Which 2nd year LA Rams player is the most promising building block for 2024?

IV: LG turned C Steve Avila

When building a roster of the future, the uncertainty of what happens tomorrow is not something that you should take casually. The needs of the team change dramatically over time, and so one of the principal attributes of any building block player is to ensure versatility. I don't see how anyone could possibly argue against interior offensive lineman Steve Avila topping that category.

Amidst all of the applause, recognition, and accolades of the Rams rookie draft class of 2023, the fact is that the team selected the first interior offensive lineman off the board when they named former TCU offensive lineman Steve Avila with the 36th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Steve Avila was the first rookie to join the roster.

Avila was a turning point for the entire Rams football team. His addition to the team was as symbolic as it was strategic. In adding the 6-foot-3 338 pound interior offensive lineman in Round 2, the front office was prioritizing the needs of a depleted offensive line. And in doing so, the team was also prioritizing the running game, protecting veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, and even giving the entire defense a boost by committing to controlling the game clock. Avila did not miss a snap in all of 2023, playing 1,148 offensive snaps. Despite so much work, he only allowed two quarterback sacks and committed just two penalties.

Avila was more than a starting left guard. He was quite active all across the offensive line. He was constantly looking to help out a teammate after the football was snapped, pivoting his head both left and right. Avila was far better at his craft than many gave him credit for.

Perhaps that is why he became a natural candidate to slide over to start at center in 2024, after the team signed veteran left guard Jonah Jackson.

A rookie who starts every snap in his first NFL season, but is transferred to start in an even more responsible starting role for his second season certainly seems like the type of player who makes a solid argument as the most promising building block on the roster for 2024. But his is the LA Rams roster, and this roster is loaded with talented second-year players.

So let's move on to our next young star.