The Los Angeles Rams made the decision this past offseason to bring back Coleman Shelton to play center. While Beaux Limmer started at center for much of the 2024 season, the Rams brought back Shelton to raise the floor at the position even if he didn’t have the physical ceiling of Limmer especially in the run game. Shelton was a player that brought an element of familiarity in the offense with quarterback Matthew Stafford.
However, through three weeks, it’s fair to wonder whether or not the Rams
made the correct decision bringing Shelton back. When the Rams moved on from their center following 2023, it was done for a reason. Part of that reason being that the offense was moving towards more of a gap scheme run game that required the offense line to block at defensive lineman rather than block in space.
On gap scheme runs in 2023, Shelton ranked 19th among 31 qualifying centers in gap scheme run-blocking compared to fifth in zone according to PFF. Moving on from Shelton was part of the Rams changing the identity of their offensive line. Bringing Shelton back feels like a step back from what the Rams wanted to accomplish.
Still, much of what the Rams did this offseason was done with the idea of raising the floor. It’s why Shelton was brought back and why they signed Nate Landman. It’s why instead of drafting a cornerback, they opted to bring back Ahkello Witherspoon and didn’t move on from Darious Williams. This is a team that already has a high ceiling. If they could raise their floor in bad moments, it may be enough to get them over the edge.
The problem is, there are serious questions at this point when it comes to how much Shelton has actually raised the floor at center. Shelton ranks 19th in run-blocking on gap-scheme runs with a grade of 64.1 via PFF. Comparatively, Limmer had a run-blocking grade on gap scheme runs of 67.7 in 2024.
Additionally, Shelton has been lacking in pass protection. PFF has Shelton ranked 30th out of 30 centers with a pass-blocking grade of 26.8. Again, for comparison, Limmer had a pass-blocking grade of 42.9 in 2024. While Shelton has only given up three pressures, this doesn’t mean that he’s necessarily winning matchups. Having Matthew Stafford at quarterback certainly helps. The Rams quarterback is getting rid of the ball in 2.53 seconds on average which is the second-fastest in his career. He’s also one of the best quarterbacks when it comes to pocket movement in the NFL.
This isn’t to say that Limmer should be starting at center over Shelton. However, it is worth wondering if Shelton is actually raising the floor at center. Shelton signed to a two-year, $12 million contract in free agency with $9 million guaranteed. With a $6 million average salary per year, the Rams are paying Shelton as a top-10 center.
The 2025 draft class at center was weaker and Jonah Monheim has the most snaps among rookie centers this season with two. Given how the Rams have treated center in the past, they were never going to pay Drew Dalman or Ryan Kelly. However, Garrett Bradbury and Josh Myers both had experience in similar offenses with the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers.
During free agency, Bradbury signed a contract averaging $4.75 million with the New England Patriots while Myers signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets for $2 million. Both Bradbury and Myers have been top-10 in pass-blocking this season with Bradbury ranking fourth. It’s fair to say that Myers may not have been a fit or both bring inconsistencies. However, the same can be said about Shelton.
In Shelton’s fairness, the situation around him has been chaotic. Shelton was brought back by the Rams to be a stable presence at center, not be the star piece of the interior. With Avila and Dotson out, he’s had to be. That’s primarily a reason why the Rams have struggled so much protecting from the interior. Instead of playing next to Steve Avila and Kevin Dotson, it’s been a near-constant rotation of Justin Dedich and Limmer.
With that said, the Rams aren’t faultless here either. The depth along the interior was a concern coming into the offseason and it’s an issue now. For how much the Rams have invested in the defensive line, it is the exact opposite on the offensive line. The defensive line consists of five top-100 picks. The Rams haven’t taken an offensive tackle inside the top-100 since 2019. That player was Bobby Evans. Meanwhile, they have taken one interior offensive lineman inside the top-100 during the entirety of the McVay era.
While Limmer hasn’t been good at guard, it’s important to remember that he is just a sixth round pick. That’s not to say that sixth-round picks can’t be good. If there’s one team that can testify to sixth-round picks working, it’s the Rams. At the same time, there should also be an expectation there. For as bad as Limmer has been recently, the Rams have gotten 19 appearances out of him. His seven approximate value points via Pro Football Reference is the most among all 2024 5th, 6th, and 7th round picks.
On the other side of Shelton is Dedich who is an undrafted free agent. If the Rams were to be without Limmer or Dedich, they would be reliant on Warren McClendon who is a natural tackle taken in the fifth-round or Wyatt Bowles who is another undrafted free agent.
Most teams are going to struggle to an extent when they are without two players on the offensive line. It’s still worth pointing out the lack of investment in that depth.
The Rams currently sit at 2-1 and are in a similar position that they’ve been in the last two years. With injuries to the offensive line, it makes it very difficult to properly evaluate a player like Shelton considering the Rams have gotten 16 snaps of Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, and Kevin Dotson all on the field simultaneously.
It’s far too early to call the Shelton signing a mistake, but three weeks into the season, we’re starting to see the results of the decision that the Rams made this offseason take shape. At this point, it’s hard to say that Shelton has been the solution at center that the Rams were hoping for when they brought him back in free agency.
