ESPN analyst on Rams draft: ‘Now’s the time to get an offensive lineman’

ESPN’s Matt Miller sees someone like Tyler Guyton as a fit for the Rams in the draft

ESPN’s Matt Miller thinks that now is the best time for the Los Angeles Rams to draft an offensive lineman to join a group that has gotten a lot better in the last year already.

“I think they found a steal in Alaric Jackson, he’s been a solid left tackle for them. But Rob Havenstein turns 32 after the draft. Let’s start thinking long-term about building up this offensive line instead of this band-aid unit that they’ve had under Sean McVay. I’m looking at Amarius Mims and Tyler Guyton, they could potentially play left tackle if they needed to, learn under Havenstein for a year. This could be a really good offensive line, you want to keep that continuity going. Now’s the time when you have the quarterback and the wide receivers to get an offensive lineman to elevate the top-five starters that you have out there.”

In draft articles about Mims in the past, I’ve seen pushback in the comments on picking a player who may not be ready right away as Miller is suggesting. Mims didn’t start many games at Georgia but I’ve seen several analysts say that despite his inexperience that his technique and effectiveness were closer to pro ready than others have argued. One such example was this video of veteran analyst Greg Cosell noting that Amarius Mims could be the best offensive tackle in the draft if not for his injury history, in this interview with Inside the Birds:

If the Rams picked Mims, Guyton, or any offensive lineman, Miller is right that McVay not have a place for him to play this season unless there’s an injury or the team parts with Rob Havenstein. Since that is unlikely, the only way for the rookie to play would be to beat A.J. Jackson in a competition at left tackle and there would be a competition. It wouldn’t be handed to the rookie just because he’s a first round pick and Jackson has a significant advantage going into training camp, especially if the rookie doesn’t have a lot of experience like Mims.

Offensive tackle is also not lacking backups as Joe Noteboom, Warren McClendon (a fifth round pick in 2023), and A.J. Arcuri (seventh round, 2022) give L.A. at least above-average depth at the position. Not to suggest that the Rams couldn’t or shouldn’t target a tackle in the first three rounds.

By drafting a player like Mims, Guyton, J.C. Latham, or pick some other tackle, the Rams do attempt to solve several issues at once:

Rob Havenstein might need a replacement between 2024-2025

We have seen what right tackles (and Rams guards) get paid recently, it’s not like a team can just go find a right tackle tomorrow and be fine. Look at the Dolphins: Every time they address a need on the offensive line, something goes wrong.

The Patriots re-signed Mike Onwenu to a $19 million per season contract, and like most important offensive lineman his team didn’t let him leave.

If Havenstein retires or shows signs of decline in the next year, there’s no immediate answer. The best way to address it would be in the draft but if the Rams do it now instead of waiting then they have an entire year to coach the new player or to realize that he’s a bust and look again in 2025. It’s really the safest move to address Havenstein’s potential exit in a year, if that’s even something that they’re expecting.

A.J. Jackson isn’t irreplaceable

At worst, L.A. would have a fallback plan if Jackson was struggling or got injured. At best, the rookie blows everyone away in camp and Jackson is a key reserve or traded.

The Rams need to save money on the offensive line

The team now has two guards making $17 million per season, the best thing the Rams can do is attempt to get cheaper at tackle while Steve Avila is also on his rookie contract.

If the tackle can play guard, it wouldn’t hurt

In addition to Noteboom, who hasn’t been a very good guard in the past, the Rams have Logan Bruss, Zach Thomas, and Grant Miller backing up their two big investments. That is not very good depth. If the Rams pick someone like Graham Barton out of Duke, they would be getting a player who is thought to be a five-position offensive lineman. Therefore, even if Barton is starting at left tackle, if there’s an injury to Kevin Dotson or Jonah Jackson, Barton could slide inside and Jackson could replace him at tackle.

Barton’s stock has gone up since the combine and now it wouldn’t be surprising to see him go in the top-20.

Is now the time?

Reports of the Rams wanting to pick an offensive player in the first round don’t feel inaccurate to me. The reason that there will be more offensive players in the first round than defensive players is not that the offensive prospects are so great, it’s actually that the defensive prospects are so underwhelming.

This interview with Diante Lee for The Athletic highlights how there aren’t any elite defensive prospects in the entire class:

The offensive prospects are pretty good, don’t get me wrong, but let’s just be honest about the fact that nobody is saying that any of these defensive prospects would go “top-5 if it were any other draft”. Few people think there’s a single great edge rusher, cornerback, or defensive tackle prospect in this entire class and there probably won’t even be a first round linebacker or safety.

So why would the Rams probably pick an offensive player in the first round? It’s so simple: Because the best players available will be offensive players.

I only ever hear fans say that they want the best available player in the first round, yet for some reason when it comes to mock drafts and “what a team should do” the prospects always, always, always get linked to those teams because of needs. Why is that?

If the Rams are drafting based on best available player, then there is practically no realistic scenario that doesn’t lead to L.A.’s top-ranked prospect on the board at 19 isn’t an offensive player. There’s just that many more good offensive prospects than defensive prospects and that’s probably one reason that the 2024 class is said to be low on blue chippers overall.

You may be asking like, “What if Byron Murphy is available?” and I would assume that the Rams either expect him to be taken before 19 or that if Murphy is available it’s because he wasn’t rated as highly by the league as he was by the media.

An offensive tackle at 19 could be both the best player available and address a very important need for 2025. A receiver could be both the best player available and also address an important future need. I don’t know if a quarterback would be the best available player at 19 but that would address the future too.

It could be the time to address offense.