Rams' new O-line coach sees a young group he can work withBy Alden Gonzalez
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Aaron Kromer, the Los Angeles Rams' new offensive line coach, said he is "excited" about the group he will now oversee, which, on the surface, sounds odd. Kromer is inheriting a collection of offensive linemen who were nothing short of dreadful throughout the 2016 season. They couldn't open holes for their star running back, Todd Gurley, and they couldn't keep their franchise quarterback, Jared Goff, upright.
Not much to be excited about, unless you ask Kromer.
"The reason is the youth," Kromer said. "When you look at it, there’s not many offensive lines in the league that have second- and third-year players across the board, other than the center with five. It’s got to be one of the youngest groups in the league, and the backups are just as young."
Kromer mistakenly omitted Rodger Saffold, a seven-year veteran who might have been the Rams' best offensive lineman this past season. But besides that, he's right. Outside of Saffold and center Tim Barnes, an undrafted free agent from 2011, the Rams' offensive line is awfully young, a product of the seven draft picks used on the position from 2014 to '15.
That includes left tackle Greg Robinson (the second overall pick in 2014), right tackle Rob Havenstein (second round in 2015) and the three linemen who started at right guard this past season: Jamon Brown (third round in 2015), Cody Wichmann (sixth round in 2015) and Andrew Donnal (fourth round in 2015). Besides David Arkin, a fourth-round pick in 2011, all of the incumbent backups have completed no more than three NFL seasons, including Demetrius Rhaney (seventh round in 2014), Darrell Williams (undrafted in 2015) and Pace Murphy (undrafted in 2016).
Kromer believes he can still mold them.
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