Is the LA Rams offensive line a strength or weakness for 2021?

The heart of the matter

Well, the reality of the 2021 NFL season and the offensive line performance likely lies somewhere between the two extremes. To expect otherwise does a disservice to a hard-playing roster or the limits that occur when a player is injured. No unit is more dependant upon synchronizing and becoming familiar with one another as an NFL offensive line.

Life in the trenches is never easy. The rote helmet-on-helmet play design is great stuff for the chalkboard but in the controlled chaos that happens after each snap of the football, it seldom happens so crisply. Stunts, slants, blitzes, pulling, and more all covert a simple offensive play into the pattern of a cueball breaking a rack to start a game of pool. Offensive linemen quickly learn that their production depends very heavily upon their teammates.

The Rams will likely lose Austin Blythe to free agency this year. When that happens, the team will need to amplify competition there, likely via the NFL Draft, but perhaps by a free agent signing if the team can free up cap space.

The Rams ‘feel’ good at offensive guard for 2021. But I would expect the team to add an offensive guard or two, perhaps signing two after the 2021 NFL Draft. Offensive tackle is where the Rams really become unpredictable. The Rams need cap space, so the two most expensive offensive linemen of Whitworth and Havenstein become vulnerable. The Rams need draft picks, so Havenstein becomes vulnerable in that scenario as well.

How much trust do the LA Rams have in Joseph Noteboom? In Bobby Evans? In Tremayne Anchrum? Or even in returning Chandler Brewer? How much depth will the Rams need in 2021 at the offensive line? Most of these questions will be answered in training camp. But the answers are due now, as the Rams must get under the salary cap limit.

So where do you find yourself?  Do you believe that the LA Rams offensive line needs a lot of work this offseason?  Or do you look for the Rams to focus elsewhere, because you believe that the offensive line is in good shape as is?  In either case, you could be 100 percent correct. But you should accept the fact that you could be just as wrong too.