5 LA Rams who could be demoted in 2020
By Bret Stuter
Right Tackle
I don’t think anyone expects Rob Havenstein to show up poorly on the offensive line in 2020. In fact, I think almost everyone I’ve talked to quickly comes to the same conclusion for two different reasons. Everyone believes that Havenstein’s performance in 2019 was a complete fluke – a rare and random anomaly that has almost no chance of repeating in 2020. Some attribute the downturn to an unreported, uncorrected injury. Others cite the struggles of teammates Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen and link that to his own struggles because he tried to overcompensate.
But there is no denying the reality that the Rams trusted right tackle disappointed everyone, no one less than himself, as he struggled to perform in 2019, The expectation is that he will have everything fixed for 2020. Magically. Just poof!! and it will all be fixed. That’s quite a leap of faith to take since we truly do not know what happened in 2019 to cause the drop-off. Without knowing what happened then, how can anyone be sure that it won’t re-occur in 2020?
Fountain of Youth
Perhaps the LA Rams won’t wait for the answer. After 2019, the team may simply be ready to pull the trigger on a youth movement for the offensive line in 2020. After all, the team was forced in that direction last season and discovered that 2019 rookies David Edwards and Bobby Evans flashed serious and promising potential as they took over on the right side of the offensive line. Newly added left guard Austin Corbett seemed to hold his own on the left guard side. That merely leaves left tackle, and center, as the two offensive line positions without an obvious successor to veteran players.
First impressions for Rob Havenstein are vitally important for him this season. If he shows any signs of rust, the Rams’ only logical decision is to opt for a younger player with unknown ceilings, rather than stick with a veteran with a ceiling that will lower each year. Is it a coincidence that the only offensive lineman drafted played right tackle for a very successful Clemson football program in 2020? The LA Rams are ready to go young.