Should the Rams consider Penei Sewell’s cousin in the draft?

Kingsley Suamataia is the cousin of Penei Sewell and is trending upward as the draft process rolls on.

The Rams have a few offensive linemen that will hit free agency which leads to the belief they will likely draft more help in the trenches this April. Could the BYU product Kingsley Suamataia be an option?

Suamataia is a a transfer from Oregon that started two years at Brigham Young. His athletic profile is perfect for the NFL and the same goes for his body composition at 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds. The athleticism jumps right off the tape and makes him look like a tight end in space. He was on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks list and came in at a ridiculous 3rd-overall ranking athletically. Kingsley has no issue getting to the second level and beyond once he is out in space.

He displays punishing blocking ability downfield should you be unlucky enough to be in his way. Suamataia mirrors well in pass protection, but one thing that stands out is his very short snap-to-snap memory. This isn’t someone that easily hung up on the previous play. Assuming that every football player is the same way would be foolish, that’s why it matters. He’s not going to let the previous play beat him again. He’s got a very sturdy frame and displays massive upside long term. He works well in pulls and trap blocks and looks comfortable overall playing the left tackle position.

At 21-years-old, he’s one of the younger higher regarded tackles in this class. Although he comes with plenty of weaknesses as well. Suamataia is susceptible to getting beat on the inside rush. More methodical rushers will tend to give him fits and cause him to look outmatched. While more powerful rushers can knock him off his platform and push him around quite a bit. The craftier the pass rusher, the harder it’s going to be for Suamataia to win his matchup, he struggles to adapt as the game wears on. He’s very inconsistent with his hand placement which puts him in a tough spot especially when he has some other issues in his game.

The BYU tackle is way too aggressive in the blocking game. Sure, we all love watching him absolutely level his assignments downfield but when he whiffs on those it can ruin a play and that happens quite a bit, he’s someone that needs a head full of steam rather than to just try and level the guy out of his stance. His balance issues are evident on tape and cause him to have play-to-play inconsistencies because of it.

As it stands right now, Kingsley Suamataia is not ready to start at left tackle in the NFL. He’s got a wicked high ceiling and will likely test as good as anyone in the draft process athletically at tackle. The long term upside could put him in the early second round or even sneak him into day one. However, he’s not a plug-in play guy and you will need to put in the work to develop him properly.

Suamataia was rated as the 15th best pass blocker according to Pro Football Focus in 2023 but he was tied for 229th in run blocking and 109th overall. In Suamataia’s career he allowed 25 pressures in 689 pass protection snaps. He was called for 10 penalties in his last two years as a starter but he only gave up two sacks in total.

He’s younger and with the right coaching Suamataia could be an absolute menace to opposing defensive players. However, I’m not ready to check off the boxes that would make him a first or even second round pick. I see a player that should go early on in the third round. The upside is great based on his athletic profile but I have concerns in the run game and just how raw he is in general. You better have a good coaching staff if you draft him because he has some impressive tools that need to be coached up the right way if you want to give the most out of this pick.

I think he makes sense for the Rams because of how good their offensive line coaching staff is. However, what would be the plan here? Draft him in the 2nd or 3rd and not play him for a year or two? He’s a tackle, no sense in moving him to guard. Maybe he replaces Rob Havenstein in due time? That’s the thing, he may be an option but I’m not sure he’s the best option for the Rams.