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The St. Louis Rams entered the 2015 draft with several glaring needs along their offensive line, which they made it a point to address those issues by using four of their picks on lineman in Rob Havenstein (second round) , Jamon Brown (third round), Andrew Donnal (fourth round), and Cody Wichmann (sixth round).
The team also added another offensive lineman following the draft by signing former South Florida left tackle Darrell Williams. This coupled with the moves made in free agency, such as the releasing of two starters in Scott Wells and Jake Long, makes for an inherently different Rams’ offensive line for the 2015 season.
Here is what to make of their offensive line unit so far this offseason:
Tackle
With the departure of Long, the Rams felt that they needed to strengthen the position as they added three offensive tackles in the draft in Havenstein, Brown, and Donnal.
Although they selected three players, only Havenstein and Donnal are expected to remain tackles for the team with Brown likely to compete for starting right guard. This leaves the pair of rookies to duke it out for the right tackle spot with last year’s second overall pick in Greg Robinson locked up as the projected starting left tackle.
The Rams had initially hoped that Robinson could make the transition over to left guard, but his struggles in the preseason had him out of the starting unit until Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers. He played well in the second half of last season after Long suffered his second ACL tear.
However, from that point on he continued to show progress and was dominant at times in the final eight games of the season, Robinson’s overall performance gave the team reason for much hope that he can provide stability on the left side of the offensive line for years to come.
As for the starting job at right tackle, early indications point to Havenstein being the early favorite. His addition to the team could prove extremely beneficial for the Rams’ running game as the former Wisconsin lineman was a major factor in helping last year’s Heisman candidate tailback Melvin Gordon.
Donnal proved to be effective in pass protection during his collegiate career at Iowa. Overall, he is regarded as a technically sound player at his position. If he can translate his pass protection success to the NFL along with improvement in run blocking, it could help his case in earning playing time this upcoming season.
Another name that could compete for the starting job is seven-year veteran Garret Reynolds, who the team signed as a free agent this offseason. Overall, the tackle position on both sides of the offensive line looks to be in good hands with the team’s new youth movement.
Guard
Last season, the Rams received porous play from their group of guards that included Rodger Saffold, Joe Barksdale, and Davin Joseph. Saffold was able to play in all 16 regular season games in 2014 for the first time since his rookie year, but he struggled to with providing consistent pass protection.
The same could be said of Barksdale and Joseph as each had their fair share of difficulties last year. Barksdale had some issues transitioning from right guard over to right tackle as he had to make the switch due to the season-ending injury to Long.
In Joseph’s case, he displayed many of the reasons why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to cut ties with him. He struggled to be effective as a run blocker and in pass protection.
With that in mind, the Rams will roll out an almost a completely different unit at guard this upcoming season with the exception being Saffold as the only returning player. The 26-year-old will continue to hold down the starting left guard spot, which leaves the right guard job up for grabs in training camp with an expected competition between Brandon Washington, Brown, and Wichmann.
Washington has the early upper hand having spent the last two seasons with the team on the 53-man roster and the practice squad. However, the two rookies could make up much ground come training camp. One thing that could help Brown is his effectiveness in run blocking as he excelled at that during his time at Louisville. This quality could be highly beneficial for him since there is no question that the Rams are looking to follow the offensive blueprint of the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers this upcoming season as a run-first team. The Rams emphasized this when they made the surprise selection of Georgia running back Todd Gurley with the 10th overall pick.
As for Wichmann, he proved to be a strong power run blocker during his collegiate career at Fresno State. He will have to continue to improve that area in order to make any significant impression on the coaching staff to earn playing time this upcoming season. All in all, the battle for the starting right guard position will be one of the many things to watch closely this offseason.
Center
If there was one place along the offensive line the Rams could pinpoint their struggles to last season it would be at center.
Despite Wells being able to play in all 16 regular season games for the first time since 2011, he was a consistent liability at his position. The 34-year-0ld’s struggles were most evident in the running game. He struggled to open holes, which was evidenced in St. Louis’ low ranking (26th) on run plays designed to go through the middle just 3.61 yards per carry average.
Wells even struggled snapping the ball late in the season while he wore a brace to protect an elbow injury. His backups, Tim Barnes, and Barrett Jones, also had their fair share of struggles, which only contributed more to the team’s inability to provide adequate protection up front.
With last season behind them, the Rams this offseason decided to cut ties with Wells and re-sign Barnes to a one-year, $1 million deal. Barnes is expected to step in and take the reigns as the starter with Jones as his backup. The team had a chance to nab a center in the draft, but their decision not to take one only shows their strong belief that the 27-year-old can be the answer this upcoming season.
Source: NFL.com
Bob Garcia IV is a sports journalist from Southern California. He is also the Los Angeles Lakers beat writer for Sportsoutwest.com. He was a reporter for the award-winning newspaper, The Daily Sundial, at California State University, Northridge. You can follow him on Twitter, @Bgarcia90.
Andrew Donnal, Brandon Washington, Cody Wichmann, Darrell Williams, Davin Joseph, Garret Reynolds, Greg Robinson, Jake Long, Jamon Brown, Joe Barksdale, Melvin Gordon, Rob Havenstein, Rodger Saffold, San Francisco 49ers, Scott Wells, Seattle Seahawks, Todd Gurley
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The St. Louis Rams entered the 2015 draft with several glaring needs along their offensive line, which they made it a point to address those issues by using four of their picks on lineman in Rob Havenstein (second round) , Jamon Brown (third round), Andrew Donnal (fourth round), and Cody Wichmann (sixth round).
The team also added another offensive lineman following the draft by signing former South Florida left tackle Darrell Williams. This coupled with the moves made in free agency, such as the releasing of two starters in Scott Wells and Jake Long, makes for an inherently different Rams’ offensive line for the 2015 season.
Here is what to make of their offensive line unit so far this offseason:
Tackle
With the departure of Long, the Rams felt that they needed to strengthen the position as they added three offensive tackles in the draft in Havenstein, Brown, and Donnal.
Although they selected three players, only Havenstein and Donnal are expected to remain tackles for the team with Brown likely to compete for starting right guard. This leaves the pair of rookies to duke it out for the right tackle spot with last year’s second overall pick in Greg Robinson locked up as the projected starting left tackle.
The Rams had initially hoped that Robinson could make the transition over to left guard, but his struggles in the preseason had him out of the starting unit until Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers. He played well in the second half of last season after Long suffered his second ACL tear.
However, from that point on he continued to show progress and was dominant at times in the final eight games of the season, Robinson’s overall performance gave the team reason for much hope that he can provide stability on the left side of the offensive line for years to come.
As for the starting job at right tackle, early indications point to Havenstein being the early favorite. His addition to the team could prove extremely beneficial for the Rams’ running game as the former Wisconsin lineman was a major factor in helping last year’s Heisman candidate tailback Melvin Gordon.
Donnal proved to be effective in pass protection during his collegiate career at Iowa. Overall, he is regarded as a technically sound player at his position. If he can translate his pass protection success to the NFL along with improvement in run blocking, it could help his case in earning playing time this upcoming season.
Another name that could compete for the starting job is seven-year veteran Garret Reynolds, who the team signed as a free agent this offseason. Overall, the tackle position on both sides of the offensive line looks to be in good hands with the team’s new youth movement.
Guard
Last season, the Rams received porous play from their group of guards that included Rodger Saffold, Joe Barksdale, and Davin Joseph. Saffold was able to play in all 16 regular season games in 2014 for the first time since his rookie year, but he struggled to with providing consistent pass protection.
The same could be said of Barksdale and Joseph as each had their fair share of difficulties last year. Barksdale had some issues transitioning from right guard over to right tackle as he had to make the switch due to the season-ending injury to Long.
In Joseph’s case, he displayed many of the reasons why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to cut ties with him. He struggled to be effective as a run blocker and in pass protection.
With that in mind, the Rams will roll out an almost a completely different unit at guard this upcoming season with the exception being Saffold as the only returning player. The 26-year-old will continue to hold down the starting left guard spot, which leaves the right guard job up for grabs in training camp with an expected competition between Brandon Washington, Brown, and Wichmann.
Washington has the early upper hand having spent the last two seasons with the team on the 53-man roster and the practice squad. However, the two rookies could make up much ground come training camp. One thing that could help Brown is his effectiveness in run blocking as he excelled at that during his time at Louisville. This quality could be highly beneficial for him since there is no question that the Rams are looking to follow the offensive blueprint of the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers this upcoming season as a run-first team. The Rams emphasized this when they made the surprise selection of Georgia running back Todd Gurley with the 10th overall pick.
As for Wichmann, he proved to be a strong power run blocker during his collegiate career at Fresno State. He will have to continue to improve that area in order to make any significant impression on the coaching staff to earn playing time this upcoming season. All in all, the battle for the starting right guard position will be one of the many things to watch closely this offseason.
Center
If there was one place along the offensive line the Rams could pinpoint their struggles to last season it would be at center.
Despite Wells being able to play in all 16 regular season games for the first time since 2011, he was a consistent liability at his position. The 34-year-0ld’s struggles were most evident in the running game. He struggled to open holes, which was evidenced in St. Louis’ low ranking (26th) on run plays designed to go through the middle just 3.61 yards per carry average.
Wells even struggled snapping the ball late in the season while he wore a brace to protect an elbow injury. His backups, Tim Barnes, and Barrett Jones, also had their fair share of struggles, which only contributed more to the team’s inability to provide adequate protection up front.
With last season behind them, the Rams this offseason decided to cut ties with Wells and re-sign Barnes to a one-year, $1 million deal. Barnes is expected to step in and take the reigns as the starter with Jones as his backup. The team had a chance to nab a center in the draft, but their decision not to take one only shows their strong belief that the 27-year-old can be the answer this upcoming season.
Source: NFL.com
Bob Garcia IV is a sports journalist from Southern California. He is also the Los Angeles Lakers beat writer for Sportsoutwest.com. He was a reporter for the award-winning newspaper, The Daily Sundial, at California State University, Northridge. You can follow him on Twitter, @Bgarcia90.
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