Can LA Rams find future OL left tackle in 2020 NFL Draft?

The LA Rams face a huge void this season at offensive left tackle. Can the team truly find a future left tackle in the 2020 NFL Draft?

It’s reality check time for the LA Rams. Right now, the team is projecting a huge vacancy in the offensive line at left tackle. Veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworth is a free agent this season,  What’s worse is that LA Rams general manager Les Snead allowed the team to fall into this predicament. Whitworth is 38 years old, and the team knew that his contract expired this season.

Nevertheless, the team traded two first round draft picks to the Jacksonville Jaguars for cornerback Jalen Ramsey.  While that may or may not be an incredible trade favoring the Rams, the repercussions from that trade are very sobering.  The Rams need a future left tackle to lock down Jared Goff‘s blind side, and at the moment they have none to work with.

Of course, if you’ve been a follower in recent weeks, you know we’ve tippy-toed around the topic so far.  From the moment the 2019 season ended, the offensive line became the top action item on the team’s to-do list. We’ve highlighted the left tackle as a focus for the team in this year’s free agency. We’ve highlighted some solid free agents who could start at left tackle while the team grooms a rookie to fill the void next season. Then we’d projected some top NFL Draft prospects we expect will be on the board when the Rams select at 52 in 2020.

We’ve argued for patience to fix the Rams line, laid out a frugal yet effective solution to bolster the offensive line, and even gone to bat for the team to resign Whitworth to a short two-year deal to give the Rams time to find, sign, and coach up the next tackle. All that, yet in the end this is a major gaffe by the front office.

Many teams try to draft for a need at left tackle, and few succeed.  In the 2013 NFL Draft, five offensive tackles were selected in the first round: Eric Fisher (1), Luke Joeckel (2), Lane Johnson (4), D.J. Fluker (11), Justin Pugh (19).  Of this group, only Fisher has remained at left tackle with his team and earned a Pro Bowl invitation.  All five began their NFL careers at right tackle. Fisher eventually moved to left tackle. Johnson remained at right tackle. The remainder have moved to other teams and interior lineman positions.  Even the most heavily scouted players struggle at left tackle.

But the Rams find themselves in 2020 painted into the corner at the position.  Unless the Rams do some salary cap magic, the team faces a difficult task.  Even if the team shoulders the finances of signing a free agent offensive tackle for the next two season, will the team be able to draft a prospect from the 2020 NFL Draft who will fit the order?  Picking at 52, the team will need to accept a prospect with either questions about health or fundamentals.  Right now there are about seven offensive tackle who project to round one.  One or two of those prospects may fall to round two, but even then all the way to 52 is a fragile hope.

Two names who continue to pop up for the Rams in rounds two and three is University of Washington tackle Trey Adams (at 52) and Houston tackle Josh Jones (at 84).  Adams is a five year senior, eligible for his fifth NCAA season due to medical redshirting. While he suffered an ACL injury, he had dominated at the college scene before and after his injury.  Jones is a player whose stock may be rising. He was a standout player in an otherwise lackluster program.

To get it right, the Rams will need to aim at two potential left tackles in the 2020 NFL Draft, and plan to coach them both up for the entire season.  The true competition over who earns a starting role should not even begin until the 2021 training camp.  If the future left tackle for the program is out there in the 2020 NFL Draft, he will be awfully hard to find.

The Rams have no one to blame but themselves. The current team roster build to protect quarterback Jared Goff for 2020 is akin to buying very valuable jewelry, placing it all into a cardboard box, and then placing the box in the driveway. Can the Rams find their future left tackle in the 2020 NFL Draft? Yes, with a lot of work and a bit of luck.  But even when all those dominoes fall the right way, he will not be ready to start this season. Shame on the front office for ignoring the position until now.