Did the Rams Make a Mistake Not Drafting a Tackle?

The Los Angeles Rams' draft decisions may come back to haunt them

Oct 20, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams guard Kevin Dotson (69), Los Angeles Rams center Beaux Limmer (50), Los Angeles Rams guard Justin Dedich (67) and Los Angeles Rams offensive tackle Alaric Jackson (77) during the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Rams have a big question at left tackle with Alaric Jackson dealing with a recurring blood clot issue, while Rob Havenstein looks to have a healthy season after a shoulder injury impacted him towards the end of the season, causing him to miss critical games.

Since Jackson has yet to start a full season, and Havenstein is the elder statesman of the offensive line, it's a fair question to ask if the Rams made a mistake by not selecting an offensive tackle?

The Rams held the 26th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, a pick they ended up trading to the Atlanta Falcons along with their third-round pick for Atlanta's second-round selection that ended up becoming Terrance Ferguson, a seventh-round selection that turned into Konata Mumpfield, and a 2026 first-round pick.

Should the Rams have used the 26th overall pick on a tackle, considering at that time, Oregon's Josh Conerly Jr, Ohio State's Josh Simmons, Minnesota's Aireontae Ersery, and others were available.

And the truth is that they didn't make a mistake. It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback but here's the truth. Jackson hasn't had a severe case of blood clots in almost three years, and in order to sign an extension, he had to pass a series of extensive medical examinations.

Jackson missed time in 2024 due to suspension, not injury, and considering the Rams let Michael Hoecht and Demarcus Robinson walk, with Hoecht now being suspended for six games and Robinson facing a three-game suspension, whatever happened in 2024 obviously wasn't considered a deal breaker by the Rams.

The Rams made the right decision. Conerly Jr and Oregon got eaten up by Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, Simmons is coming off a season-ending lower body injury, and Ersery fell to the second round for a reason.

The Rams, instead of drafting a backup, picked up an extra first-round pick and two eventual starters. Besides, after the second round, all the players that the Rams would be willing to trust as a rookie were already drafted.

The Rams will have to draft a tackle soon, but the 2025 NFL Draft wasn't that year, and for those who disagree, we just saw Beaux Limmer's inexperience played a massive factor in the Rams' loss to the Eagles in the playoffs. How much grace did he get from fans? That's the center position, not tackle.

Limmer got thrown into a bad position; he did the best he could, but growing pains occur. Those pains can not occur at the tackle position for a championship-level squad.

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