Rams fans need to watch this Kevin Dotson film breakdown before free agency

Former NFL offensive linemen explain why the Rams were so good at running the ball in 2023

The biggest difference between the surprisingly bad Rams of 2022 and the surprisingly good Rams of 2023 was the health and quality of Sean McVay’s offensive line. It is with thanks to the acquisitions of huge mauling guards Kevin Dotson and Steve Avila that L.A. was able to take a monumental step forward, allowing Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams to have breakout seasons and for Matthew Stafford to mostly survive his 15th season in the NFL.

A year ago, the Rams got over 1,000 snaps from Rob Havenstein, but with injuries and necessary changes along the offensive line no other team had more combinations of that unit than L.A. did in 2022: Coleman Shelton played 70% of the snaps, Matt Skura played 45%, Ty Nsekhe and A.J. Jackson played 41%, Brian Allen played 36%, Oday Aboushi played 33%, Joe Noteboom played 31%, Bobby Evans played 30%, David Edwards and Chandler Brewer played 22%, Jeremiah Kolone played 18%, and A.J. Arcuri played 6%.

That’s 12 offensive linemen for the four non-RT jobs over 17 games. And in case you didn’t know, most of them weren’t playing in 2023.

Once the Rams were ready to settle in trade acquisition Dotson a few weeks into the season, there weren’t much changes. Avila played in 100% of L.A.’s offensive snaps, followed by 97% by Shelton as the new center, 84% by Jackson, 76% by Dotson, and 74% by Havenstein; Noteboom played in 50% of the snaps as the utility backup and sixth man.

If the Rams choose to re-sign Kevin Dotson, Coleman Shelton, and tender A.J. Jackson, they can bring back the same starting five and have one of the top offensive lines in football from last season. For further proof, we can turn to a film study of the unit by two former NFL offensive linemen who fell in love with L.A.’s new starting guards, comparing them to a one-time elite unit that helped Drew Brees win the Super Bowl.

With co-hosts Jeremiah Sirles and Alex Boone, two former NFL offensive linemen, The O-Line Committee is the most underrated NFL podcast that there is and this video deserves way more views than it has so far: It is a film study titled “The Rams are back” and breaks down for us in simple terms what made Dotson and Avila so good in their first season with L.A.:

“They finally came together as a unit for the first time since Andrew Whitworth retired”

There’s nothing like watching 320+ lb professional football players pancaking pro football players to clear out massive lanes for the running back. Could Kyren Williams actually be an All-Pro or Pro Bowl running back next year if he doesn’t have a top-tier offensive line?

“I look at this like the old Saints with Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans They’re running the fuck out of duo. Ground and pound fest. Run the shit out of it. Run play action out of all of this.”

Evans was able to have a much longer career than Nicks, but both were All-Pro guards for a time in New Orleans. Could the Rams have a guard duo as special as that with Dotson and Avila?

Keeping Dotson could cost eight figures per season, something that Les Snead has hesitated to do with any players on the line who don’t play tackle. Just six months ago, Dotson was getting not-a-job on the Steelers, which was clearly just not a good fit for him or Pittsburgh, but do we now know for sure that he’s a top-3 or top-5 right guard? It could be and the increased salary cap limit could give the Rams an opportunity to raise what they were willing to pay Dotson by at least a couple of million dollars per year.

Film studies like this one make it even harder for me to say “Don’t do it”.