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zn
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Rams43
Or maybe just go the FA route again? Not a tier 1, but maybe a tier 2?
Or perhaps extend Boom at a modest price? If Boom can improve his run blocking he could be a fine LOT for some team for a decade or more, IMO. Why not for the Rams?
As an aside, I understand your statistical argument about scarcity of LOT’s beyond the 1st round. I do. But Rams aren’t like most teams. Meaning that they use analytics better, draft better, and Coach up players better than most teams.
So, why couldn’t they find a gem of a future LOT as they do with RB, WR, DL, CB, and S?
You don't count on finding a viable starting LOT in free agency. Teams rarely let guys like that walk. That's just the way the numbers work.
If you look through drafts, the gem future LOT picked in the lower rounds is so rare that it's almost negligible. They are much rarer than the other positions you name. There's a simple reason for that. Although you might have a fairly large number of NFL viable college tackles every draft, only a small percentage of them can play LOT in the NFL. Most end up at guard or ROT. It's like quarterback. There are just not that many human beings on the planet who qualify.
The Rams ARE like most teams on this issue. They have never found a good starting caliber LEFT OT late in the draft--not since Charlie Cowan in 1961.
Honestly, pie in the sky dreaming doesn't work with LOT. The numbers are harsh for a reason.
Though they did luck out with Whitworth in 2017. But he was free because Cincinnati made a horrible mistake and let him walk. So while it can happen it is not the kind of thing you can count on.
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I hear ya, zn. But the RAMS are very resourceful.
They got Big Whit in FA. Woods, Floyd and ARob, too. I believe Darious Williams came via FA, as well.
They got Corbett in a shrewd trade for a measly 5th (point being that he wasn’t considered elite by any means). Stafford and Ramsey came in trades that most fans declared virtually impossible.
And they’ve had tremendous success in the draft, too. Mostly without 1sts and many, many times with 4th-7th rounders plus UDFA’s.
My point is that this Ram FO is perfectly aware of the likely need at LOT and will leave no stone unturned in seeking a qualified player for that position in ‘22. I see no reason to doubt their ability to do this after observing their successes of the last 5 offseasons. A look at this loaded roster speaks for itself considering where they started after that pitiful ‘16 Fisher season.
