Rams OL thread

[zn]

Warren McClendon Jr. has become one of the league’s top offensive tackles statistically in Rob Havenstein’s absence

Wyatt Miller

https://www.therams.com/news/feature-warren-mcclendon-jr-has-become-one-of-the-top-offensive-tackles-statistically-rob-havenstein-injury

Backup offensive linemen are usually the players that opposing defenses pick on. They are thrown into the fire with little-to-no reps alongside the rest of the starters and forced into one of the toughest roles in the sport.

Therefore, it’s extremely uncommon for a backup offensive lineman to enter the starting lineup sporadically and lead the league in pressure and sack rate allowed at his position. But that’s what Rams offensive lineman Warren McClendon Jr. has done.

Among offensive tackles with at least 200 pass blocking snaps, McClendon has allowed the lowest pressure rate in the NFL at 1.9%, according to Next Gen Stats, and hasn’t given up a sack. He’s been a brick wall at one of the most important positions on the field, and one that’s essential to the Rams’ scheme given their proclivity for outside zone runs and play-action bootleg passes.

But for McClendon, those are just insignificant numbers. His main priority is not letting down his teammates and the future Hall of Fame quarterback that’s slinging it behind him. So far, he hasn’t.

“I’m just doing my job,” McClendon told theRams.com. “I really try not to get too big in on the stats and stuff like that. Just trying to do my job. I don’t want to let anybody down.”

In his third NFL season, McClendon has emerged as a starting-caliber player and a potential long-term successor to 33-year-old Rob Havenstein. More extensive film study and an increased understanding of the offensive system has helped facilitate McClendon’s breakout season.

Havenstein missed Weeks 5-7 with an ankle injury, and has been on Injured Reserve since Week 12. But his presence in the facility has been a huge help to McClendon, who often picks his brain, along with other veterans in the offensive line unit, to see how they approach certain situations.

Even during games, Havenstein will give McClendon tips, he said on Rams Revealed, whether it’s a critique on his set, the depth of his drop or how he’s using his hands. Havenstein is always looking for ways to support his 24-year-old teammate.

“After every series, he’ll come up to me and be like, ‘Hey, good series there or, hey, I saw this,'” McClendon said.

His film study during the week has also evolved thanks to Havenstein and other veterans. He’s now noticing things he “wasn’t even thinking about” last season, including nuances like how players’ stances change on different downs and distances, and what tendencies that may indicate. He’s anticipating defenders’ movements rather than guessing.

Plus, center Coleman Shelton always puts his fellow blockers in the right spots with pre-snap communication and clear protection calls. That’s been beneficial for McClendon in both the run and pass game.

“Just having (Shelton) basically just tell everybody what they’re doing so I can just go do it, I’m not thinking, and I can just kind of play free,” McClendon said.

That newfound confidence and self-assured play style hasn’t gone unnoticed by the coaching staff.

“I think the totality of his body of work, whether it’s in protection, run game, ownership and understanding (has improved),” said head coach Sean McVay. “The way that he’s worked has allowed him to be able to have good experiences when he’s playing in these real games.”

“I think his physical and playing maturity (has improved) if that makes sense,” said offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. “Everything has just calmed down for him.”

When McClendon has been on the field in pass protection this season, the Rams have allowed just a 20.7% pressure rate and 2.9% sack rate with an average time to throw of 2.78 seconds. The league average for teams in those categories are as follows: 34.1% pressure rate, 6.4% sack rate and a 2.83-second time to throw, according to Next Gen Stats. So, with McClendon at right tackle, they are allowing significantly less pressure and fewer sacks with a time to throw that’s similar to the average team.

And one might argue that the Rams’ increase in 13 personnel sets may have given him extra help in pass protection, but that hasn’t been a factor in his success. In addition to total pressure rate allowed, McClendon has also allowed the lowest pressure rate in one-on-one situations at just 2.5%, according to Next Gen Stats. And his impact has been felt on the ground as well.

When the Rams run the ball in McClendon’s direction, they average 5.7 yards per carry, a 57.8% success rate (plays that keep the offense on schedule to score on a given possession), 1.6 yards before contact and a 12.5% stuff rate (carries that go for zero or fewer yards), according to Next Gen Stats. Here are the league averages in those stats for all designed runs: 4.3 yards per carry, 41.8% success rate, 1.0 yards before contact and an 18.0% stuff rate. Those differences are more than significant, they’re monumental.

Of course, these are team-wide stats that aren’t solely reflective of McClendon’s impact, but of the Rams’ schematic success that McClendon has directly contributed to. Still, it isn’t a coincidence that Los Angeles has been one of the most successful offenses in football in both phases when he’s on the field.

That reality may be surprising to some, because of how backup offensive linemen are typically targeted by defenses, but to the teammates that see him putting in work on a daily basis, this emergence has been a long time coming.

“He’s not the type of guy that you have to worry about messing up something,” said offensive lineman Kevin Dotson. “He knows what to do. He’s good at taking coaching, he’s good with taking criticism, stuff like that, knows it’s never from a hostile place or anything like that and takes it and uses it the next play. You’ll see it, you’ll see the improvement on the next time because he’s not gonna let it happen again.”

The nature of football is forward-thinking, however. For all the success he’s had, the focus is always on the next game, and Week 15 will bring McClendon’s toughest challenge yet in defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. LaFleur described Hutchinson as “an absolute freak” who ranks second in the NFL in quarterback pressures with 75, according to Next Gen Stats.

But, like most weeks, McClendon was in the film room with Havenstein after practices, studying tendencies and preparing for battle against one of the league’s best.

[zn]

When McClendon has been on the field in pass protection this season, the Rams have allowed just a 20.7% pressure rate and 2.9% sack rate with an average time to throw of 2.78 seconds. The league average for teams in those categories are as follows: 34.1% pressure rate, 6.4% sack rate and a 2.83-second time to throw, according to Next Gen Stats. So, with McClendon at right tackle, they are allowing significantly less pressure and fewer sacks with a time to throw that’s similar to the average team.

And one might argue that the Rams’ increase in 13 personnel sets may have given him extra help in pass protection, but that hasn’t been a factor in his success. In addition to total pressure rate allowed, McClendon has also allowed the lowest pressure rate in one-on-one situations at just 2.5%, according to Next Gen Stats. And his impact has been felt on the ground as well.

When the Rams run the ball in McClendon’s direction, they average 5.7 yards per carry, a 57.8% success rate (plays that keep the offense on schedule to score on a given possession), 1.6 yards before contact and a 12.5% stuff rate (carries that go for zero or fewer yards), according to Next Gen Stats. Here are the league averages in those stats for all designed runs: 4.3 yards per carry, 41.8% success rate, 1.0 yards before contact and an 18.0% stuff rate. Those differences are more than significant, they’re monumental.

😯

[zn]

Jeremy Reisman@DetroitOnLion
Dear God.

The Rams’ OL is an absolute machine in run blocking. Here are their PFF run blocking grades:

LT: 88.7, 2nd among all OTs
LG: 78.1, 6th among all Gs
C: 83.8, 4th among all Cs
RG: 87.5, 4th among all Gs
RT: 86.9, 6th among all OTs

[InvaderRam]

we must have the best pair of guards in the nfl. i haven’t looked at the entire list, but dotson and avila both rank in the top 5.

and then you got mcclendon at right tackle who ranks 11th and jackson at 7th. both among all tackles.

even coleman shelton ranks 9th among centers.

wow. and avila is the highest drafted player among the five. he was drafted in the second round. a testament to the players listed as well as the oline coach.

stafford and williams should be buying these guys some nice christmas presents this year.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by InvaderRam.

[Zooey]

InvaderRam wrote:

we must have the best pair of guards in the nfl. i haven’t looked at the entire list, but dotson and avila both rank in the top 5.

and then you got mcclendon at right tackle who ranks 11th and jackson at 7th. both among all tackles.

even coleman shelton ranks 9th among centers.

wow. and avila is the highest drafted player among the five. he was drafted in the second round. a testament to the players listed as well as the oline coach.

stafford and williams should be buying these guys some nice christmas presents this year.

[zn]

InvaderRam wrote:

wow. and avila is the highest drafted player among the five. he was drafted in the second round. a testament to the players listed as well as the oline coach.

Well to put it all down in black n white.

LOT. Jackson is a UDFA. As such he joins all the other on-a-2nd-contract-as-a-team-franchise-LOT types in NFL history.
LOG. Avila, as mentioned a 2nd rounder, making him from loftier origins than the others.
OC. Shelton, a bounce-around “ronin” type. Originally a UDFA who signed with SF in 2017. Went to the Arizon practice squad in 2018. Rams signed him in 2019. Eventually started all of 2023 for the Rams. Rams let him walk to Chicago as a FA in 2024, then re-signed him in 2025. Helps I suppose that Rams OL coach Ryan Wendell was a former starting OC for NE (played in super bowl XLIX). His contract avg. with the Rams is 6 M, which ranks 10th among centers.
OG. Dotson, originally a 4th round pick by Steelers in 2020, traded to Rams for a switch of Rams 4th and 5th round picks for Pitt’s 5th and 6th round picks. Acquisition type: “bargain trade.”
ROT: McClendon, 5th round pick in 2023. That has to be the best 5th round in NFL drafting history. Rams 2023 5th rounders: McClendon, TE Dennis Allen, Nacua.

And I agree IR, a lot of this is the OL coach. Rams have had a long list of top-notch OL coaches (Hanifan, Boudreau, Kromer). IMO, Ryan Wendell is even a notch above.

We’ll see if he turns out to be on a par with the best of them from Rams history: Hudson Houck (83-91). But then Houck had multiple high picks to work with (Pankey = 2nd, Kent Hill = 1st, Harrah = 1st, Slater = 3rd). In contrast, Wendell has made the most out of a lot of bargain “finds.”

So yeah I credit Wendell for a lot of this. It’s not just the coaching, unlike other Rams OL coaches I named he is also good at finding draft picks too. Avila and McClendon were both drafted in 2023, Wendell’s first year with the Rams. You have to go back to 1997 to find the last time Rams landed 2 good OL in one draft (Pace and Tucker). (Before that it was Harrah and France in 1975).

Also, this OL has been relatively injury free. Avila was out for a while, then Hav. As Rams fans know only too well, OL injuries only really get bad when you have multiple starters all out at the same time.

[InvaderRam]

zn wrote:

ROT: McClendon, 5th round pick in 2023. That has to be the best 5th round in NFL drafting history. Rams 2023 5th rounders: McClendon, TE Dennis Allen, Nacua.

well. that 2023 draft class as a whole.

steve avila
byron young
kobie turner
warren mcclendon
davis allen
puka nacua
ethan evans

no first rounder. my goodness.

probably not a hofer among them but a very solid foundation for a winning football team.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by InvaderRam.

[InvaderRam]

FILM: Los Angeles Rams ARE A WAGON!; How Sean McVay adapted Rams offense on the fly

The OLine Committee | NFL Offensive Line Podcast

Jeremiah Sirles, Alex Boone and Phil Mackey break down film of the Los Angeles Rams’ run game decimating the Arizona Cardinals! The boys explain how Sean McVay has evolved his personnel groupings and scheme to put defenses in impossible situations — let Matthew Stafford carve you up, or allow the Rams’ run game to gain massive chunks?

[InvaderRam]

InvaderRam wrote:

probably not a hofer among them but a very solid foundation for a winning football team.

oops. forgot about puka there….

[InvaderRam]

[zn]

from PFF, NFL offensive line rankings ahead of Week 16: https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-offensive-line-rankings-week-16-2025?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dhtwitter&utm_content=null

2. Los Angeles Rams

Projected Week 16 starters:
LT Alaric Jackson
LG Steve Avila
C Coleman Shelton
RG Kevin Dotson
RT Warren McClendon Jr.

The Rams’ offensive line didn’t skip a beat despite losing right tackle Rob Havenstein. Warren McClendon Jr., in his stead, earned an 84.2 PFF run-blocking grade in Week 15 against the Lions, and his 90.1 PFF run-blocking grade on the season ranks third among offensive tackles.

All five Rams starters rank among the top 10 players at their position in PFF overall grade.

Best player: Kevin Dotson
Dotson’s 86.1 PFF overall grade this season ranks second among all guards.

[zn]

zn wrote:

Warren McClendon Jr…. earned an 84.2 PFF run-blocking grade in Week 15 against the Lions, and his 90.1 PFF run-blocking grade on the season ranks third among offensive tackles.

And that was going against Detroit’s prize DE, Aidan Hutchinson, who is 4th in the league in pressures and 11th in sacks (just behind Maxx Crosby).

(Byron Young btw is 7th in sacks)

[zn]

I’ve said this before but IMO it bears repeating.

This regime, with Wendell as the OL coach, has an advantage we have not seen for decades.

The Rams have a long list of good OL coaches, and a great one (Houck in the 80s). They’ve had Kromer, Boudreau, Hanifan. But unlike Wendell, those guys could not draft OL well.

2023 gave the Rams both Avila and McClendon. The last time the Rams found two good OL starters in the same draft was 99 (Pace and Tucker) and that took trading up for the 1st pick. Before that, it was France and Harrah in 75. So that’s 50 years. (Btw I don’t count Barron as good enough to be on this list, so I don’t count Barron and Ignito from 2005.)

The point? With Wendell, they can both draft and develop OL. That most likely means there will be more. 1 or 2 may even be on the roster already.

[InvaderRam]

zn wrote:

This regime, with Wendell as the OL coach, has an advantage we have not seen for decades.

i don’t know what his aspirations are. if he wants to eventually be an offensive coordinator or more. i do know that he’s from this area. so i imagine he’s motivated to stay here if he only wants to be an oline coach. if i’m the rams i’m doing everything i can to keep him here.

[zn]

InvaderRam wrote:

i don’t know what his aspirations are. if he wants to eventually be an offensive coordinator or more. i do know that he’s from this area. so i imagine he’s motivated to stay here if he only wants to be an oline coach. if i’m the rams i’m doing everything i can to keep him here.

Just as a general rule, OL coaches stay as OL coaches. They tend to become head coaches at a far lesser rate than OCs and DCs, and very rarely become OCs themselves.

An OL coach is a kind of unique position. They’re responsible for a lot, and that includes not just coaching individuals of course but coordinating an entire unit so they are all physically choreographed in precise ways. Plus they invariably have a say in acquiring new players (no GM in their right mind drafts an OL player the OL coach doesn’t want…that’s true of all position but it is even more true of OL). In a lot of ways, a team needs continuity on the OL–you can switch up coordinators fairly often but with the OL coach you want the same things year in and year out. So it’s not just that they tend not to move, the other side of the same coin is that if they have a guy they like teams tend to keep them. For example, the great Dante Scarnecchia, who coach the Patz OL for years. (Wendell btw was coached under Scarnecchia for 5 years as a Patz O-lineman).

[InvaderRam]

zn wrote:

Just as a general rule, OL coaches stay as OL coaches. They tend to become head coaches at a far lesser rate than OCs and DCs, and very rarely become OCs themselves.

well. hopefully he doesn’t. and also. they should make him the highest paid oline coach in the league. if he really does want to remain an oline coach.

[zn]

Nate Atkins@NateAtkins_
A defensive coach who faced the Rams this season called Kevin Dotson “the engine of their run game.”

He’s one of four players the Rams must get healthy enough to make the run they want to make

***

from Atkins: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6935178/2026/01/02/rams-quentin-lake-late-season-form/?source=emp_shared_article

Alaric Jackson and Kevin Dotson

The biggest key to the Rams’ midseason offensive explosion wasn’t the use of 13-personnel or Stafford or Nacua or Adams; after all, McVay has long created strong passing games through the wide receivers.

The offensive line’s dominance in creating the most balanced offense in the league made the difference.

It was harder to see coming than those other forces, because the Rams do not boast a Pro Bowler in that group. They have a couple of players who had legitimate cases this season, excelling in different phases while being strong enough in the other. And then they had to play without Jackson and Dotson against the Falcons, and a ferocious front swallowed the line up too often.

Jackson is arguably the Rams’ best pass protector, a rock-solid piece on Stafford’s blind side who is key to protecting that degenerative back issue and making his quarterback feel confident to work progressions at a time when Stafford is also trying to avoid hits to extend his career. Jackson suffered a knee injury out of the Seattle loss that ultimately sidelined him last week, and since Warren McClendon Jr. was already filling in for Rob Havenstein at right tackle, it meant going to a 32-year-old fourth tackle in DJ Humphries.

The Rams felt the sting. Humphries was flagged on two explosive Nacua plays and was also beaten on a 4th-and-1 run play to Kyren Williams that the Falcons thwarted in the red zone.

Jackson has returned to practice, and the Rams expect him to play Sunday against the Cardinals. What could also help the situation for the playoffs is if Havenstein returns from injured reserve to allow McClendon to fill in at left tackle if he’s ever needed, though Havenstein’s status is not yet clear.

Dotson has a murkier outlook. He suffered an injury against Seattle that earned Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall a one-game suspension for stepping on his ankle. After the game, Dotson was in a walking boot, and though the boot has come off, Dotson has only walked gingerly on the sidelines at practice and does not appear particularly close to a return.

The ankle wasn’t broken, though, and so the Rams have hope that he could return if they can launch a run in the postseason. That will require steady enough play from Justin Dedich as a fill-in, and he’s had moments good and bad in five starts. But returning to Dotson at some point, even if he’s not 100 percent, could help get the two-headed backfield of Williams and Blake Corum back to the No. 1 rushing tandem in the NFL as they were entering the Seahawks game.

“He is the real deal,” said an opposing defensive coach who faced the Rams this season. “I see him just knock people off the ball. He is physical and the engine of their run game.”

[zn]

NFL Researcher@NFL_Researcher
The Rams starting OL pressure rate allowed (position rank), per @NextGenStats:

LT Alaric Jackson – 6.9% (5th)
LG Steve Avila – 5.7% (7th)
C Coleman Shelton – 4.0% (8th)
RG Kevin Dotson – 4.1% (1st)
RT Warren McClendon Jr. – 2.4% (1st)

This unit has allowed a 22.5% pressure rate this season, the lowest among any OL combo (minimum 200 snaps together).

[zn]

Los Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
Alaric Jackson and Warren McClendon Jr. are both T-6th in Run Blocking Grade (81.5) among all offensive tackles in the NFL (min 50% snaps played), according to @PFF.

[zn]

The Rams finished with the best Adjusted Line Yards figure in 30 years. This stat measures blocking by cutting runs at specific distances to separate blocking from the RB in the open field. Bills/Bears also historically good. pic.twitter.com/M6SMXG56N1

— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@ASchatzNFL) January 5, 2026

[zn]

Los Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
Kevin Dotson finished the 2025 season ranked third in Offensive Grade (86.4) and Run Blocking Grade (89.3) among all NFL guards (min 50% snaps played), according to
@PFF
.

Among all NFL offensive linemen, Dotson’s Run Blocking Grade ranked 8th while his Offensive Grade ranked 10th.

[Zooey]

zn wrote:

Los Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
Kevin Dotson finished the 2025 season ranked third in Offensive Grade (86.4) and Run Blocking Grade (89.3) among all NFL guards (min 50% snaps played), according to
@PFF
.

Among all NFL offensive linemen, Dotson’s Run Blocking Grade ranked 8th while his Offensive Grade ranked 10th.

That’s great. But is he going to play? Still listed as Questionable, last I saw, and I haven’t seen any details on the injury. High ankle sprain? Bone bruise? Fracture?

[InvaderRam]

Zooey wrote:

That’s great. But is he going to play? Still listed as Questionable, last I saw, and I haven’t seen any details on the injury. High ankle sprain? Bone bruise? Fracture?

rams really need him to come back healthy. so depressing.

[zn]

Los Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
Warren McClendon was 1-of-3 offensive tackles in the NFL this season to allow only 1.0 sack and three or fewer quarterback hits on at least 380 pass blocking snaps (TruMedia).

He finished the season ranked 8th in Offensive Grade (83.5) and 5th in Run Blocking Grade (86.7) among all Tackles (min 50% snaps), per @PFF.

[zn]

from PFF, Final 2025 NFL offensive line rankings: https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-final-2025-nfl-offensive-line-rankings

4. Los Angeles Rams

At full strength, the Rams’ offensive line is arguably the best unit in the league. The biggest development of the second half of the season was almost certainly finding Rob Havenstein’s heir at right tackle. Warren McClendon Jr. has emerged as one of the best players at the position, highlighted by his 83.5 PFF overall grade, which ranked second among all right tackles.

The Rams’ offensive line gave up 154 pressures — including 15 sacks — on 624 snaps during the regular season. As a result, the unit logged an 86.5 PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating, which ranked sixth in the NFL.

[wv]

zn wrote:

4. Los Angeles Rams

At full strength, the Rams’ offensive line is arguably the best unit in the league..

——-

The Oline has ‘quietly’ had a good year. They’ve been good. They havent been ‘dominant’ like say the Eagles line last year, or some of the Detroit lines the last few years, but they’ve been solid.

I dont think any of the losses this year could be pinned on the oline. (one wonders what Marc Bulger thinks as he watches this team on Sundays)

w
v

[zn]

wv wrote:

I dont think any of the losses this year could be pinned on the oline. (one wonders what Marc Bulger thinks as he watches this team on Sundays)

I would put the Atlanta game on the OL, but that was injuries. With, as you know, both Jackson and Dotson out, and Humphries at LOT playing like the rookie from hell.

[zn]

Los Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
Coleman Shelton finished with the 7th-highest Pass Blocking Grade (82.1) among all offensive linemen in Wild Card Weekend (min 80% snaps played), according to @PFF.

[Zooey]

zn wrote:

Los Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
Coleman Shelton finished with the 7th-highest Pass Blocking Grade (82.1) among all offensive linemen in Wild Card Weekend (min 80% snaps played), according to @PFF.

Wild Card weekend = 12 teams x 5 OL = 60.

7 out of 60.

Got it.

[zn]

Zooey wrote:

7 out of 60.

Got it.

Which leads me to ask, how many of the 12 wildcard week teams were top 10 in OL play during the season?

Chicago, LAR, SF, Buffalo, Phil, Pitt. 6.

How many were bottom 10?

LAC, Houston, Jax.

How many of the remaining 8 have top 10 OLs? Denver, Chicago, LAR, SF, Buffalo. 5.

I have no idea what that tells us, if anything. It’s just the kind of question I like to ask.

[Author]

Posts