Hammond on the OL

A position-by-position look at how to stabilize the Rams’ offensive line

Rich Hammond

https://theathletic.com/1514340/2020/01/07/a-position-by-position-look-at-how-to-stabilize-the-rams-offensive-line/?=twittered

Put together a pie chart, with all the reasons the Rams missed the playoffs in 2019, and the biggest chunk will belong to the offensive line.

A year ago, the Rams whiffed on the construction of their line by letting veterans Rodger Saffold and John Sullivan leave and believing they could be replaced by two players with almost zero practical experience. That resulted in instability and ineffectiveness that didn’t get reversed until late in the season.

The Rams couldn’t run the ball effectively in 2019, and Jared Goff often looked skittish without the belief — firmly held in 2017 and 2018 — that the line would give him time to throw and keep him upright.

By the end of the regular season, the Rams found an unconventional mix that (mostly) worked. Four of the five spots on the offensive line had changed hands since the start of the season, but somehow the Rams allowed only 22 sacks, fewest in the NFL (that’s attributable, in part, to coach Sean McVay’s dedication to running the ball more and rolling out Goff with play-action passes).

The shuffling resulted in a positive for the Rams, who got long looks at several young linemen at multiple positions. Joe Noteboom, Brian Allen, Austin Corbett, David Edwards and Bobby Evans each played at least six regular-season games, although Noteboom and Allen suffered season-ending knee injuries.

As the Rams head into the offseason, it’s not so much that they must improve their offensive line. They perhaps don’t even need to make outside additions. Stability is the main thing, and the Rams’ biggest task between now and September is the evaluation of the young linemen. They miscalculated in 2019, but that’s easy to do because it’s difficult to project how inexperienced linemen will play.

Given what the Rams put on film this season, here’s a reasonable position-by-position plan for how they should approach the offensive line in 2020. These will be listed in order of importance.

Left tackle
The Rams had the right idea a year ago. They hoped Joe Noteboom, a third-round draft pick in 2018, would thrive as a first-year starter at left guard, then slide over to left tackle in 2020. Andrew Whitworth was set to play out the final year of his contract and then presumably retire at age 38.

None of that happened. Noteboom struggled at guard in early games, and just when he seemed to be showing improvement, he tore an ACL in Week 6 and was lost for the season. It’s possible, because of the extensive rehab needed, that Noteboom won’t return to full action until the start of training camp. Meanwhile, Whitworth completed his 14th NFL season, then indicated he wants to keep going.

As of now, the Rams don’t have a starting left tackle. Here are their options:

Proceed with the Noteboom plan and wait for him to return to health.
Move Bobby Evans, who started seven games as a rookie at right tackle, to the left side.
Move Rob Havenstein, a five-year starter at right tackle, to left tackle.
Sign or draft a replacement.
Re-sign Whitworth to a short-term deal.
The Rams must bring Whitworth back. Noteboom will not have a full offseason. Evans, who played left tackle in college, exceeded expectations as a rookie, but he’s not quite ready for this. Havenstein didn’t even play on the left side in college, and if the Rams moved him anywhere, it likely would be to guard. It’s tough to imagine finding a clear upgrade over Whitworth on the trade or free-agent markets.

Retaining Whitworth is not perfect, given his age (and accompanying injury risk), the decline he showed during parts of 2019 and the continued lack of a long-term solution. However, it’s the best the Rams can do, and they need to do it as soon as possible and not just because of the left tackle spot.

Whitworth’s last contract had an annual average value of $11 million, and he’s unlikely to get that on the open market. But how much of a discount will he take to stay? The Rams need to know that because their salary-cap space is limited. Whitworth’s cap figure might dictate how much the Rams can spend on defense. And of course, if the Rams can’t reach an agreement with Whitworth before mid-March, when the free-agency window opens, they need to quickly pivot to a backup plan.

Right tackle
The Rams must decide if Bobby Evans is capable of handling this job full-time. If so, they need to trade Rob Havenstein, a move that would create $5.4 million in salary-cap room.

This is a tough call. The Rams erred a year ago when they went all-in on Joe Noteboom and Brian Allen. To suggest they should do the same with Evans in 2020, well, it feels a little unsettling. But at least with Evans, there’s a greater body of work to evaluate. The rookie started seven games at right tackle and held up well in pass protection, but he showed some weakness in run blocking.

In total, though, Evans far exceeded expectations. If the Rams evaluate the game film and believe he can improve further in 2020, he should retain this job. In a best-case scenario, Evans might thrive and then move over to left tackle in 2021 if Andrew Whitworth retires. It’s not unreasonable to think that David Edwards, who played tackle in college and played well as a rookie right guard in 2019, might get a look at tackle, but the Rams seem to be leaning toward Evans.

This is unfortunate for Havenstein, who really did nothing wrong. Yes, he struggled early in 2019, but so did every Rams offensive lineman. He recently committed to the Rams with a four-year contract extension, and he’s a good teammate. But the Rams perhaps telegraphed where this is headed. After Havenstein recovered from his knee injury in December, he was a full participant in practice but did not play.

Havenstein turns 28 in May, and his contract contains a cap hit of approximately $8 million through 2022. That would be attractive to a team in need of a reliable right tackle, and the Rams certainly could use that reclaimed cap space to fill some holes on defense.

Austin Blythe, who took over in Week 10 after Brian Allen’s knee injury, is set to leave as an unrestricted free agent, but that would be a mistake. The Rams need to recommit to Blythe, whose effectiveness and communication at center played a huge part in the line’s turnaround in the second half of the season.

Allen experienced some bumps as a first-year starter in 2019. He’s smart and physical, and should he reclaim the starting job in 2020, he might be just fine.

It’s just tough to ignore what happened starting in mid-November. Teammates raved about Blythe’s calmness and communication at center, and those are two huge parts of the position. None of it was taken as criticism of Allen. Blythe simply did the job well, and it’s never easy to find a reliable center.

Blythe made $2.025 million in the final year of his contract, and OverTheCap.com valued him at $3.4 million. Given the Rams’ other needs and cap limitations, they might feel it’s more prudent to go back to Allen, and that would be understandable. But Blythe has showed he can play center at a high level, and should he return, Allen — who also played guard in college — still would be valuable.

Left guard
This spot depends on the health and rehab progress of Joe Noteboom, who underwent surgery in October to repair a torn ACL. Based on normal recovery time, Noteboom should be ready for the start of training camp, and general manager Les Snead indicated as much last week, but the lack of a full offseason program puts Noteboom in a tough spot, in terms of conditioning and development.

If Noteboom looks good in camp, he is the Rams’ best option at left guard. He struggled at the start of 2019, which was to be expected since he had never played guard before. Noteboom showed signs of improvement before the mid-October injury ended his season. He remains a big part of the Rams’ long-term future, and although it doesn’t make sense for him to move to tackle now, he should start.

If Noteboom isn’t ready, the Rams don’t need to force anything. Brian Allen made 16 of his 38 college starts at left guard. If Austin Blythe returns, Allen certainly has the brawn to compete at that spot.

Also, Austin Corbett started the final seven games of 2019 at left guard and did a serviceable job. He didn’t have much time to acclimate because the Rams acquired him in a trade with Cleveland a month earlier, so presumably Corbett would be improved with a full offseason under line coach Aaron Kromer.

Right guard
David Edwards deserves the chance to show he can build on his solid end to 2019. Much like with Bobby Evans at right tackle, the Rams would love to know they can count on Edwards as a reliable, low-salaried starter at right guard for the next three seasons.

Edwards, who took over as a starter in Week 7, committed a troubling number of penalties early on but then stabilized his play. According to the analytics website Pro Football Focus, Edwards had a full-season grade of 61.0, second only to Whitworth (72.8) among all Rams offensive linemen in 2019.

If the Rams aren’t totally sold on Evans at right tackle but still want to trade Rob Havenstein, they might even give Edwards a look at tackle, which would make Evans a possibility at right guard. Allen could also be in the mix here if he doesn’t start at center or left guard.