By investing in the trenches, the Rams are one of Michael Lombardi’s offseason winners
No team ever enters the offseason on a “high note” unless they win the Super Bowl, but the L.A. Rams probably couldn’t have felt any better about a wild card loss to the Detroit Lions. Before the 2023 season, the Rams were being projected for third or fourth place in the division and likely 6-8 wins based on expected holes on the offensive line and defense, in addition to Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp’s uncertain health and durability.
By the end, the Rams had gone 10-7, made the playoffs, and unearthed several new franchise building blocks in Puka Nacua, Kevin Dotson, Steve Avila, Kobie Turner, and Byron Young. So just as everything seemed as perfect as could be heading into the 2024 offseason, fans were hit with the news that Aaron Donald was retiring and that put L.A.’s defensive roster into a new light without arguably the best player in franchise history.
Still, former NFL GM Michael Lombardi wrote this for VSIN this week, putting the Rams on a short list of teams that are having excellent offseasons:
The Rams made their lines an offseason priority. They added two guards in free agency and two talented defensive line teammates in the draft, Jared Verse and Braden Fiske. They now have more depth, and if Matthew Stafford is healthy, the NFC West will be a slugfest.
The Rams re-signed Dotson to a new contract and added guard Jonah Jackson with a slightly bigger deal to leave the Lions for L.A.. By moving Avila from left guard to center, the Rams hope to have the best interior offensive line in the entire league.
In addition, the team got Joe Noteboom to renegotiate his contract and he will join Warren McClendon and A.J. Arcuri as backups to tackles A.J. Jackson and Rob Havenstein. The other notable move on offense was signing tight end Colby Parkinson away from the Seahawks as insurance and a complement to Tyler Higbee, as well as replacing Carson Wentz with Jimmy Garoppolo as Stafford’s backup.
Defensively, the Rams have added Tre’Davious White and Darious Williams at cornerback through free agency, as well as safety Kamren Curl. Les Snead was quiet on the defensive line front in free agency, but then drafted defensive end Jared Verse with pick 19 and traded up for defensive tackle Braden Fiske near the top of round two.
It would be hard for L.A. to be “better off” in any situation without Donald, but the Rams are certainly better off today than they were after AD’s retirement announcement.
The team also drafted kicker Joshua Karty as a potential upgrade to their kicking situation from 2023.
All in all, are the L.A. Rams better off after the draft than they were at the end of the season? Lombardi says yes, even without Aaron Donald.
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