Rams playoff hopes hinge on this trend regarding offensive line health

Rams must have their starting 5 on the field as much as possible

The Los Angeles Rams have made the playoffs in 6 of 8 seasons under Sean McVay. By no small coincidence, the Rams journey to the playoffs in those six seasons have been because of good fortune with the health of their offensive linemen. Voice of the LA Rams, JB Long, shared a brief breakdown about the Rams success hinging on continuity with the offensive line.

Based on JB’s findings, the Rams have actually been fortunate to avoid significant injuries / combination inconsistency with their offensive linemen with the exception of 2019 and 2022. When the Rams have had their most common OL combination together for 70+ % of the games, they have made the playoffs every year.

2017 and 2018 were truly special to have none of their starters miss any games not related to rest purposes.

2019 was the first time that McVay had to deal with some adversity along the offensive front. Rob Havenstein injured his knee (meniscus) in Week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He missed the rest of the season. Brian Allen was the starting center that year and he too injured his knee against the Steelers; ending his season. Joe Noteboom was actually the starting left guard for the Rams but he tore his ACL and MCL against the San Francisco 49ers early in the year.

The Rams were relatively healthy in 2020 other than Andrew Whitworth tearing his MCL against the Seattle Seahawks. He missed the rest of the regular season but returned in the wild card round to face Seattle again.

In 2021, during the Rams Super Bowl season, the Rams saw their combination of Whitworth-Edwards-Allen-Corbett-Havenstein play together in 94% of the games. Memory serves that the COVID played a factor for a few players missing time.

2022 was the never-ending nightmare for LA and Sean McVay. Joe Noteboom tore his achilles in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers. Starting left guard David Edwards missed nine starts because of a concussion. Thumb and knee injuries limited Brian Allen to five games. Coleman Shelton (the original starting right guard) actually started 13 games as the team’s center. Alaric Jackson assumed the right guard spot for 6 games. Rob Havenstein was the only stable presence; starting all 17 games.

The 2023 season featured new faces with cuts, trades, free agency, and the draft. Jackson-Avila-Shelton-Dotson-Havenstein became the favorite combination. The group only missed a collective 8 games with some of those related to resting starters in Week 18.

Finally, the 2024 season was a juggling act with injuries to Steve Avila, Jonah Jackson, and Rob Havenstein early on and mid-year. Beaux Limmer became the team’s starting center after it found Jonah Jackson oft-injured. Alaric Jackson also served a two game suspension to start the year; causing a lack of continuity on the left side of the line. This forced LA to use players like Joe Noteboom, AJ Arcuri, Warren McClendon, Justin Dedich, Logan Bruss, and Geron Christian. Despite the revolving door, the Rams still had 70+% of the games from the five most common starters.

There isn’t any question about who the five best offensive line options are for the Rams as they head into the 2025 season. Jackson-Avila-Shelton-Dotson-Havenstein appear to be the team’s preferred unit. However, Alaric Jackson’s second bout with blood clots has caused concern about his availability to start the year. If he is forced to miss any time, it appears that DJ Humphries will be asked to step in. If the offensive line can stay healthy, it likely means a healthy Stafford. And a healthy Stafford means production for the Rams offense…