LA Rams: 5 players appear in “CBS Top 100”

64

Coming in at the 64th position is LA Rams’ offensive tackle, Andrew Whitworth. For once, I’m okay with his ranking here. Andrew Whitworth is the NFL poster child for a fountain of youth. He can still play very effectively even as he approaches the ripe old age of 40 this season.  For those of you who have not gotten to that milestone in your life, that is incredible.

But making this list is about more than longevity or endurance, so there must be more to the story than the venerable LA Rams left tackle can still suit up and play.  Thankfully, there is. You see, Andrew Whitworth didn’t just suit up in 2020. He went out and had one of the best seasons in his 15-year career.

His injury-shortened season aside, Whitworth was on track for a phenomenal season. In eight games, he allowed zero quarterback sacks and was called for just five penalties. In fact, his Pro Football Focus season grade was 88.7, which was the best grade for an LA Rams offensive lineman.  That all happened after he had offseason surgery to clean up his right ankle

That seemed to do the trick, didn’t it? After all that, he came back to have one of his best seasons ever. Need more proof? After injuring his knee in the ninth game of the season against the Seattle Seahawks, he vowed to be back in time for the playoffs. The result? He did indeed return to play in the playoffs, while younger teammates injured in that same game were unable to suit up again. The Rams certainly made a wise choice in bringing him back.  Now, will the Rams be equally wise about lining up his successor?