3 Round 1 draft prospects that Rams should pass on to avoid annoying fans

III: An elite center prospect

At one time, the LA Rams appeared to be the perfect landing spot for Oregon's elite center prospect, Jackson Powers Johnson. After the Rams failed to select center Creed Humphrey in the 2021 NFL Draft, there has been angst among fans whenever the subject of WR Tutu Atwell (the player who was chosen with the 52nd overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft) or Creed Humphrey arises in forums or the comments section.

After three seasons, Humphrey has only allowed five quarterback sacks and committed 16 penalties. That is truly outstanding.

The option to draft Oregon center Jackson Powers Johnson this year was seen as an opportunity to exorcise those 2021 demons from everyone's mind. By adding JPJ, the thought was that nestiling him between LG Steve Avila and RG Kevin Dotson would result in the team's interior offensive line upgrading to become perhaps the most feared trio between offensive tackles in the NFL.

But when the team signed left guard Jonah Jackson and re-signed Kevin Dotson, the team committed to moving Avila to center, which created the same ominous interior line trio to dominate NFL defenses. With the Rams now quite secure in their starters on the offensive line for the 2024 NFL season, adding a promising center prospect like JPJ is overkill.

For now, the Rams are no longer in the market for a young NFL center, and likely will not be for at least the next three seasons.