As the Los Angeles Rams prepare for the 2025 NFL season with aspirations of contending for a Super Bowl in a loaded NFC, one question looms larger than any other: Can their offensive line hold up? While CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin recently labeled quarterback Matthew Stafford as the team’s “biggest red flag,” the reality is that the 37-year-old veteran’s durability and performance are directly tied to the five men charged with protecting him.
“Age is just a number,” Benjamin wrote. “But this is a gunslinger who’s also battled real bumps and bruises… If Stafford can’t stay upright to feed new weapons like Davante Adams, well, there could be big trouble in Los Angeles.”
Quiet Sack Numbers Mask Bigger Problems
On the surface, Stafford’s sack numbers in 2024 paint a fairly optimistic picture—just 28 sacks, the fifth-fewest in his 16-year career. But those stats don’t tell the full story. Stafford was hit more than all but two other quarterbacks in the NFL. The offensive line allowed 122 pressures, and as s result he was hit 63 times, 20 more times than any other year in his Rams career. And those constant blows eventually led to an undisclosed rib injury late in the season, which affected his throws downfield and outside the numbers. Some of that falls on Stafford’s limited mobility. Stafford logged exactly 3 scrambles all season.
But this is the Rams world they chose to live in when they committed to Stafford this spring. It is now contingent on them to protect him.
Uncertainty on the Edges
The Rams entered the offseason hopeful that left tackle Alaric Jackson—who quietly had one of the better seasons on the line—would anchor Stafford’s blind side again. But Jackson is once again dealing with blood clots, the same issue that sidelined him in 2022.
“You pray for him to be able to have a healthy, safe recovery,” head coach Sean McVay said. “We’re really just taking it a day at a time with him.”
In response, the Rams signed former Cardinals tackle D.J. Humphries. Though Humphries played just two games in 2024 due to injuries, he graded higher than Jackson in pass protection in 2023, per Pro Football Focus. The hope is that he can hold the line until Jackson is cleared, but it’s a short-term patch, not a permanent fix.
On the opposite side, right tackle Rob Havenstein missed OTAs recovering from shoulder surgeries. He’s expected to be ready for training camp, but depth behind him is thin. Backup Warren McClendon Jr. has shown promise but is still largely unproven in extended action.
Interior Woes: Center of Concern
Perhaps the most overlooked, yet pressing, issue is at center. Rookie Beaux Limmer was forced into action in 2024 and, by the Rams’ own admission, wasn’t quite ready. “ I’ve often said he was a freshman and working amongst a bunch of PHD’s,” GM Les Snead remarked. The team re-signed Coleman Shelton this offseason to stabilize the position, but Shelton struggled significantly last year with the Chicago Bears—especially in pass protection and in generating push in the run game.
Shelton has never been a standout in pass sets, and his decline in run blocking efficiency in 2024 raises questions about whether he can return to his 2023 form in Los Angeles.
A Ground Game in Need of Juice
The offensive line’s challenges also played a role in the Rams’ puzzling lack of explosive plays on the ground. While the unit ranked sixth in rushing success rate and ninth in adjusted line yards, they finished dead last in explosive run rate (1.8%) and 31st in open field yards. That means the line was creating initial opportunities, but plays fizzled beyond the second level.
Kyren Williams deserves credit for back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and remains a key cog in McVay’s system. But his lack of top-end burst and ability to create at the second and third levels limited the offense’s big-play upside. Williams ranked 40th out of 46 qualified backs in yards after contact and 37th in missed tackles forced per attempt.
As for the line play in front of him, they provided Williams will less room to work before first contact. In 2023, Williams was second among running back with 3 yards before contact per attempt (behind Christian McCaffrey by .1 yard). In 2024, he dropped to 20th, with just 2.2 yards per attempt, which was .3 yards (or about 12 inches) behind league average. This means Williams had almost 29 more inches of space per run in 2023 than he did in 2024.
Simply put, the Rams’ were able to offset Williams lack of zip by offering him more room and that was the difference in a snowy Eagles game in the playoffs.
The Bigger Picture
To McVay’s credit, the Rams have built one of the league’s most creative and integrated run-pass schemes. Stafford’s sixth-place finish in play-action usage last season is proof the design works—when the line gives him time.
But if the Rams want to go from playoff hopefuls to true contenders, they’ll need the offensive line to be more than functional. It has to be dependable, healthy, and able to support a multidimensional attack. That means Jackson’s recovery, Shelton’s bounce-back, and the depth behind aging veterans like Havenstein are all pivotal.
Because no matter how good Stafford’s arm is or how much Adams adds to the passing game, none of it matters if the Rams lose the battle at the line of scrimmage.
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