LA Rams make a move, tender exclusive rights on Mundt and Shelton

Lone healthy center

The Rams need to bolster the offensive line but at no position more so than at the center.  When I watch videos of 2019, it’s almost enough to make a fan squeamish to witness the missed assignments up the middle of the offensive. Missing stunts, double-teaming to the wrong side, and even when engaging a defender, the results were inconsistent.

Then players fell to injury.  Center Brian Allen was lost for the year to injured-reserve. Austin Blythe came off injury to take over but as an unrestricted free agent. So the Rams need to add a player capable of filling the starter role for 2020.

Coleman Shelton is more than “that guy signed as duct tape for the 2019 offensive line”.  He was a physical athletic center when he played for the University of Washington Huskies in 2017.  He signed on with both NFC West rivals the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams picked him up as the team continued to lose starting offensive linemen to injury last year.

I had the opportunity to cover Shelton’s entrance into the NFL via the 2018 NFL Draft.  Even several years ago, he was a perfect fit for the LA Rams.  Now, two years later, he has had the opportunity to train and practice with NFL teams, all the while becoming more capable and familiar with play at the NFL level.

Shelton is what the Rams need at the center of the 2020  offensive line. He is a mean spirited road grader, who can penetrate into the secondary to generate multiple key blocks in a single running play. He also is a natural center, used to look over the defense and adjusting blocking assignments to meet the defense.  Yes, he is an ERFA. But on the Rams 2020 roster, that could mean ready to start for the team.  In this case, he can.