3 reasons why Rams had to re-sign Coleman Shelton

Reason I: LA Rams wanted alternative to Brian Allen at OC

We talked at length about durability concerns for the LA Rams offensive line heading into the 2022 NFL season, five months before the injury epidemic decimated the team's starting offensive linemen. The truth is that we are not blessed with fortune-telling or prognostication. Rather, we could see how both OT Joe Noteboom and OC Brian Allen have struggled to stay healthy in the past and simply projected their 50 percent availability into the 2022 NFL season. For the record, Allen played in seven of 17 games in 2022, while Noteboom played in six of 17 games in 2022.

Regardless of how they perform when healthy, an availability index of less that 90 percent is pretty risky business when promoting a player to start at the offensive line. That is due to the fact that continuity is incredibly vital to the success of the entire group, not just that sole player. If you need more proof, just re-examine how the LA Rams entire offense struggled in 2022. To fix the offense, the LA Rams have to fix the durability of the offensive line.

No more cutting corners on OL

The LA Rams front office did itself no favors when setting up the 2022 offensive line of scrimmage. The entire plan was a comedy of errors. The Rams backed up the starting center (who had durability concerns) with the starting right guard. The backup right guard was a rookie who was lost to the team before the season ever started. The backup to the backup right guard, Tremayne Anchrum Jr., broke his leg on the first play of his first game.

The Rams have strong competitors in both Joe Noteboom and Brian Allen. But until either can prove that they can remain healthy for an entire NFL season, they should not start for this team. That means that the Rams should consider starting Coleman Shelton as the offensive center, and perhaps draft a center to infuse competition to the position. Likewise, I believe that Alaric Jackson should be given the nod to start over Joe Noteboom at left tackle.

Without re-signing Coleman Shelton, there are no viable options at the offensive center position outside of the 2023 NFL Draft, and no team should be faced with drafting to fill a need on the roster. That scenario typically plays out in overreaching for a player and when the season starts, huge regrets set in.

The LA Rams have not been very active in the 2023 NFL Free Agency market yet, and I don't expect them to be active in adding players to the roster until the 2023 NFL Draft and signing undrafted rookies immediately after the draft. The Rams are navigating the 2023 offseason by adhering to a strict budget. While it's no cause for alarm or worry, it is worth noting. At some point, the team will need to add over 40+ players to the roster. When that dam breaks, there will be a lot of news faces getting off the bus to join the Rams roster.