Turf Show Times
Life is good for the Los Angeles Rams, who have started the season 3-1. It could get even better if they make a few shifts across the depth chart to fill some glaring holes in their starting lineup.
These are four changes I think Sean McVay and the Rams must consider as soon as Thursday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers:
It is a small mystery (there are bigger ones with this team) that Avila was cleared to play and active on gameday but sat in favor of second-year UDFA Justin Dedich in Week 4. While Dedich easily had his best game of the season against the Colts—making the “winners” list and earning a top five PFF grade on the offense—he’s been a hindrance far more often than a help through three games.
The jury is still out whether Avila is a top-tier guard or simply a starting-caliber player; however, it doesn’t take a football savant to know that he’s noticeably better than Dedich and would be a welcome addition to a struggling interior offensive line.
This might be the most obvious lineup change but also the most needed.
These are the listed sizes of LA’s three primary corners following the long-term injury to Ahkello Witherspoon:
Meanwhile they have fourth-year corner AJ Green on the practice squad, who is 6-2, 199 lbs.
While change for the sake of change is not always advised, the Rams seem desperate at corner after watching bigger receivers like AJ Brown, Michael Pittman, and AD Mitchell use their size to dominate at times. We’ve at least seen Green play well in the preseason, for whatever stock you want to put in it. This is what I wrote about him following the second exhibition game:
Green has been LA’s best overall corner so far in the preseason, and that represents a continuation of positive feedback in training camp. The box score credits him with two pass deflections. More impressive was the fact that he did not give up much in coverage and has been a reliable tackler in the secondary.
I’m not saying it’s a good idea to ask Green to shadow Brian Thomas or Chris Olave or whoever the Rams will face the rest of the season. It’s at least worth throwing a change up and seeing if Green has some ability in a corner room that simply is not getting the job done at present.
NFL media called the Rams’ selection of Oregon’s Terrance Ferguson in the second round a “steal” often this spring. He suffered a groin injury in the early going of training camp that caused him to miss notable time, but then we watched him get open multiple times deep in the preseason...
