The Los Angeles Rams’ starting offensive line will look a bit different in 2024, even if there’s only one new player expected to step in. In addition to re-signing Kevin Dotson and tendering Alaric Jackson, the Rams signed Jonah Jackson to a three-year deal worth $51 million.
It was a surprising move considering he plays the same position as Steve Avila (left guard), but the Rams are opening a spot for Jackson by moving Avila inside to center.
Avila played both center and guard in college, but center was actually his primary position – and possibly even his better one. When McVay shared the news with Avila, he said the lineman was both excited and nervous about it.
“He’s like, ‘Man, I don’t know as much as Coleman.’ I said, ‘That’s okay! You don’t have to right now. Let’s just take incremental steps,'” McVay said, via Stu Jackson of the team’s official site. “He’s a guy that loves being in the building. And so, like I was talking about earlier, you don’t need to go from A to Z, let’s just take the incremental steps. Let’s continue to learn, with the right foundational understanding of what are we trying to get done? What are you looking at? What are the things that are important to be able to communicate?”
Avila played every single snap as a rookie in 2023, never coming off the field for an offensive play once all year. He played all of those snaps at left guard and had a lot of success, but playing center comes with more responsibility: protections, run-blocking assignments and identifying blitzers.
McVay is confident Avila can handle those duties, especially with Matthew Stafford being such an experienced quarterback, and he’s excited to see what the second-year player can do at his new position.
“He’s got an amazing athleticism for a big player,” McVay said. “He’s got great contact balance, you can see his ability to take second-level angles of departure, fit second-level blocks, play in space. That was one of the things that I went back and evaluated. I think he’s got the natural ability to play on the left or the right side of the line, be another lefty center for us.”