There weren’t many offensive lines better than the Los Angeles Rams’ unit last season, if any at all. The Rams won the Offensive Line of the Year award for their play up front in 2018, led by Andrew Whitworth, Rodger Saffold and Rob Havenstein.
Three of the five starters will be back in the mix next season, but two key players are no longer in the picture. Saffold signed with the Titans in free agency and John Sullivan was cut, opening the door for two second-year players to step in as starters.
Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen were drafted last year to be future cogs on the offensive line, which is exactly what they’re expected to be in 2019. Noteboom will likely step in at left guard, while Allen will replace Sullivan at center.
It appears there won’t be much competition at either position despite the Rams adding Bobby Evans and David Edwards in the draft, and also having Jamil Demby on the roster.
“There are some changes. We’ve got a little bit more continuity on the offensive side of the ball, but we’ve got two guys we’re counting on starting up front that need to do a great job of implementing themselves into the language, the vernacular, with Brian Allen and Joe Noteboom. You want to continue to see guys take steps in the right direction,” McVay said Tuesday.
Evans and Edwards were both tackles in college, but after the draft, O-line coach Aaron Kromer said both would work at tackle and guard. Those comments seemed to open the door for the rookies to potentially compete with Noteboom at left guard, or entice the Rams to plug one in at right guard and move Austin Blythe to center (if Allen struggled).
That may not be the case now as the Rams seem set on sticking with Noteboom and Allen inside, barring some real difficulty from either player in camp or the preseason.
