[Dare]

I think we will probably be looking at 2 new OTs this coming season. I see the Rams offering Jackson an above average contract (2 years with perhaps a 3rd option year) but I think it will fall short of his expectations of top dollar. So IMO Jackson will move on.

The Rams carried Conor McDermott all year on IR when they could have reached an injury settlement. I think McDermott looks like a bridge candidate for either OT position. McDermott reminds me of Nsekhe back in 2022. An older OT but with gas in his tank. He can play either side and even at OG. At the very least I see Conor replacing Noteboom as a swing OT/OG. I see the Rams drafting at least one OT in the first two days with a second OT on the third day. Curiously the Rams are sticking with Arcuri which is surprising after his disaster starting at LT. Are they going to look at him at RT? That said I think they will look at McClendon whose heavy feet has been exposed at times, and Leveston who has lighter feet but whose forte is more as a run blocker.

Their run defense needs two players. They need a NT/DT and a thumper ILB. Both can be had in FA with two good players. I think they need to resign Greg Gaines who is due to hit the FA market and as speculated in the media, trade for Alex Anzalone from Detroit. Alex is 30 or at least in his early 30's but still playing at a high level. He's far better than Hummel or Rozeboom in both run and pass defense. Anzalone and Speights would allow Shula to move to a base nickel scheme. Gaines is better than anyone the Rams have had at NT/DT since. People don't know but that last crucial 3rd down stop in the SB it was Gaines that made the initial contact on the RB with AD cleaning up.

I think the Rams view Forbes as their first round CB pick for this year. So by extending Witherspoon they are set with their boundary CBs as Shula plays zone where he uses Wallace if he wants a dime. With an ILB like Anzalone Shula can play a nickel as his base with Durant, Witherspoon and Forbes.

At RB I think they will simply stand pat and allow Williams to playout his contract and be a comp pick. That said I can see more of a shift to Corum in the balance of carries. Schrader gives them a better #3 or even #2 if Williams is traded. The Rams need a second round pick and I think Williams can bring them that in a trade.

I think Atwell is allowed to walk as he could bring them a good comp pick and he no longer fits the scheme. What limited role he plays can be handled by Smith who has good speed and returns punts as well.

I see Kupp as trade bait likely with Detroit for Anzalone. Kupp will go to a QB he likes and a legit contender which they owe him as he brought a Lombardi to LA.

TE is a position of need to develop for 2026 and I see them drafting Higbee's replacement this year. I see Parkinson being released, and possibly Long as well. This year they will probably be Higbee, Davis Allen, and a rookie.

The Rams WR room: Robinson (extended), Nacua, Whittington, Smith, Johnson and rookie

I anticipate Hoecht being extended as he is a good rotational edge and a good STs weapon.

Starting QB: Stafford or Garoppolo

In summary:

Veteran acquisitions: Alex Anzalone (trade with Kupp) and Greg Gaines (FA)

Draft:
Priority assuming Williams is traded for a 2nd round pick: QB, LT, ILB, TE

Secondary priority: RT, WR, NT, CB

[Youngblood22]

Just a thought what about Kupp playing tight end? He can block and catch. I would love to see him get into coaching, he's a natural.

[TheDeacon75]

As good as a blocker Kupp is vs cb's and lbs, I think he may get lit up against dlineman when having to block them.

[AvengerRam]

The Oline has the potential to be very different next year. Avila and Dotson are back for sure. The rest are varying degrees of questionable...

Center - the starter is on the roster and signed for 2025. Beaux Limmer has the inside track, though I presume that Jonah Jackson will get a chance to compete.

RT - Rob Havenstein is entering the final year of his contact. He'll be 33 when next season starts. His cap number $11.3M is very reasonable and the savings for letting him go (less than $4M) should not motivate the team to move on from him, so I'm presuming he'll be back.

[Elvis]

Center - the starter is on the roster and signed for 2025. Beaux Limmer has the inside track, though I presume that Jonah Jackson will get a chance to compete.

RT - Rob Havenstein is entering the final year of his contact. He'll be 33 when next season starts. His cap number $11.3M is very reasonable and the savings for letting him go (less than $4M) should not motivate the team to move on from him, so I'm presuming he'll be back.

Limmer seems likely to me too but with Jackson, also seems like they need to trade him or try and get him into the starting lineup. Their original plan for the line got wrecked by injuries, not sure if they'll want to go back to it or ride with Limmer who's been really good and is a great deal on his rookie contract.

McVay and Havs both talked about the possibility of him retiring so that's at least out there...

[actionjack]

Stafford adjusted his contract on the first day of camp last year so could be till July on him...

Sounds like McVay and company dont want to repeat that So I think something gets worked out way ahead of TC.

[Elvis]

Sounds like McVay and company dont want to repeat that So I think something gets worked out way ahead of TC.

Definitely. McVay was clear about that.

[actionjack]

Definitely. McVay was clear about that.

I mean it has to be an integral part of the plan. Without Stafford not much else matters right.
We would have to enter the Darnold sweepstakes..ugh

[Elvis]

Is this the Rams trying to butter up Bobby Brown or jack up his price for his next team?

[Dare]

Right now IMO the biggest question marks on the OL are Alaric Jackson and Rob Havenstein.

I think the Rams will offer a value oriented contract, i.e. based upon his performance. As I've been saying Jackson has been good but he's not elite. So I think they will offer him a better than average contract in the range of $7.5M / year. I don't believe he will accept it gambling he can make more from another team. IMO he's not worth more. He's on par with Ronnie Stanley now 30 years old looking at free agency out of Baltimore. Stanley has been a good not elite LT and would provide an affordable option for a 2 maybe 3 year option at LT.

Havenstein is entering an option year and IMO his injury came at the worst possible juncture for him. It only highlighted the issue with an aging OL player. I don't see him being extended and I think the Rams will look at McClendon, and Leveston as possible starters at RT. McDermott will probably replace Noteboom at swing OT or could be a bridge at either OT should they need one.

As we have seen McClendon has the same kind of heavy feet as Havenstein making both of them vulnerable to wide 9 speed. Leveston looks to have better feet but how much better will only be known in TC. I think he was drafted as a possible replacement for Dotson when his contract expires. This will be essentially a contract year for Kevin with next year though technically under contract it's an option year for the Rams. Leveston's best fit would seem to be at RG so it wouldn't surprise me if the Rams drafted two OTs that are viewed as OTs not OG conversion types like Leveston & McClendon.

I think the main take away will be that the Rams aren't going to be big spenders in FA market. They might look at overlooked moderately priced relatively young talent (coming off their rookie contracts) like Curl or Forbes but that will probably be the extent of their forays into the FA market. The only exception might be a LT vet with 2-3 years left in his tank, who would play on a middle of the road positional contract, i.e. someone like Stanley. A good LT normally takes one to two years to develop into a good NFL player especially those taken in day 2 & 3 like most will be this year. That said it wouldn't surprise me if McDermott and someone like Stanley started as 2 year bridge OTs over 2025 and 2026.

I expect the Rams to extend Jimmy G to start while they draft a QB to develop behind him. I think if they take a legit RB threat in this year's draft it will go a long ways in protecting Jim and IMO is the next evolution in Sean's offense. An Aker's type of RB threat that can run inside which Akers simply lacked the vision and agility to do. That type of RB threat is crucial to complete the offense by making it a true multi-dimensional threat unit. You simply have to look at the Niners with McCaffery paired with Purdy who isn't an elite QB talent but is a very good fit in that offense. The problem in SF isn't Purdy it's the inconsistent health of McCaffery.

I can see the Rams draft being: QB first round, OT's third round (x2), and if they can get a 4th round pick for Kupp then run stuffers ILB and NT in the 4th round.

They are 3 deep at safety with Lake, Curl and Kinchens. They are 3 deep at CB (assuming they extend Witherspoon) with Ahkello, Durant and Forbes. With the exception of ILB and NT they need simple depth on the defense.

There could be a surprise signing at NT as the Rams should re-sign Gaines. Greg was better than anyone they had last year. He's a pure 1T and Morris wanted to play 0T (two gap) at NT. Shula normally plays a 1T NT.