Andrew Whitworth earning All-Free Agent Team honors shows Rams struck gold in 2017

One of the best decisions the Los Angeles Rams could have made in 2017 was signing Andrew Whitworth to boost the protection on the offensive line.

As soon as the Los Angeles Rams hired Sean McVay in January 2017, the new head coach realized the importance of making the necessary adjustments to the offensive line since that was going to be the only way former No. 1 pick Jared Goff was going to reach his true potential. As a rookie, Goff was at a major disadvantage playing behind a horrendous offensive line along with a weak receiving corps, but luckily McVay and the Rams were able to land with one of the top free agents once March rolled around in Andrew Whitworth.

After spending the first 11 years of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals, there was plenty of surprised football fans when Whitworth made the decision to join a team in Los Angeles coming off a frustrating four-win season in 2016, but also this shows just how much faith the veteran had in McVay. Turns out, joining the Rams was the best decision Whitworth could have made when considering how the team would go on to shock the NFL world in 2017, and is already considered a heavy Super Bowl favorite heading into next season when looking at all of the key moves made this offseason, led by the recent signing of Ndamukong Suh.

Thanks to the presence of Whitworth, the offensive line of Los Angeles saw a major improvement throughout the 2017 season, and was one of the main reasons why the team in general was able to make NFL history by becoming the first team to go from worst to first in scoring. So when NFL.com analyst Elliot Harrison recently named Whitworth to his All-Free Agent Team, Rams fans weren’t surprised at all.

From Harrison:

"Yep, we’re putting a 2017 signing on this list. Why? Well, for starters, good luck finding another offensive tackle in the free-agency era who made first team All-Pro in his first year with his new team, like Whitworth did in ’17. The Rams’ line was an embarrassment before Whitworth arrived; with him last year, it was, dare we say, almost a team strength. Todd Gurley’s yard-per-carry mark went up by 1.5! Los Angeles also gave up 21 fewer sacks. Whitworth got much credit — deserved credit — for those developments."

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Embarrassment was the perfect term to describe the offensive line for the Rams before Whitworth came along, and if last year is any indication of what’s in store for 2018, the unit should continue to be in great shape. The pressure is on the Rams to live up to the hype of being serious Super Bowl contenders, but at least with leaders like Whitworth, hitting those expectations should be easier to deal with.