The Los Angeles Rams invested heavily in their offensive line this offseason. They re-signed right guard Kevin Dotson to a 3-year $48 million deal and added free agent left guard Jonah Jackson to a 3-year $51 million deal, making the pair the fourth and third most expensive contracts at their positions respectively. Those contracts ballooned the team’s offensive line spending to the fourth most expensive in the league. And that is with center Steve Avila on a rookie contract ($2.1 million against the cap) and left tackle Alaric Jackson making just $4.9 million.
So what is the payoff according to Sharp Football Analysis? A mediocre offensive line.
Los Angeles Rams Ranked Low In Latest Rankings
In their 2024 Offensive Line Rankings, SFA ranked the Rams as the 13th-best offensive line in football, up from 24th ahead of last season. Here is what they wrote;
“The offensive line was also a big mover this season, jumping from 31 in 2023 to 13 in 2024. After spending his rookie season at left guard, Steve Avila will move to center this season, and former Pro Bowler Jonah Jackson comes over from Detroit to start at left guard. Alaric Jackson allowed just one sack in his first year as the team’s left tackle.”
2024 NFL Offensive Line Rankings, All 32 Teams By Sharp Football Staff
Sharp doesn’t give much context outside of updating the starting five and positions as well as an impressive Jackson stat, but even before adding Jackson to the equation, the Los Angeles Rams had one of the best offensive lines in football last year.
Kyren Williams had the most yards before contact besides everyone named Christian McCaffrey, and he only bested that by .1 yards. They also allowed Matthew Stafford 2.68 seconds to throw on average. That’s good for 4th best among starting quarterbacks last year.
Perhaps, if judged in a vacuum this line doesn’t look as impressive, but the Rams built it with two things in mind, protecting an aging quarterback and making their gap scheme run blocking the best in the league.
There are certainly arguments to be made as to why this line could fail, Jonah Jackson’s injury history, Alaric Jackson’s shortcomings, and moving Avila to center. But if it works as planned this ranking will look nearly as foolish as ranking them second-last last year.
