Why Steve Avila's clearest path to playing time is at guard, not center

[theramswire.usatoday.com] Why Steve Avila's clearest path to playing time is at guard, not center

Cameron DaSilva
April 29, 2023 8:55 am PT
The Los Angeles Rams didn’t waste any time addressing their holes on the offensive line Friday night in the draft, using their top pick at No. 36 overall to fortify the trenches. They selected TCU lineman Steve Avila, whose versatility unsurprisingly piqued the Rams’ interest.

He played more than 1,000 snaps each at guard and center in college, also lining up at tackle when needed, too. That position flexibility is a big part of what drew the Rams to him on Day 2, something fellow guard O’Cyrus Torrence doesn’t have.

The question now is where Avila will play. He shouldn’t have much trouble getting on the field early as a second-round pick, but the Rams aren’t going to hand him a starting job. It’ll be earned, as Sean McVay said for all of their offensive linemen, but it’s pretty obvious that Avila’s clearest path to playing time is at guard.

That’s in large part because of Brian Allen’s contract situation. The Rams restructured his deal this offseason, which makes it really difficult to cut him and move on without taking on significant financial pain.

If the Rams cut Allen before June 1, they’ll eat $6.2 million in dead money, which is $3.15 million more than it would cost them to keep him on the roster. A post-June 1 cut doesn’t net the Rams any savings, but that would add $3.1 million in dead money this year and next – something they probably don’t want to do.

McVay wouldn’t say where Avila will play initially, but he does strongly believe he can play either guard or center.

“He’s a guy that I think can play guard or center,” McVay said. “We’ve got some competitive spots and we want to be able to create competition on this roster and we’ve got guys that have played a lot of football. But I do think that competition brings out the best in players. Everything is going to be earned. Nothing is going to be given. And I think that’s going to be a consistent narrative and theme that you’ll see that’ll give us the best chance to be the best team we can be. Steve will play guard and center, but we’ll see how that unfolds. But (we) want to be able to have enough guys that can snap the football, but I think he can play any of those interior spots.”

At guard, Avila will be competing with Coleman Shelton, Logan Bruss, Tremayne Anchrum Jr. and possibly either Alaric Jackson or Joe Noteboom. That’s a lot of competition for the rookie but he has a high ceiling and his pass blocking is impressive.

If the Rams are truly going to make their O-line a meritocracy, it’s possible Avila could start at center and make Allen a backup – an expensive one at that. But for now, it’s easier to project his path to playing time at guard instead.