Seven LA Rams events we are thankful for this year

IV – The return of the LA Rams offensive line

The battered and bruised version of the LA Rams offensive line struggled in 2019. But the back-to-health version is doing a pretty good job the following year. And that only makes sense. Let’s recheck some facts. In 2019, the LA Rams promoted nine different players to the starting offensive line.  Nine different starters.

The team became so needful, that they signed IOL Coleman Shelton from the Arizona Cardinals practice squad, and traded a 2020 fifth-round pick for Cleveland Browns backup IOL Austin Corbett. Mid-season, the Rams were swapping offensive linemen like tires in a Nascar race. Only left tackle Andrew Whitworth played the entire season, and even he needed corrective surgery at season’s end.

Bigger and better

While the Rams did not draft many offensive linemen, they certainly had a welcome mat for returning veterans. In fact, the team benefitted greatly from a chaotic training camp, as most of the returning veterans were already familiar with the team’s offense, and merely needed to work on rehabilitating and correcting mistakes from 2019.  They were incredibly successful, as the unit quickly became a highly respected offensive line once more.

This resurgence was not luck nor coincidence. The Rams front office and coaches made a series of risk-assuming decisions to ensure the best offensive line for this season. While the Rams did not have a chance at a top offensive tackle in the draft, they wisely opted to stick to young players on the roster they had drafted in previous years. The gamble paid off handsomely, as the team is getting good production in both the running game and the passing game.