The Los Angeles Rams have completely rebuilt their offensive line over the last 15 months. In that time they have added Steve Avila (C) through the draft, traded for Kevin Dotson (RG), signed free agent Jonah Jackson (LG), and Alaric Jackson earned a starting role (LT).
These moves have resulted in the Rams having the 4th highest payroll at the position, $68.2 million. But the moves have paid off. Matthew Stafford‘s pressure rate dropped from 23.5 percent to 17.7 percent from ’22 to ’23 and their rushing attack took the league by storm last season. The offensive line created 3 yards before contact for Kyren Williams, that was second only to Christian McCaffrey‘s 3.1 YBC. And that was before the addition of Jackson.
Where does the Los Angeles Rams OL Rank?
These moves have put the Rams in 4th place in FTN Fantasy’s newest offensive line rankings. They fell behind the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, and Indianapolis Colts. Here is their assessment of the positional group;
Alaric Jackson, Jonah Jackson, Steve Avila, Kevin Dotson, Rob Havenstein
The Rams were one of the more surprising offensive line units in 2023, turning a largely inexperienced offensive line into one of the NFL’s most dominant units. The Rams transitioned to a gap-blocking run scheme that rolled through opposing defenses while providing strong protection (11 sacks surrendered) in the passing attack.
The Rams will return four of their five starters, including right guard Kevin Dotson. The Rams traded for Dotson during training camp after three uneven years with the Steelers. He rewarded the team with an 85.2 PFF grade, including an 88.8 run-blocking grade. Rookie second-round pick Steve Avila also posted a solid first season as the left guard, allowing just 32 pressures on a team-leading 685 pass-blocking snaps.
Los Angeles will re-shuffle its offensive line in 2024 after letting starting center Coleman Shelton walk in free agency. The team will kick Avila over to center and fill his position with former Lions guard Jonah Jackson. Jackson has struggled with injuries the last two seasons but is a solid veteran piece who will help stabilize the interior.
The Rams don’t have a ton of depth on the offensive line, but they do return former starting left tackle Joe Noteboom to serve as their swing tackle. Noteboom was expected to be the starter at left tackle in 2023 but lost his job to Alaric Jackson. He has starting experience and has played over 2,000 career snaps for the Rams, including 573 snaps between left tackle, right tackle and right guard in 2023.
