3 reasons why Alaric Jackson's contract year means great things for the Rams

When the LA Rams signed former Iowa left tackle Alaric Jackson after the 2021 NFL Draft, there was not a great deal of fanfare about his addition. Fans expected the team to draft offensive linemen, only to be disappointed by a 2021 rookie draft class that did not have a single offensive lineman named throughout the three-day draft event. The addition of a Day 3 offensive tackle out of Iowa simply did not seem like much of a consolation prize.

But fans can get it wrong sometimes too. That can be especially true from the ranks of undrafted players. Alaric Jackson was more than a camp body. He was a young man whose expertise from 42 starts at left tackle in NCAA football, and passion for the sport, drove him to face and overcome every challenge in his path.

We weren't fooled by the modest nature of his arrival on the Rams roster. In fact, just days after his signing we already had 5 reasons why LA Rams signing UDFA OT Alaric Jackson was a big deal. He was a key cog in the machinations of a team seeking to pave the path to the future by ensuring adequate depth at the all-too-important offensive left tackle position.

Jackson may have been an undrafted rookie, but he was quickly drafted into service in his rookie season. Due to injuries to both veteran Andrew Whitworth and backup Joe Noteboom, Jackson saw his first start against the unstoppable pass rush of the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16 of the 2021 NFL season. Jackson played 52 offensive snaps and did not allow a single quarterback sack in that game. The Rams would go on to win that game by a score of 30-23, and that victory would prove incredibly valuable in the team's playoff seeding.

After that game, interest in Alaric Jackson began to show up. But there was a deep mystery that began to puzzle fans about the rookie offensive tackle. It was a mystery that would require the intervention of the player himself to solve: