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IMO, they will address the future LOT need early in next year's draft. It's not so urgent it has to be done this year.
Blythe is good depth on the OL. The rest of the depth is untested but that doesn't mean they have no equivalent depth in terms of talent.
This year, I think they will focus on the D. That's my assessment of what their plan will be.
Untested in games doesn't mean the staff has no idea what they're like as players---what they're capable of. And chances are, as with most teams in the NFL, it's negligible.
And what if Whitworth misses games this year? That means the best they can hope for is to move Saffold to LOT and then they have a hole at guard.
PLUS since Saffold, Brown, and Hav are all FAs after 2018, and Whitworth is 37 at that point, plus Sullivan is older too (after 2018 he will as old as Wells was when people said Wells was too old), then, they face replacing up to 5 guys.
They can't wait till next year. You can't replace 3-5 linemen in one year.
And the hardest to find is a left OT. And the worst thing you can do with a position like that is wait until you need one to get one. Then you're picking for immediate need.
So if a guy is there at pick 23 this year, you have to consider picking him. And in fact the Rams have virtually pretty much said that. [
www.therams.com]
We can play the what if game with several positions.
What if Goff misses considerable time? Or Gurley?
In either of those scenarios, the Rams will likely be in big trouble.
So for me, that's not compelling enough to say that finding a LOT this year will be their highest priority. I still see them viewing defense as the most urgent need.
I had already seen that article and I don't interpret that to be them saying that their even remotely considering picking OL at 23.
Whit was signed to a 3 year contract. If they take care of the future LOT need next year, they're not waiting until they need one since it's still a year early.
As stated earlier, Blythe is good depth that performed well in the snaps he got. But beyond that, Snead has stated many times, that interior O'linemen can be found deep into the draft. My guess is, they draft some this year but wait on LOT.
