OL rankings: Does LA have a top 10 unit ahead of NFL draft?

OL rankings: Does LA have a top 10 unit ahead of the NFL Draft?
The Rams have invested along the offensive line and on paper it seems to have paid off

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JB Scott



After re-signing Kevin Dotson and landing Jonah Jackson in free agency, the Los Angeles Rams seem set along the offensive line for 2024. Alaric Jackson and Rob Havenstein will return at tackle, and after a promising rookie season at guard Steve Avila will transition to center. On paper, at least, this could be the strongest unit up from for the Rams since their trips to the Super Bowl in 2018 and 2021.

Popular X user and football data analyst Ben Baldwin used Pro Football Focus (PFF) pass protection grades and the current first-string offensive line on Our Lads’ depth charts to rank the starting five for each NFL team. The Rams’ unit ranked eighth behind the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals.

Interestingly enough, the rest of the NFC West found themselves in the lower third or so of the rankings. The San Francisco 49ers were #21 with apparent weaknesses nearly everywhere but left tackle where Trent Williams is still as good as ever. The Arizona Cardinals were fourth from the bottom at #29. In last place were the Seattle Seahawks who didn’t have a single position rate above 70.

Jake Ellenbogen: Are Rams ahead of the league when it comes to OL investment?

Baldwin also posted another graphic that suggests a correlation between average per year spending on the offensive line (according to Over The Cap) and the projected pass protection metric, PEPA, calculated using PFF grades in the first chart. The Rams are among the teams with the heaviest financial investment in their OL, and in the same ballpark are franchises that also rank highly based on their current expected depth chart: the Browns, Eagles, and Panthers. The New York Giants and Houston Texans are also close to the Rams in spending, but they ranked #13 and #20, respectively, in the combined pass protection metric.

That’s positive news for Sean McVay, Les Snead, and the Rams. A big bodied interior with more than 1,000 pounds between Jackson, Avila, and Dotson should be favorable for both Matthew Stafford through the air and Kyren Williams on the ground.

LA’s free agent investment in the offensive line seems to be paying dividends on paper, though it will be a while before we see the unit in action.