After recent signings on the offensive line, do Rams have faith in Warren McClendon?
Over the past three weeks of organized team activities, the Los Angeles Rams have signed not one, but two experienced depth tackles. During the first week of OTAs, the Rams signed David Quessenberry. On the Thursday of the final week of OTAs, the Rams brought in the experienced DJ Humphries.
Signing one player wasn’t surprising at the Rams needed tackle depth and Quessenberry brought experience. However, when the Rams added a second in Humphries, red flags were raised.
The reason for the Humphries signing ended up being because similar blood clots that Alaric Jackson dealt with in 2022 had returned. With that said, it’s very possible that Jackson misses time. Last season, New England Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore was diagnosed with blood clots in July and wasn’t activated off of injured reserve until mid-November. Barmore was placed on IR a month later and missed the rest of the season. While Barmore plays on the defensive line, his situation shows how serious blood clot issues can be.
While the Rams needed experienced tackle depth, it is still odd that they added two players in this role. The Rams didn’t re-sign Joe Noteboom as his level was not sufficient after dealing with so many injuries. With Warren McClendon entering his third year and having experience at both left and right tackle, some may have expected him to fill this role.
The fact that the Rams signed both Quessenberry and Humphries could be an indication of how they view McClendon. This is a player that the Rams drafted in the fifth round in 2023 and is going into his third season.
McClendon got starting experience at both tackle spots. In Week 1, he played for the injurid Rob Havenstein before moving to the left side in Week 2 with Alaric Jackson and Noteboom out of the lineup. McClendon subbed in for Havenstein at right tackle once again in Weeks 11 and 12.
Again, signing one experienced tackle made sense as the Rams lacked tackle depth. It’s the fact that they signed two with McClendon on the roster that feels odd. It’s worth wondering whether McClendon hasn’t developed as the team would have expected at this point. McClendon may also be seen strictly as a right tackle whereas the Rams current issues on the offensive line come on the left side.
It’s worth noting in McClendon’s lone game on the left side last season, he gave up four pressures and three sacks against the Arizona Cardinals and edge rusher Dennis Gardeck. While McClendon was better on the right side against the Patriots in Week 11. However, that performance came against a pass rush that ranked 29th.
The following week against the Philadelphia Eagles, McClendon gave up three pressures and two sacks. He also allowed five pressures on the right side in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions.
Since Sean McVay took over as the head coach in 2017, the Rams have not been a team that’s invested heavily in the tackle position. While they did sign Andrew Whitworth during McVay’s first offseason, the Rams have spent just two top-100 picks on a tackle. Those players were Joe Noteboom and Bobby Evans.
Conversely, they’ve spent five picks on tackles on day three in KT Leveston, David Edwards, Jamil Demby, Warren McClendon, and AJ Arcuri. An argument could be made that Leveston, Edwards, and Demby should be considered guards. Still, they were drafted as tackles.
The Rams did a good job finding and developing Alaric Jackson as an undrafted free agent and turning him into a starting quality left tackle. Jackson developed enough to earn a three-year, $57.75 million contract in the offseason.
With that said, if the Rams aren’t going to invest in the tackle position from a draft capital standpoint, that puts a lot more pressure on being able to develop guys. That doesn’t necessarily mean developing them into full-time starters, but rather someone who can be trusted to spot-start.
Right now, it’s hard to say that the Rams have that in AJ Arcuri. Given that the team just signed Quessenberry and Humphries, it’s also hard to say that they have that confidence in Warren McClendon.
Offensive line depth is something that tends to get overlooked in the NFL. Rarely are teams going to be 10 players deep on the offensive line. There simply isn’t enough depth at the position. However, teams that are six or seven players deep are the ones that stand out. If the Rams are already signing experienced depth after one injury, what does that say about how the team views its in-house options?
With another injury early in the offseason, the Rams will once again be relying heavily on their offensive line depth. This is a team in a championship window and Jackson’s health setback is already going to test that depth.
If Warren McClendon hasn’t progressed, the Rams could find themselves scrambling in the trenches until Jackson returns. For a team that hasn’t invested in the position heavily in the draft, the margin for error remains thin, especially when the health of the offensive line is so important to the team’s success. In a season with Super Bowl expectations, that’s a dangerous gamble.
