5 NFL FA centers for the LA Rams to keep an eye on

Okay, the LA Rams have six picks, don’t make their first selection until the 57th pick, and need an offensive center in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft. That’s not a good situation.  Other NFL teams will be able to leap ahead of the Rams for a center no matter where the Rams pick. And make no mistake, right now the LA Rams have a neon sign flashing to the other 31 NFL teams that they are picking an offensive center. Now, when?

The trick is, that even NFL analysts who have been a rather uniform if not boring consensus are all over the board this year. A first-round prospect may find himself with a fourth-round grade elsewhere. And an offensive guard category who had no draft grade is suddenly projected to hear his name called upon in the second round of the draft.

Hey, don’t panic. There are plenty of prospects in the draft. In the 2021 NFL Draft, the Rams can have some level of confidence to find a center at each round of the draft. But pause a moment. A veteran rookie quarterback taking snaps from a rookie center? Well, that could pose a problem.

So now the LA Rams need a stand-in. Well, a veteran offensive center who can start for the Rams until the rookie is deemed worthy of starting at the position. Of course, the LA Rams still have Brian Allen on the roster. Allen was the starting center in 2019 and has rehabbed his way back into competing for a role on the offensive line this year.

Of course, there is Coleman Shelton as well, a player we have been bullish on and the LA Rams GM Les Snead continues to name as an option for the center position. Shelton has been on the team’s roster for a couple of years, and this could be the season where he finally gets a shot at playing time. But the team may need a wee bit more to ensure that they get it right for the 2021 NFL season. Signing a free agent center just before the draft will throw quite a few mock drafts out the window, and free up the Rams to have a wider field of vision