Our preseason offensive line evaluations continue with the NFC West. RosterWatch Nation knows their best friend is a good offensive line. So do all the head coaches in this division. There’s been a lot of change out West and we’re here to break it down.

*We credit Pro Football Focus, STATS and Football Outsiders in assessment of past performance of the offensive linemen outlined below

St. Louis Rams

The Rams were a terrible pass-blocking unit and a below-average run-blocking unit in 2014. They were neck and neck with Arizona for the worst offensive line in the division – and the center position was an absolute turnstile. Over the offseason, the Rams jettisoned three offensive tackles- Mike Person, Joseph Barksdale, and Jake Long.

Instead of signing free agents, GM Les Snead and head coach Jeff Fisher addressed their most glaring need in the 2015 NFL Draft by drafting four offensive linemen in the first six rounds – reeling off three of those prospects consecutively in rounds two through four. It’s clear the direction the team is going with the offensive line. After drafting mammoth offensive tackle Greg Robinson last year, the average size of the prospects selected this year was 6’6″ 318 pounds. The Rams are building a big and powerful offensive line for the future that will be used to employ a man-on-man, power-run-based scheme which will be the cornerstone of the offense.

Greg Robinson, LT 6’5″ 319 pounds- All the talent in the world, shed weight down from 332 to around 320, lost the competition to start at RG last yr and started season as backup LT/LG, made his first start week 6 at LG, Week 9 became starting LT when Jake Long went down with ACL – struggled mightily while adjusting from the Auburn offense and learning multiple positions

Rodger Saffold, LG 6’5″ 332 pounds- Underperformed in 2014, was a fringe-caliber starter, historically has OT/OG versatility, flashed nice potential in 2013 at OG, the talent around him in ’14 likely affected his play, an average starting OG with some upside and positional versatility

Barrett Jones, C 6’4″ 308 pounds- This is going to be a competition with Tim Barnes, we love Jones and think he will win, he’s tough and effective, was a leader and smart player at Alabama where he had a great career, injuries have hampered his career as he came out of college with a lisfranc he’d played with and more injuries followed him to the NFL, it appears the center position will be stabilized in 2015

Jamon Brown, RG 6’4″ 323 pounds- Was NFL Draft Expert Mike Loyko’s 19th ranked OT prospect in 2015, he says Brown has “a big body with long arms and good short area quickness” and that he was “reliable and durable during his college career, playing all positions along the line except center,” Loyko also says “he’ll be a better guard than tackle in NFL” and to “expect him to be a better pro than collegian,” his versatility and power pushed him up the Rams draft board

Rob Havenstein, RT 6’7″ 321 pounds- Almost cracked NFL Draft Expert Mike Loyko’s top 100 overall rookie prospects for 2015, Loyko says “he has limited flexibility and agility, but has massive size and is technically sound”, he’s terrific in the power-run game but was awful at times in Senior Bowl practices

Notes-

Overall, this is an improved unit with a bright future – yet an extremely young and developmental one. Pass-protection is still a concern going in to this season. Expect the starting lineup to be shuffled many times throughout the offseason and into regular season. It’s going to be a roller-coaster ride – and we’d hate to be Nick Foles in 2015.

However, this offensive line is definitely built to run the ball, which is great Dynasty League news for first round pick and generational RB talent Todd Gurley. Although it’s Tre Mason – who is healthy and has a round 8 ADP – who we like the most for 2015 redraft leagues.

Veteran backups Garrett Reynolds and Brandon Washington offer good depth and versatility; both will push for starting roles. Washington has played very little in his NFL career but is getting reps at LT with Greg Robinson currently out of OTAs. He may become a candidate to start on the right side once Robinson returns. Reynolds has started 27 games since 2009, 10 of those games with Detroit last year where he was a below-average performer.

The Rams have two other rookies who will be in the fold – OT Andrew Donnal and OG Cody Wichmann. Both are monstrous in size at around 6’6″, 315 pounds – and fit the mold in St. Louis. Mike Loyko says Donnal “has cookie-cutter NFL right tackle measurables, solid fundamentals and a good motor but has limited athleticism and will need to get stronger,” while he says RD6 pick OG Cody Wichmann ” has the size and strength NFL coaches love, and will have the opportunity to develop as power-run blocker”.