Rams OL thread

[Zooey]

zn wrote:

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.

Well, let’s see…

6 over 10 is 6/10, or 60% , multiplied by 5 = 300.

So Matthew Stafford should pass for 300 yards behind that line. It’s just math.

[zn]

Los Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
Kevin Dotson had the highest Offensive Grade (91.3) and Run Blocking Grade (93.5) among all OL in the Divisional Round (min 80% snaps played), per @PFF.

…

So that’s out of 8 teams or 40 OL.

[InvaderRam]

zn wrote:

Los Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
Kevin Dotson had the highest Offensive Grade (91.3) and Run Blocking Grade (93.5) among all OL in the Divisional Round (min 80% snaps played), per @PFF.

…

So that’s out of 8 teams or 40 OL.

hopefully he can shake some of that rust off.

[Zooey]

InvaderRam wrote:

hopefully he can shake some of that rust off.

LOL

[zn]

OT Warren McClendon’s cousin is a WR coach for Tampa:

Matt Zenitz@mzenitz
The Falcons have submitted an offensive coordinator interview request for Buccaneers wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon, sources tell @CBSSports.

[zn]

NFL Researcher@NFL_Researcher
The Rams staring 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]

LAFB Network@LAFBNetwork
Warren McClendon allowed the lowest pressure rate in 2025 at 2.94 percent. Still think they need to draft a first round tackle?

[zn]

NFL Fashion Advice@fashion_nfl
If you want an All-Pro tackle, you need to expend premium draft capital. Over the last five seasons and across the 20 total AP All-Pro tackle slots, 95% were first rounders and 90% were taken 13th or earlier.

[zn]

Geoff Schwartz@geoffschwartz
There aren’t enough quality offensive lineman in the NFL. Just the way it’s been trending. Many reasons for it but one or two injuries and you’re screwed.

…

Rich Hribar@LordReebs
Every teams most-often used OL combo (not even the best unit) last year and the overall play % of that group.

Your team does not have enough offensive linemen.

[zn]

from PFF: Highest-graded guards from the 2025 NFL season:n — https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-highest-graded-players-2025-nfl-season

3. Kevin Dotson, Los Angeles Rams (87.3)
Since arriving in Los Angeles in 2023, Dotson has quietly rounded into one of the premier guards in football. He turned in his best season to date in 2025 with a career-best 87.3 overall PFF grade and a 90.3 PFF run-blocking mark. Moreover, Dotson’s 3.8% pressure rate was the 12th-best at the position.

9. Steve Avila, Los Angeles Rams – 75.0

Avila also developed immensely during his third pro season, compiling a career-high 75.0 overall PFF grade. His 3.3% pressure rate given up was the fifth-highest among guards, and his 72.3 PFF run-blocking grade placed 12th. The Rams have a very bright future between him and Dotson.

from PFF: Highest-graded centers from the 2025 NFL season: https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-highest-graded-centers-2025-nfl-season

10. Coleman Shelton, Los Angeles Rams (70.9)

After one season in Chicago (2024), Shelton returned to the Rams in 2025, where he played from 2019 to 2023. It was an up-and-down season for the eighth-year veteran, who recorded a career-high 77.2 PFF run-blocking grade (seventh) and also the fifth-worst PFF pass-blocking grade (53.1) among centers.

Since 2023, Shelton ranks 11th in PFF run-blocking grade (78.2) among centers. He excels in the Rams’ zone-blocking scheme, where he earned a sixth-ranked 82.1 PFF run-blocking grade in 2025.

Shelton is sometimes a liability in pass protection, having allowed the fourth-most pressures in the same span (86). Although he ranks near the bottom in pass protection (56.4 PFF pass-blocking grade since 2023, ninth worst), his pressure rate has gradually gone down in each of the past three seasons.

from PFF, Highest-graded tackles from the 2025 NFL season: https://www.pff.com/news/highest-graded-tackles-from-the-2025-nfl-season-penei-sewell-leads-the-pack

8. Alaric Jackson, Los Angeles Rams – 84.2

The Rams re-signed Jackson to a lucrative three-year deal last spring, and he was yet again strong in protecting Matthew Stafford’s blindside. Jackson’s 84.2 overall PFF grade was a new watermark for him, and he also improved his run-blocking with a career-best 86.1 grade. Further, Jackson was sound again in pass protection with a 75.8 PFF pass-blocking grade and a 96.7 pass-blocking efficiency score.

[zn]

Me: Different sites measure pressure rate differently.

…

PFSN@PFSN365
📊 NFL offensive tackles with the lowest pressure rates allowed in 2025, per TruMedia:

Lane Johnson, PHI – 2.8%
Garett Bolles, DEN – 2.9%
Andrew Thomas, NYG – 3.1%
Warren McClendon Jr, LAR – 3.1%
Darnell Wright, CHI – 3.2%
Jermaine Eluemunor, NYG – 3.3%
Penei Sewell, DET – 3.3%
Laremy Tunsil, WAS – 3.4%
Tytus Howard, HOU – 3.8%
Trent Brown, HOU – 4.1%

NFL Researcher@NFL_Researcher
The Rams staring 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)

[zn]

LandonTengwall@LandonTengwall
For the folks who ask “why is Offensive Line play not as physical anymore?”

This is a huge reason why. Presnap stemming, slanting, twists, etc are at an all time high. It makes OL hesitant and question their rules and it’s VERY hard to be physical when you can’t play 100% speed

[zn]

Vid + article

…

Old article from 2025.

***

Kevin Dotson Reveals Why He Didn’t Fit Steelers
Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Kevin Dotson went into detail on why his tenure with the team never quite worked out.

https://www.si.com/nfl/steelers/onsi/news/kevin-dotson-reveals-didnt-fit-pittsburgh-steelers

A former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman has spoken out on why he ultimately wasn’t able to find much success with the team to begin his NFL career.

Kevin Dotson, who Pittsburgh selected in the fifth round of the 2020 draft, recently appeared on the “Inside Coverage” podcast and went into detail on why the organization ultimately never felt like a good fit for him.

“It’s one of those things where, I wasn’t used to being cold all the time, to start off,” Dotson said, per Steelers Depot’s Troy Montgomery. “There wasn’t a lot of sun there. Not a lot of stuff to do. It was like a culture shock, and it really wasn’t in too positive of a way.

“I love the team overall, but there was definitely some stuff behind the scenes that you’re like, ‘Oh, man.’ It kind of ruined the experience for me. But I still loved being down there, the time I was down there.”

Dotson’s Tenure in Pittsburgh

Dotson was born in Mississippi and grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana before attending the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, so it doesn’t come as a huge surprise that living and playing in Pittsburgh was a huge adjustment for him.

He appeared in 13 games for the Steelers as a rookie, starting four of them while essentially splitting his time between left and right guard.

Dotson later started the first nine contests of the 2021 campaign at left guard before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. He was healthy in time for the beginning of the 2022 season and started all 17 games at left guard, but he never truly put it all together with the Steelers.

His time with the team concluded upon being traded to the Los Angeles Rams around the time of final roster cuts in August 2023, as Pittsburgh acquired a 2024 fourth-round pick and 2025 fifth-rounder for Dotson, a 2024 fifth-round selection and 2025 sixth-rounder.

Dotson didn’t fit in Pittsburgh primarily due to a mismatch with the Steelers’ offensive scheme, a forced move to his less-preferred left side of the line, and a lack of coaching alignment. He thrived only after moving to his natural right guard spot with the Rams, highlighting a misalignment between his strengths and Pittsburgh’s

Dotson did not fit the specific style of offensive line play the Steelers were looking for during his time there, despite showing promise as a run-blocking “masher”.

How Dotson Trade Has Worked Out

The Steelers signed left guard Isaac Seumalo to a three-year deal in free agency ahead of the 2023 campaign while also having James Daniels at right guard, which made Dotson expendable.

He’s gone on to become a key piece of the Rams’ offense over the past three years, though, starting 38 games while moving to right guard full-time. Dotson was rewarded with a three-year extension worth $48 million in March 2024, and it appears that he’s fully in his element now that he’s residing in California as opposed to Pittsburgh.

For as much as the Steelers may be kicking themselves about parting ways with Dotson amidst his turnaround, a change of scenery was likely necessary for him to truly develop into the player he’s become today.

[Author]

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