LA Rams: Brian Allen most important free agent to running it back

What are your thoughts about who is the most important free agent to extend on the LA Rams roster? Due to the fact that the LA Rams traded for or signed them to a partial year contract, I expect replies to name OLB Von Miller, WR Odell Beckham Jr., or even RB Sony Michel. For those with a more strategic perspective, you might name IOL Coleman Shelton, K Matt Gay, or even OL Joseph Noteboom.

But let me nominate someone no one is talking about extending. I think that IOL Brian Allen should be re-signed. Why him, you ask?

LA Rams center Brian Allen is critical to repeating as Super Bowl champions. In fact, he is the most important free agent for the LA Rams this offseason, regardless of another championship run.

Offensive linemen are not the most popular players in the league, but they are a position group vital to protecting the quarterback. Anyone who watched the previous two Super Bowls has seen what happens to a quarterback without an offensive line.

Brian Allen is the center of attention

Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow ran for their lives for almost the entirety of those games.  In fact, they are both younger and more athletic than LA Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. Let’s face the facts. As Matthew Stafford gets older, protecting him is essential to keeping him healthy.

In two-plus games without Brian Allen starting at center in 2021, the LA Rams offensive line was suspect on pass blocking. That is despite being otherwise healthy. The LA Rams allowed a sack against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a game where Allen was pulled out of the game after an injury. The Rams allowed three sacks the following week against the Arizona Cardinals, albeit that game was a rather patchwork assembly without either Rob Havenstein or Brian Allen starting. Finally, the Rams patchwork offensive line held up rather well in Week 16 against the Minnesota Vikings.

Four sacks over two games is a pretty hefty pace for a 17 game season. And the center plays a vital role on the offensive line in terms of blocking protection.

With Matthew Stafford being critical to the future of the LA Rams, protecting him must be a priority for the LA Rams. The center-quarterback relationship is an underrated aspect of any offense. Since switching from Rams IOL Austin Corbett to Allen, the Rams offensive line was up to the task of keeping Stafford upright.  That is until Allen injured his elbow in Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans.

Could Coleman Shelton be a starter?

The LA Rams could potentially find another center with Brian Allen’s talent and a good connection with Matthew Stafford, but that seems unlikely to do in one offseason. One year without a good center could be a severe problem for the LA Rams. Of course, the Rams did get some mileage out of Coleman Shelton when he started two-plus games in 2021.

Without Brian Allen, the LA Rams could try to re-sign free agents like Austin Corbett or Cameron Shelton to start at center again, but there is a reason Allen was the starter in 2021.

What we learned in the 2021 training camp is that Austin Corbett fits more naturally as a guard, and Cameron Shelton could be a significant step down in pass blocking from Corbett. Beyond re-signing those two and trying to force one to start at center, the LA Rams could turn to free agency or the NFL draft.

Any player in free agency or the NFL draft will need to integrate into the LA Rams offense and culture, which could be difficult for a team trying to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The LA Rams could make it work, but it will be more difficult.

The best move for the LA Rams in the 2022 NFL free agency period is to re-sign Brian Allen and secure the center position for what is likely the remainder of Matthew Stafford’s career.