The Los Angeles Rams couldn’t get a good look at their top draft pick from 2022, Logan Bruss, after he suffered a torn ACL in the preseason last year. He was expected to compete for the starting spot at right guard last year, but the injury prevented him from ever taking a regular-season snap.
His chances of starting this season aren’t much better. The Rams have been playing Bruss at right tackle all offseason, beginning in OTAs and minicamp. That’s continued in training camp and Sean McVay said on Saturday that it’s unlikely to change.
The Rams are keeping Bruss at right tackle moving forward, which is disappointing news for the second-year lineman. That gives him very little chance to play this season unless starting right tackle Rob Havenstein gets hurt.
“He had played 17% of his snaps at guard at Wisconsin, but 83% of them at tackle and he looks more comfortable out there. I think that’s probably where he’ll stay for now,” McVay said. “He can always potentially bump inside, but you could see – I think it was important for him by necessity, but also coming off the injury. I think it was important to be able to stack some good days and he’s got a good look in his eye. I think he’s really comfortable outside at that tackle position. Does that mean he’ll never play guard again? We might be forced into adjusting that, but I think right now being able to keep him at tackle and continue to figure out what’s going to be that best combination.”
It sounds like the Rams realized they were playing Bruss out of position at guard. As McVay mentioned, Bruss primarily played right tackle at Wisconsin, but he also lined up at guard some games.
At 6-foot-5 and 309 pounds, he’s 3 inches shorter and 21 pounds lighter than Havenstein, so he doesn’t exactly have the biggest frame or the length as a right tackle. That’s why the Rams projected him to play guard, where players get away with being a bit shorter than they do at tackle.
Havenstein is unquestionably locked in as the starter at right tackle, so Bruss isn’t going to overtake him anytime soon. It’s possible the Rams will be forced to move Bruss back inside to guard if injuries occur, but it doesn’t sound like that’s their preferred plan for the 2022 third-round pick.
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