The Los Angeles Rams have the wherewithal to put an explosive offense on the field, and they’ve done a lot to keep Matthew Stafford healthy and throwing all those deep balls. On March 7, they re-signed guard Kevin Dotson to a new three-year, $48 million contract, and on Monday, they agreed to terms with former Detroit Lions guard Jonah Jackson.
Not only does this set the Rams up with a dominant guard tandem; it also allows second-year man Steve Avila to move from left guard to center. Avila played 1,076 snaps at center for TCU from 2019 through 2022.
As for Jackson, the 2020 third-round pick out of Ohio State allowed two sacks and 27 total pressures on 480 pass-blocking snaps. Wrist and knee injuries gave Jackson a bit of an abbreviated season, but when he was on the field, he was on point far more often than not — not only as a pass-blocker, but as a stand-alone run-blocker and puller in Detroit’s highly complex run game. The Rams have moved a bit from their formerly preferred inside/outside zone to more gap concepts of late, and Jackson is a nice fit.
Kevin Dotson, Steve Avila. Jonah Jackson. The Rams can create all kinds of explosive plays in the passing game, but that interior three opens things up to run through somebody's face. pic.twitter.com/3SvPlpLCKv
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) March 11, 2024