The Los Angeles Rams began their 2026 NFL offseason with two huge moves to address the cornerback room. They traded for Trent McDuffie and then signed Jaylen Watson in free agency.
Those were some incredible moves, but they followed it up with a confounding decision in the NFL Draft, taking Ty Simpson at No. 13 overall. It drew heavy criticism, and will continue to be criticized unless Simpson is a great quarterback in the NFL.
However, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell did not call the Simpson pick the worst decision of the offseason for the Rams. Instead, he identified a move the Rams did not make that might come back to haunt them.
Rams’ worst offseason decision was not Ty Simpson, but a lack of another move
“Worst: Not adding more offensive lien depth,” Barnwell writes. “… but the Rams do need offensive line depth, especially now that right tackle Rob Havenstein has retired.”
The Rams lost Havenstein to retirement, meaning Warren McClendon Jr. will be thrust into the full-time starting spot at right tackle. He wasn’t terrible, but there is now a hole behind him in the depth chart.
While the Simpson pick drew criticism, Barnwell believes the lack of additions for the Rams’ offensive line was a bigger issue from the offseason than the 13th pick.
At least with Simpson, there is a chance that he could turn into the Rams quarterback of the future. But, with the lack of OL depth, there’s a chance the Rams are burned come the playoffs next season.
They did draft Keagan Trost, but as Barnwell notes, “… the Rams don’t have a swing tackle they would trust for any length of time on the left side of a good backup guard.”
Finding the former is going to be very tricky this late into the offseason, as tackle is a premium position, and even swing tackles come off the free agent board early.
Adding some offensive guard depth, or even someone to compete in camp, is a much more feasible thing the Rams could accomplish.
The lack of offensive line depth, if not addressed, could become a serious issue during the season, and especially in the playoffs.
There’s time to address these needs, but as of now, Barnwell believes the Rams not adding OL depth to the roster is the worst decision of the Rams’ entire offseason, even worse than the Simpson pick when they are going all-in for the 2026 season.
