10 underrated moves the LA Rams made in 2023 offseason

The LA Rams are a mixed bag for the upcoming 2023 NFL season, but that does not mean that the team has been without interesting moves. Whether the team is trading for defensive back Jalen Ramsey or signing interior offensive lineman Matt Skura, the LA Rams have never failed to make moves to improve the team and the Rams roster. It's just that some moves happen and are undetected.

In terms of 'splash,' moves, the LA Rams have never been out of the NFL headlines for very long. This is the NFL's version of a major Hollywood movie studio, and as such there are always some form for headline worthy events happening in the LA Rams organization. But we're looking for the underrated moves now, the under-the-radar actions that seem to be less than they really are, or will turn out to be.

The LA Rams are a very good team, but this team is not infallible. Still, there is a lot of buzz about the big moves, and not much said about the constant stream of tweaks to the bottom end of the Rams roster or even to the coaching staff that has a significant impact on the success of this team. Such as?

X - Hired OC Mike LaFleur

When the LA Rams hired offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, he became the fourth offensive coordinator to be hired by head coach Sean McVay. While the role has not always been present on the Rams coaching staff, its importance has grown in recent years. So who has filled the role in the past? Offensive coordinators under HC Sean McVay have included:

1. 2017 - Matt LaFleur
2. 2018 - Aaron Kromer, Run Game Coordinator
3. 2018 - Shane Waldron, Passing Game Coordinator
4. 2019 - Aaron Kromer, Run Game Coordinator
5. 2019 - Shane Waldron, Passing Game Coordinator
6. 2020 - Kevin O'Connell
7. 2021- Kevin O'Connell
8. 2022 - Liam Coen
9. 2023 - Mike LaFleur

The reason that I believe that Mike LaFleur is an underrated move is that, while McVay knows and respects Mike LaFleur, LaFleur is not a yes man hire nor a hire from the same school of offensive philosophy.

Mike LaFleur cut his wisdom teeth on the coaching staff of the San Francisco 49ers, and as such has a far greater range and daresay appreciation for the positive impact of the running game to the success of an NFL offense. That is clearly an area that Coach McVay believes need to be bolstered in the Rams offensive playbook and, with LaFleur's help, will be accomplished this year.

IX - Signed WR Tyler Johnson and Demarcus Robinson

The LA Rams love to pass the football. But with the exception of WR Puka Nacua, the Rams were a bit light on adding receivers to this team's roster. Well, that all changed when the team added not one, but two veteran receivers to the Rams roster. Now, what can we tell you about them?

WR Tyler Johnson is entering his fourth NFL season, having spent two years as a rotational receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and one season as a bench player for the Houston Texans. He has the right size, standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 206 pounds. He caught two-thirds of the 72 passes thrown his way as a Buccaneers receiver, putting up 529 yards and two touchdowns. Despite an impressive college career at Minnesota, Johnson fell to Round 5 before the Bucs drafted him. Post-draft analysis suggested that he fell due to teams questioning his ability to separate in the NFL. So far, the greatest challenge facing Johnson is playing time and getting enough offensive snaps.

A chief among us

Veteran WR Demarcus Robinson is another veteran booster shot to the Rams receiver room. He brings plenty of NFL experience, now entering his seventh NFL season. And as such, he is another sage receiver who has the ability to take advantage of a rotational role in the LA Rams offense. He too stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 202 pounds, catches 63.9 percent of the passes thrown his way, and has piled up 2,137 yards and 16 touchdowns over his NFL career. He was a fixture in the Kansas City Chiefs offense for six seasons before competing for the Baltimore Ravens in 2022. He also has a knack for piling on the yards after the catch as well.

While I would not expect either Tyler Johnson or Demarcus Robinson to start in the 2023 NFL season, their arrival and presence on the Rams roster are still quite valuable. For starters (pun intended), they give the Rams' raw rookies a chance to learn at their own pace, not in a rush to get prepared to make the 53-man active roster., And they add solid NFL-level receivers to help the development of so many young quarterback arms in training camp.

But I would not discount one or both having a role for the Rams this season.

VIII - Drafted punter Ethan Evans

I am the last guy to promote using a draft pick for a special teams specialist, but I am never afraid to admit that I was wrong. I believe that in the case of drafting punter Ethan Evans, the LA Rams may have made one of their better selections in the 2023 NFL Draft. Now, here's why I am softening my stance so dramatically:

Punting the football is an underappreciated skill in the NFL. The very nature of hoofing the football to the opposing team is a surrender of sorts, an event where the offense taps out and turns to the defense to try to bail them out. But there is a bit of chess-like strategy to punting as well. If all other factors are equal except for punting, the team with the better punter will win. How so?

Strategic investment

Well, some games turn into a combat of field position, a trade-off of punts until one team scores. But if one team's punter booms a 60-yard punt, while the other team punts just 45 yards, the first team has a 15-yard advantage in field position. And some games simply come down to that. Now the question is, can Ethan Evans deliver those punts that translate into an advantage in field position?

Check out these punts from Ethan Evans:

With more than enough questions over the Rams defense, special teams and specifically punting will play a huge factor in the Rams chances of success this year. Can Ethan Evans deliver those long high-arching coffin-corner punts in the NFL? The Rams are betting on Ethan Evans, and I believe that they are right.

VII - Hired OL Coach Ryan Wendell

The LA Rams faced a lot of adversity in 2022 with repeated and incessant injuries to the offensive linemen. But as the injuries unfolded, there were plenty of decisions over who to start and who not to start that seemed to amplify the problem. What do I mean? Well as the team's roster was depleted with injuries, the Rams front office sprang into action and signed IOL Oday Aboushi, IOL Matt Skura, and OT Ty Nsekhe to the roster. But even after both OL Jeremiah Kolone and OL Bobby Evans failed to perform as starters, the Rams continued to start both players with horrific results.

The Rams strategy of 'making do,' in terms of the offensive line struggled because, without an offensive line coach like Aaron Kromer on staff to optimize their skills, raw offensive linemen remained raw. But that should all change with new OL Coach Ryan Wendell, who was Aaron Kromer's assistant OL Coach with the Buffalo Bills.

Whether Wendell or not, the LA Rams have invested quite a bit into their offensive line this season, drafting two players who could both be starters in the next three year. Can Wendell help his offensive linemen optimize their performance? I think that he already is well on his way to doing so.

VI- Signed DB Ahkello Witherspoon

I won't hide the fact that I believed that the LA Rams may have missed an opportunity to reinforce the secondary during the 2023 NFL Draft, Yes, the Rams did draft DB Tre Tomlinson and DB Jason Taylor II, but with 14 draft picks in the Rams arsenal, picks in Round 6 and Round 7 seem a bit late to the party. Of course, the Rams did invest heavily into their defensive backs in 2022, and the hope is that they will develop dramatically in their second NFL season. But the team signed veteran defensive back Ahkello Witherspoon, a move that I believe is very underrated.

An NFL secondary is more than just a group of defensive players putting up great individual performances. Defensive backs, much like offensive linemen, perform based upon their ability to communicate and anticipate what their teammates can and will do on any given play. That's a lot to absorb for young defensive backs. But that should not pose much of a problem for Ahkello Witherspoon, a veteran of six previous NFL seasons.

Witherspoon stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 195 pounds, giving the Rams a big-bodied option in pass coverage. And 40 starts in 60 games played allows the Rams coaching staff to rely upon him to start for the team until younger defensive backs can earn defensive snaps and perhaps challenge him for the starting role.

V - Hired RB Coach Ron Gould

The LA Rams running attack was chaotic and dysfunctional throughout the 2022 NFL season. The LA Rams had to bench their leading rusher Cam Akers because he was upset over his diminishing role on the team's offense. Making matters worse, the team had him on the trade block. The runner up running back, Darrell Henderson Jr., was cut by the team at mid season. The Rams rookie running back, Kyren Williams was injured twice for significant periods, and ended the season with 35 carries, 139 yards, and no touchdowns.

The Rams got a huge boost to their running attack when the team hired venerable running back coach Ron Gould. I love Gould on the Rams coaching staff and believe that he is uniquely qualified to get the most out of the Rams' running game once more. He is not bucking for promotion, and he loves coaching on the West Coast. But he knows his stuff, having helped a number of collegiate runners land successful NFL careers. Now he is aboard the LA Rams coaching staff to help optimize running backs' performances, enhance their role on the team, and extend their NFL careers.

IV - Signed RB Sony Michel

The small chapter in the LA Rams' history with running back Sony Michel is short and sweet. I was never able to connect the dots as to how Sony Michel was valued so highly as to be acquired with two draft picks, only to sit on the Rams bench for 10 of the first 11 games in the 2021 NFL season. When the Rams finally did feature him, he exploded for 540 yards and three touchdowns over the last six games of the season. But despite a yet-to-be-fully-healthy Cam Akers, Michel was benched in post season and allowed to walk without any effort from the Rams at the end of the 2021 season.

Now, he's back, and that's great news for the LA Rams offense. A veteran of five NFL seasons, the 5-foot-11 215-pound former Georgia Bulldog has a no-nonsense north-south style of running that is ideally suited for a Ron Gould rusher. While he may not get 200+ carries in a season, he does give this Rams group the potential to have three very good rushers to choose from throughout the 2023 NFL season.

III - Hired ST Coordinator Chase Blackburn

The LA Rams Special Teams Coordinator job was always going to be a challenge for the coach who was hired to fill the role. The Rams front office had already decided that the 2023 offseason was going to be a strict budget austere period, which dictated that the all special teams specialists were destined to be salary cap casualties.

But that was no challenge for new ST Coordinator Chase Blackburn. Rather, it created an opportunity for him to scour the nation and virtually recruit HIS special teams' players. How effective was he? He clearly was the driving force for the LA Rams to draft punter Ethan Evans in Round 7 of the 2023 NFL Draft, a punter he clearly coveted. He facilitated the Rams signing of rookie LS Alex Ward and convinced the Rams to sign two kickers in Tanner Brown and Christopher Dunn. But he made a quick decision that Tanner Brown is the kicker that the LA Rams will go with this year.

Blackburn may make the wrong decisions, but he is both decisive and energetic. He is active, not passive, and I believe all of that positive energy will be reflected in the LA Rams special teams units this year.

II- Drafted backup quarterback Stetson Bennett

While I don't have a great GPS on just how effective former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett will play in the NFL, I am convinced that for better or worse, he will not simply blend into the Rams bench and be content to be paid watching other players compete on the football field. While the obvious opportunity for Bennett to compete is in preseason games, he has far too much competitiveness to sit quietly on the bench for the next four NFL seasons. He is just too competitive.

And I cannot fathom Rams head coach Sean McVay not taking the ultra-competitive Bennett out for a test spin in the Rams' offense. Will it be select plays throughout the game? Or will Bennett's offensive snaps be limited to games that are already decided,m one way or another? I don't have the answer, but I believe that McVay is itching to get Bennett an opportunity.

Of course, a quarterback who stands under 6-foot-0 is going to need a specific playbook to utilize the passing game, as NFL pass rushers can get very large by putting their hands into the air as the ball leaves the quarterback's hands. There are a handful of successful NFL quarterbacks who stand under 6-foot-0: Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray (5-foot-10), Carolina Panthers QB P.J. Walker (5-foot-11), former New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees (under 6-foot-0), and Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, (5-foot-11)

Coaches can compensate for height disadvantages, but no coach can instill the eye of the tiger into an NFL player. Stetson Bennett is the type of player who wants to compete. I think that the LA Rams will find a way to let him do exactly that.

I - Drafted interior offensive lineman Steve Avila

It seems almost surreal to be making such a fuss about an offensive lineman who was drafted by the LA Rams, but that is the effect that adding interior offensive lineman Steve Avila to the Rams roster causes in my appreciation of this Rams roster. Whether misguided or not, the presence of Avila on the Rams roster checks a box for me in terms of fixing the LA Rams offensive line. Now, at which position will he start?

We know that the Rams faced adversity on two fronts on the offensive line last season. Not only were the LA Rams forced to start reserves, but the rapidity of injurie severed any chance of continuity and communication that is a vital component to the success of any offensive line:

Avila as a rookie starter for the LA Rams hopefully halts that constant revolving door of changing starters on a weekly basis. Just that alone will be a huge improvement for the squad this year

But his arrival also demonstrates that the LA Rams organization overall has not ignored or undervalued the importance of a magnificent offensive line. It's simply that the Rams have had to adopt new methods for improving the group now that developing raw talented players is no longer a primary method of finding NFL starters for the group.

There you have it. 10 underrated moves the LA Rams made in 2023 offseason. Did I miss any? Let me know your thought by commenting on our Facebook page. And as always, thanks for reading!