When Zoltán Buday of Pro Football Focus ranked the Los Angeles Rams‘ offensive line 15th in the NFL entering the 2025 season, he called the unit “good enough.” But for a team with legitimate playoff ambitions—and one eye on another Super Bowl run—”good enough” might not actually be enough.
“The Rams re-signed Alaric Jackson in free agency after he earned a career-high 78.4 PFF overall grade in 2024, which ranked 18th among all offensive tackles,” Buday wrote. “His efforts and elite run blocking from Kevin Dotson and Rob Havenstein should make this unit good enough in 2025 to allow the Rams’ offense to reach its potential.”
Make no mistake: the Rams’ path to success runs through their offensive line. Matthew Stafford, now 37 and still elite when protected, saw his performance nosedive under pressure last season. According to PFF, he posted a passer rating in the 30s when hurried. That vulnerability was no secret—he was hit 63 times in 2024, the most of his Rams tenure. Stafford’s durability is not just a question mark—it’s a structural issue directly tied to the five men in front of him.
The Rams’ Offensive Line Holds the Key to Their 2025 Playoff Push
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The Rams know this. That’s why they re-signed left tackle Alaric Jackson to a multi-year deal this offseason after his career-high 78.4 PFF grade in 2024. Jackson was viewed as a stabilizing force for an injury-plagued unit. But a recurrence of the blood clot issue that shut him down in 2022 has again clouded his availability. Reports suggest a potential return in November at the earliest. Until then, the Rams will lean on newly signed veteran D.J. Humphries, who has graded well in pass protection but is also coming off an injury-plagued year.
Right tackle Rob Havenstein is expected back for training camp after offseason shoulder procedures, but his durability—once a calling card—is waning. Depth behind him, particularly unproven second-year man Warren McClendon Jr., is a concern. And while the Rams made a late move to sign David Quessenberry, he’s better suited as a reserve than a long-term starter.
On the interior, rookie center Beaux Limmer struggled in pass protection in 2024, especially during the playoff loss to Philadelphia. The team’s answer was to re-sign Coleman Shelton, a trusted veteran from their 2023 resurgent team. But Shelton is coming off a down year with the Bears, and whether he can recapture his peak form remains uncertain.
The offensive line’s inconsistencies have also impacted the run game. While the Rams ranked sixth in rushing success rate last year, they were last in explosive run rate—just 1.8% of carries went for 15+ yards. Much of that stemmed from diminished push at the line. Kyren Williams’ production dropped from 3.0 yards before contact per carry in 2023 to just 2.2 last season, signaling tighter lanes and less room to operate.
In response, the Rams added former USC lineman Justin Dedich as interior depth and continued to invest in continuity by keeping Kevin Dotson, arguably their most consistent blocker. But for a team that largely ignored the offensive line in the draft, the margin for error is razor-thin.
Ultimately, the Rams’ offense is full of firepower. Stafford, Adams, Nacua, and Williams give Sean McVay all the tools he needs to build a top-tier unit. But none of it works if the foundation cracks.
The offensive line doesn’t need to be dominant—but it must be stable, healthy, and capable of protecting the quarterback and generating push in the run game. Anything less, and the Rams risk watching another promising season fall short by inches.
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