4 lineup changes the Rams must make

Life is good for the Los Angeles Rams, who have started the season 3-1. It could get even better if they make a few shifts across the depth chart to fill some glaring holes in their starting lineup.

These are four changes I think Sean McVay and the Rams must consider as soon as Thursday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers:

1 – Return Steve Avila to health and first-string

It is a small mystery (there are bigger ones with this team) that Avila was cleared to play and active on gameday but sat in favor of second-year UDFA Justin Dedich in Week 4. While Dedich easily had his best game of the season against the Colts—making the “winners” list and earning a top five PFF grade on the offense—he’s been a hindrance far more often than a help through three games.

The jury is still out whether Avila is a top-tier guard or simply a starting-caliber player; however, it doesn’t take a football savant to know that he’s noticeably better than Dedich and would be a welcome addition to a struggling interior offensive line.

This might be the most obvious lineup change but also the most needed.

2 – Call up AJ Green from the practice squad

These are the listed sizes of LA’s three primary corners following the long-term injury to Ahkello Witherspoon:

• Cobie Durant: 5-11, 181 lbs.
• Darious Williams: 5-9, 191 lbs.
• Emmanuel Forbes: 6-0, 173 lbs.

Meanwhile they have fourth-year corner AJ Green on the practice squad, who is 6-2, 199 lbs.

While change for the sake of change is not always advised, the Rams seem desperate at corner after watching bigger receivers like AJ Brown, Michael Pittman, and AD Mitchell use their size to dominate at times. We’ve at least seen Green play well in the preseason, for whatever stock you want to put in it. This is what I wrote about him following the second exhibition game:

Green has been LA’s best overall corner so far in the preseason, and that represents a continuation of positive feedback in training camp. The box score credits him with two pass deflections. More impressive was the fact that he did not give up much in coverage and has been a reliable tackler in the secondary.

I’m not saying it’s a good idea to ask Green to shadow Brian Thomas or Chris Olave or whoever the Rams will face the rest of the season. It’s at least worth throwing a change up and seeing if Green has some ability in a corner room that simply is not getting the job done at present.

3 – Has anyone seen Terrance Ferguson?

NFL media called the Rams’ selection of Oregon’s Terrance Ferguson in the second round a “steal” often this spring. He suffered a groin injury in the early going of training camp that caused him to miss notable time, but then we watched him get open multiple times deep in the preseason finale against the Cleveland Browns. The rookie also demonstrated an impressive catch and run ability that we know McVay values in his offense.

It was difficult to watch Ferguson and not think, “wow, I cannot wait to see how McVay unleashes this player on the league.”

But over the last two weeks, Ferguson has been a healthy scratch on gamedays. It makes sense that he’s the direct backup to Tyler Higbee, who was projected to miss practice on Monday during a short week. Davis Allen and Colby Parkinson are on this team to block. They are likely never going to be high volume pass catchers.

Higbee is an afterthought in this offense. He’s caught just six of 11 targets for 62 yards, which is somehow still good for fourth on the team behind Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, and Tutu Atwell (two catches).

McVay and the Rams know what they have in Higbee. It’s likely the veteran’s last season in Los Angeles. Introducing the rookie to a start-and-sputter offense could be a breath of fresh air.

What do the Rams have to lose?

4 – Send Omar Speights to the bench

Nate Landman has been a revelation for the Rams at off-ball linebacker. He looks like a free agent bargain and a steadying presence in the middle of the defense.

His running mate, Omar Speights, on the other hand? Far from a positive contributor.

Out of the 23 defenders to play a snap so far this season for LA, Speights is currently the 20th ranked player by Pro Football Focus (PFF) with an overall grade of 52.1.

The second-year UDFA is missing at least one in every 10 tackle attempts (10.5%). Landman has been stellar in this department at just 3.4% and ranks sixth among all linebackers with at least 144 snaps.

Chris Shula, LA’s defensive coordinator, has sent Speights on 13 blitzes that has earned three pressures. Those are not great results. In comparison, Quentin Lake has four pressures on 17 rushes and Jaylen McCollough has two on seven.

The coverage numbers aren’t much better. Speights has a grade of 49.0 and has allowed five receptions on seven targets for 56 yards, a penalty, and a passer rating of 94.9 as the nearest defender.

Shaun Dolac was a standout performer in the preseason (again, you decide how much this matters). We can at least draw a few conclusions about the rookies performance in two games:

• The Rams sat Dolac in game three, they had seen enough for him to make the roster
• He did not miss a tackle out of 12 attempts
• Dolac held opposing quarterbacks to a 71.3 passer rating when targeting him

The answer may not even be to replace Speights with Dolac. McCollough is averaging around 15 snaps per game and has performed admirably. It could be an improvement to take Speights off the field and replace him with the physical, playmaking safety.