in the NFC. If the Rams are going to have any chance of turning things around in 2017, Les Snead and the Rams coaching staff must look into addressing the team’s offensive line struggles.

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Despite all of the struggles Los Angeles dealt with last year, there’s still a ton of potential with this unit at each position, ranging from Rodger Saffold to Rob Havenstein. With a new coaching staff implementing their playbooks, there’s every reason in the world to believe the Rams’ offensive line is capable of bouncing back next year with a few possible key changes.

One suggestion may be moving Greg Robinson back to his original side at right tackle since he excelled at this position during his time at Auburn. For many offensive lineman, it can be very difficult to switch from one side to another due to the amount of time and repetition players tend to routinely practice.

Believe it or not, this may be the case Robinson has been challenged with over the past few years. He did play sparingly at the left tackle position in some games, but when taking a closer look at the film, a majority of the snaps were running plays.

This is where it’s easy to see the deficiency in Robinson’s pass blocking, and it is an area in which he has to definitely work on this offseason. With a new coaching staff in place, there’s a good chance he will have a bounce-back year.

Of course, this move would lead to a re-shuffle of the offensive line for other players. Most importantly, the offensive line has to be addressed by adding two or three free agents, particularly at left tackle and the center position, with Terron Armstead, Cordy Glenn, and John Sullivan all being names to keep an eye on.

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The Rams realize the importance of providing Jared Goff and Todd Gurley with the necessary protection for years to come, so here’s to hoping the issues surrounding the offensive line are addressed in the offseason to make sure that happens.