It's not even training camp, but Rams big-bodied OL has chips on its shoulders

Looking back over time at the factors that have contributed to the success, or lack thereof, of the campaigns of the Los Angeles Rams, there is a solid argument to be made over the durability and health of the offensive line. That is to say, however, that wherever the Rams' offensive line goes, the team goes. And that has proven to be a huge problem for the team, but has also been a strong factor in the team's success.

If you look back over the two occasions when the team failed to make the NFL playoffs, the Rams' offensive line fell apart. In 2019, an injury epidemic forced the team to trade with the Cleveland Browns for IOL Austin Corbett. Corbett was quickly coached up and inserted into the starting lineup. In 2023, another outbreak of injuries forced the team to trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers for IOL Kevin Dotson.

It's clear that if the offensive line falls apart, the Rams front office sounds the alarm, working the phones and ensuring that the team has the best offensive line possible. That was true even in 2022 when the team signed offensive linemen off the street, some of whom were eventually promoted to a starting role.

The struggles out of the gate last season had many contributing factors, but opening the season on the road to face the Detroit Lions without both starting offensive tackles was a huge complication. In that first game, the team lost backup left tackle Joe Noteboom and left guard Steve Avila. The team rolled through multiple unsatisfactory iterations of the offensive line through the Week 6 BYE before settling into a sustainable group.

But with the latest news of left tackle Alaric Jackson suffering from blood clots, the same ailment that shut him down for the second half of the 2022 NFL season, fans are getting a bit nervous and anxious about the upcoming 2025 NFL season. Is this year doomed to struggle as well? Or have the painful lessons learned in the past put the team on the right track? It's not even training camp, but the Rams' big-bodied offensive line has chips on its shoulders

Will that be enough? Let's dig in and take a discerning look at the Rams' offensive line for the 2025 NFL season.

Left tackle

It's no secret that the key to the Rams' offensive line is the left tackle. And since taking over as the starting left tackle, Alaric Jackson has proven to be up to the task. Not only does he anchor the offensive line with admirable efficiency when he suits up and steps onto the football field, but any time he is unable to do so becomes completely obvious to Rams fans because the performance of anyone who takes over at the position leaves a lot to be desired.

Now that the Rams face the risk of starting the 2025 NFL season without Alaric Jackson, fans are anxious. But before that nervous energy becomes something negative, let's pause, ponder, and perpend.

Hope is not lost for Alaric Jackson to clear all medical flags and return to football practice in time to ramp up for the 2025 NFL season. But the ETA for Jackson's return is shrouded in mystery. Even if the team was confident in a returning offensive tackle to assume a starting role for the team until Jackson's return, the depletion of depth at the offensive tackle position is not a risk this team is willing to take after facing Week 1 without either starting offensive tackle last season.

The team signed veteran starting left tackle DJ Humphries as an extra insurance policy. While Humphries did not play often for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024, he was signed at the end of November 2024 and was forced to try making his comeback at the end of the 2024 NFL season for a Super Bowl contender.

He was an eight-year veteran left tackle of the Arizona Cardinals and a Pro Bowler as recently as 2021. He is now 31 years old, but as we know, offensive tackles with vast experience can be huge assets for the team. He struggled in limited work in 2024, but he was coming off a very serious 2023 injury. Now, fully healed and getting the total benefit from training camp, Humphries could be an NFL Comeback Player of the Year candidate.

The Rams are prepared if Alaric Jackson is unable to go with DJ Humphries aboard. And with the team boasting two options to start at left tackle, the roster is set for a solid season. And the team does have a third option in AJ Arcuri, but he showed little promise in a limited role last season.

Left guard

The Rams got a full season out of rookie left guard Steve Avila. But due to experimenting with Avila at the center position, the team suited up four different players at the left guard position, including Steve Avila, Jonah Jackson, Logan Bruss, and Justin Dedich. That's not exactly a formula for success. But the Rams have since released Logan Bruss and traded away Jonah Jackson. That simplifies everything and may end up being a huge step in the right direction.

There is no doubt among Rams coaches and fans that Steve Avila is an NFL-caliber left guard. He not only proved his value with a solid rookie season as an effective left guard, but he did so much more. He was the type of offensive lineman who proved to be ready to help out a teammate at the first sign of trouble. Time and again, Avila was able to block to one side, peel off, and then block on the other side. He was the perfect teammate, willing to ensure that his teammates succeeded.

He struggled last season, not because he regressed, but because he was mixed in the role he was tasked with throughout the offseason. And after the team finally relented and allowed him to return to his left guard role, he fell to injury in Week 1. That triggered a turnstile at the position that did not end until Avila returned to start in Week 10.

The team did get better than expected offensive snaps from backup undrafted guard Justin Dedich in Weeks 7 through 9. It's that streak of starts that likely sets up Dedich to backup Avila at left guard this season.

Avila is not cross-training for another position this season. So the hope is that he will remain and focused enough to take his game to an elite level.

Center

Like many offensive line positions last season, the Rams had to shift veteran Jonah Jackson to left guard when Steve Avila was injured in Week 1. That forced the team to promote rookie center Beaux Limmer to a starting role last season. Despite the team restoring Jonah Jackson to center after he returned to health, Limmer proved to be the best option in 2024.

But the team deepened the depth chart by claiming backup center Dylan McMahon off the Philadelphia Eagles' waiver wire. And this season, the team re-signed former starting center Coleman Shelton to reclaim his starting center role on the offensive line.

As such, this team is suddenly swimming with depth at the center position, just one year after scrambling to restore the roster to a satisfactory depth. How can I say that? The Rams currently boast Coleman Shelton, Beaux Limmer, and Dylan McMahon at the position. In a pinch, the team could earmark undrafted rookie Willie Lampkin to play center. Even second-year veteran Justin Dedich has experience playing center.

Coleman Shelton may not be a racecar, nor is he as flashy as a Hummer. He is that old, reliable pickup truck that has a perpetual coat of mud, but always starts right up, gets you where you need to go and back again, and seldom breaks down.

Would the Rams have played in and won Super Bowl LIX if Coleman Shelton was the team's starting center? The team seems to think so. We'll find out if they are correct this season.

Right guard

From the moment that veteran interior offensive lineman Kevin Dotson lined up as the starting right guard for the Rams' offensive line in Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season, he has laid an unshakable claim to the position. He loves his role in the Rams' depth chart, and the Rams love having him there. And his passion for the game has shone through as he has only missed one game since that glorious first start.

He sat in Week 18 of the 2024 NFL season along with all of the other starters. Veteran Jonah Jackson started at right guard in his absence. But make no mistake, the right guard role is Kevin Dotson's for the foreseeable future. And Dotson has the swag that carries over to the entire offense.

The biggest concern right now facing the Rams is that Dotson has been such a dependable starter that any backup player at the right guard position is inexperienced and an unknown. The Rams likely have undrafted rookie sensation Willie Lampkin in the mix to back up Dotson, and I think that makes a lot of sense. Lampkin is a ferocious competitor along the offensive line, who only fell out of the draft because few NFL general managers believe that an NFL offensive lineman can be shorter than 6-foot-0.

The Rams are believers. Perhaps by season's end, the NFL will be filled with believers too.

Right tackle

Veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein is the default starter for the Rams' offensive line in 2025. But we cannot ignore the fact that the once-dependable starter has seen increasing difficulty in suiting up for the Rams' offensive line. In 2022, Havenstein started all 17 games. But in 2023, he was limited to just 14 games. And in 2024, he was limited to just 11 games. You could make an argument that Havenstein was benched in Week 18, as were all offensive starters. But that deflects from the reality that Havenstein has become more injury-prone in recent years.

But Havenstein had corrective medical procedures to clean up both of his shoulders. While the procedures were described as minor by Havenstein, the need for depth at offensive tackle prompted the team to sign veteran offensive tackle David Quessenberry.

Like Humphries at left tackle, Quessenberry is not on the Rams roster to claim a starting role. He is simply aboard to ensure that should anything happen along the way to Rob Havenstein in training camp to delay his preparation to start in Week 1, the team has an experienced right tackle who can suit up and hold down the fort until he is fully medically cleared to return. One of my concerns from the 2024 season is that the team was so desperate to get Havenstein back on the field in Week 2 that it may have rushed him back into action before he was truly ready.

While you could make an argument for either K.T. Levston or Warren McClendon Jr. to slide in at backup for the right tackle position, I view both players in a swing tackle role. I do believe that undrafted offensive tackle Trey Wedig is going to shock fans with his ability to climb into the conversation quickly as a backup right tackle through training camp.

Okay, that covers the starting five positions. Now, what's left?

Swing Tackle

The Rams had some good years and some not-so-good years from former swing tackle Joe Noteboom. One of the reasons why the Rams loved having Noteboom on the roster was his amazing versatility. He could be plugged into all positions (except center), and the team was confident in Noteboom's ability to hold his own until the starter was healthy enough to return. But Noteboom is gone now, and the team must now turn to swing tackle Warren McClendon Jr. to slide in for an injured teammate.

And if McClendon gets injured or struggles, look for KT Leveston to get work at offensive tackle.

McClendon has already endeared himself to the Rams coaching staff by willingly playing hurt while similar injuries benched his teammates. McClendon played through the pain in Week 2 on a sore ankle at left tackle to cover for suspended teammate Alaric Jackson. And he played well. He subbed in for RT Rob Havenstein in Weeks 1, 11, 12, and 18, and entered the Week 10 game to take over for an injured Havenstein.

Ideally, the Rams coaching staff hopes that McClendon is never needed. But with recent history proving that to be a futile wish, the Rams will continue to give McClendon work at both offensive tackle positions. And I expect Leveston to be eased into the swing tackle role at training camp this year.

Swing IOL

While the team may not have a designated swing player for the interior offensive line positions, I suspect that with the current roster composition, a need for a player who can be plugged in as either an offensive guard or center will be necessary this season. I have never subscribed that offensive tackles are automatically gifted at an interior offensive lineman role in the NFL. The action is faster as you get closer to the center, and the demands of the guard and center can be vastly different from those of an offensive tackle.

The first player who jumps off the page as an ideal fit across the spectrum of interior offensive lineman positions is undrafted rookie Willie Lampkin. One of the challenges facing the Rams if they hope to slide Lampkin to the practice squad is the fact that one NFL teams see Lampkin in action in preseason games, more than one NFL team is likely to claim him off the Rams' waiver wire as the team pares down to 53 players. Lampkin has been widely described as a versatile offensive lineman who can play either guard position, as well as center.

Some teams even expressed adding Lampkin to a fullback role.

The team must also figure out the roles for undrafted rookie IOL Ben Dooley and Wyatt Bowles. The team lost Logan Bruss and Jonah Jackson since forming the 53-man roster for the 2024 NFL season. As of right now, only Coleman Shelton restores one lost offensive lineman. But the expectation is that both veteran DJ Humphries and David Quessenberry could be in the mix if either Alaric Jackson or Rob Havenstein struggles to be fully healthy and ready to go before Week 1.

It's not even training camp, but Rams' big-bodied offensive linemen already have chips on their shoulders. Rightfully so, as this may be one of the deepest and most experienced offensive line groups in the history of HC Sean McVay. Now, it's simply a matter of staying healthy and performing up to their potential.

As always, thanks for reading.

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