July 2020 brings LA Rams to training camp, are they ready?

Offensive concerns

Despite the LA Rams offensive line woes from 2019, the team was able to move the ball effectively and score a little less effectively. In 2020, the LA Rams will need to find new playmakers, or at least expand on the remaining ones.  After all, the team is no longer able to hand the ball off to running back Todd Gurley, nor to stretch the defense by throwing to the streaking wide receiver Brandin Cooks. The Rams will need to turn elsewhere on offense in 2020.

That’s why the Rams drafted running back Cam Akers and wide receiver Van Jefferson so quickly in the 2020 NFL Draft. And for the personnel office and coaching staff, they will be enough to compete for starting roles, absorb plenty of playing time, and develop into significant NFL players. But the team was only getting started. The team added two more running backs after the draft, and

Oh, what about the O line?

Of course, none of this matters much if the Rams offensive line cannot hold up this year. Which is absolutely on virtually everyone’s mind after the team did so little to change the look of the roster for that group.  In summary, the team brought back everyone from the 2019 unit, and then added offensive lineman Tremayne Anchrum late in the 2020 NFL Draft and signed offensive center Cohl Cabral after the draft.  How can the Rams possibly hope to have a different outcome?

Well, for starters, the team and the players learned a great deal from that painful 2019 experience. And from those lessons, the team grew much wiser in how to get more from less. That is why the team drafted running back Cam Akers, the ideal rusher for the current state of the Rams offense. That is why the team is likely to continue the trend towards two tight ends. But perhaps most of all, that is why the team added offensive coordinator Kevin O’ Connell. It will be his responsibility to work with QB Jared Goff and develop him despite the weaknesses that may spring from the offensive line.