LA Rams mock draft 1.0: 2021 NFL Draft restocks the roster

Round 6

Round 6 – pick 201. With the 201st pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Rams select Dylan Wonnum, offensive tackle, from South Carolina. The Rams know that they will need reinforcements for the offensive line. Each year the team tries to restock the pipeline of talent on the roster.

The Rams do not draft offensive linemen with the goal of starting them as rookies. But there will need to be some serious play by the Rams rostered offensive linemen to win the job over this young man. He is 6-foot-5 and 310-pounds and plays the offensive tackle position with poise and authority.

Plus and minus

Wonnum is coming off 2019 hip surgery, and therefore will be scrutinized to reassure that medical flags won’t hinder his NFL career. He plays well at the first level but seems to lose momentum when he needs to push forward, locate, and block at the second and third levels on running plays. So what can he do?

He is a huge bodied offensive lineman with good footwork who becomes a formidable wall of protection from the moment he gets into his stance. He has a nice base to absorb the contact of a defensive lineman’s bull rush but remains balanced enough to thwart swim moves. He has strong arms and hands, which keep defensive linemen at bay in pass blocking, but can move them like a road grader when run blocking.  The Rams need an offensive tackle, and Wonnum is a huge value at this stage.