not done with OL?

Rams might have NFL’s least-experienced O-line

By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-might-have-nfl-s-least-experienced-o-line/article_c9e30397-41e8-5a70-95fd-76425da5bedf.html

If the NFL season started next Sunday, the Rams’ offensive line probably would look like this:

• Left tackle Greg Robinson.

• Left guard Rodger Saffold.

• Center Barrett Jones.

• Right guard Garrett Reynolds or Jamon Brown.

• Right tackle Rob Havenstein.

Will that get it done for quarterback Nick Foles? Todd Gurley and the Rams’ running game?

Will it inspire confidence in Rams coaches? Or even Rams fandom?

We’ll see. After three consecutive years of opening the season with the NFL’s youngest roster, the Rams very well could have the most inexperienced offensive line in pro football.

Joe Barksdale, you say, at right tackle?

Well, maybe it still happens.

But why would Barksdale — who along with his agent severely overestimated his market value — sign with the Rams after they drafted a right tackle in the second round (Havenstein) and one in the fourth (Andrew Donnal)?

Veteran Justin Blalock at guard? Released by the Atlanta Falcons much earlier in the offseason, Blalock would be an improved Davin Joseph when it came to being a stopgap starter. Maybe a much-improved Joseph.

Blalock once played for Rams offensive line coach Paul Boudreau, so he knows the system and could step right in.

He’s a hard-working veteran who could teach the younger Rams how to take notes in the meeting room, how to approach their craft, how to be a pro. He’s been on the Rams’ radar for a while. But if it hasn’t happened yet, will it happen at all?

There has been some organizational conjecture at Rams Park about the possibility of re-signing center Scott Wells at a reduced rate. But Wells is 34 and might want to call it a career. And he was slowed by injury throughout his three seasons here.

Tackle Jake Long? He initially considered retiring after suffering another knee injury last season, a season-ender in Game 7. But the word is he wants to return to the NFL, although it’s uncertain the subject even has come up at Rams Park.

It would have to be at a reduced rate and could possibly be at a different position — such as right tackle or guard. Even if the Rams decided to make another run at him, would he come back under those terms — less money, new spot?

Somebody else with experience might crop up in the coming weeks or months, but it’s hard to bank on that.

So what you see could be what you get on the Rams’ current offensive line. After drafting four O-linemen Friday and Saturday, they have 13 on their offseason roster. That’s not including any undrafted rookies the team might sign, but already enough to get the Rams through training camp.

From a mental standpoint, playing in the NFL is like getting your Ph.D in football. Even on the offensive line, it normally takes the smartest, most studious player to grasp the schemes, protections and proper blocking angles quickly.

If Havenstein or Brown has to start right away, there undoubtedly would be bumps along the way because of the adjustment process. Remember, No. 2 overall pick Robinson was held out of the first four games in 2014 for that very reason.

At right guard, the veteran Reynolds (27 NFL starts) could begin the year as the starter while Brown gets some grooming.

Reynolds, a free-agent pickup from Detroit, is a scrapper with a reputation for having his teammates’ back on the field, and trying to get that extra block downfield. But ideally, he’s a third guard — a swing player who also can help at tackle if needed.

If it all falls apart up front, the Rams will regret the fact that they didn’t aggressively pursue veteran help in free agency.

Along those same lines, taking a running back with the 10th the pick of the draft and waiting until No. 57 to draft an offensive lineman might blow up in their faces as well. A healthy Gurley might indeed be a special back, or what general manager Les Snead called a “once-in-a-while” kind of back.

He also might have been the vaunted “best player available” on the board at the time. That probably wasn’t the case for Havenstein and Brown. Both could turn out to be effective players and long-term starters, but at first glance they appear to be over-drafted. In other words, taken a little higher than their value.

Havenstein, for example, was the eighth tackle selected (the seventh if you consider Iowa’s Brandon Scherff an NFL guard). The talent available at the position dropped considerably after Havenstein’s selection — he might have been the last tackle drafted with genuine potential to start on day one as a rookie.

A college tackle, Brown projects as an NFL guard, and most pre-draft projections had him going in the Round 4-5 area. He’s a wide-body mauler type with 40 games of college starting experience at Louisville, and obviously the Rams had a higher opinion as they took him early in Round 3.

We’ll find out soon enough if the Rams’ assessment was right. But strictly in terms of being a prospect entering the league, Brown is no Laken Tomlinson — the Duke player considered the best true guard prospect. Similarly, Havenstein is no Andrus Peat, the Stanford project considered the best left tackle prospect in the draft.

Three years from now, those draft ratings might seem ridiculous. But for now, Gurley better be plenty good. And plenty good right away. Because in an already-stacked backfield, he looks like a luxury pick right now.

For those reasons, our instant grade on the Rams’ draft class of 2015 is C+.