LA Rams January Mock Draft ‘smokes’ the secondary

With the 139th pick…

The Los Angeles Rams select offensive center Alec Lindstrom, from Boston College.  Okay, so two offensive linemen with their first two picks? Well, to be fair, the team projects to lose 4-5 offensive linemen to the 2022 NFL Free Agency market and were so concerned about the risk of losing three centers: Austin Corbett, Brian Allen, and Coleman Shelton, that the team made the unusual move to sign free-agent offensive center, Drake Jackson, to a reserve/futures contract.

Alec Lindstrom is a legacy. His father was Chris Lindstrom Sr,  a defensive end who played in the 1980s. His brother, Chris Linstrom Jr., is an interior offensive lineman who was selected with the 14th pick of the 2019th NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. So when it comes to playing football, football IQ, footwork, handwork, and all of those ‘coachable’ items that oftentimes accompany a rookie to the NFL, Alec Linstrom can test out of those areas.

But he is 6-foot-3 and weighs 298-pounds. That means that, unlike his father or brother, he must use more leverage, speed, and agility to get the job done. He has been a dedicated offensive center at college. So if the Rams need a center (they will at some point), Lindstrom is the right pick here.

He played out his final season in the NCAA, and his last year was his best ever. He has a stellar track record at pass protection and has gone stretches without giving up a sack. But it was his run-blocking ability that really stepped up his final year. He was instrumental in a hugely successful running attack, and he did so by finding targets to block at the second and third levels down the field.

Is he a sure-fire starter? Not if he falls to the 139th pick of the NFL Draft. But he has all the makings of one with the right coaching input.