There were already some concerns about the Rams’ offensive line coming into this season after losing Andrew Whitworth (retirement) and Austin Corbett (free agency). They replaced those two players with Joe Noteboom and Coleman Shelton, but just one week into the regular season, the Rams are already being forced to make a change.
Brian Allen injured his knee in Week 1 and will miss 2-4 weeks. The ripple effect is Shelton moving from right guard to center, and Tremayne Anchrum Jr. stepping in at right guard. Anchrum is making his first career start and while the expectations have to be managed, Shelton might be a better fit at center than guard.
It’s possible his move inside will provide a spark for the running game, which provided a league-low 52 yards on the ground in Week 1.
In three games that Shelton played at least 90% of the snaps, the Rams rushed for 128 yards against the Jaguars, 89 against the Cardinals and 159 against the Vikings. Sony Michel was the starting running back in each of those games and was playing his best football of the season.
But it shouldn’t be overlooked that Shelton was the center in those solid rushing performances. He had the second-best run blocking grade in that Week 14 win over the Cardinals and finished the game with a 62.4 overall grade from PFF. He was solid as the starting center against the Jaguars when the Rams rushed for 128 yards, posting a 66.8 overall grade and 63.6 as a run blocker.
This isn’t exclusively about Shelton’s ability at center. The offensive line as a whole needs to play better, but perhaps getting Shelton – who’s 2 inches taller and has longer arms than Allen – at center will help the running game, especially with the physical Anchrum stepping in at guard.
It’ll be fascinating to watch the combination of those two on the interior after the line struggled to open up many running lanes in Week 1.
