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Rams rookie OG Jamon Brown, who has started every game at left guard after being drafted in the 3rd round, was expected to require time to acclimate to OG after playing swing OT for Louisville. By many accounts and based on our film review of his Week 3 snaps, he has hit the ground running.
He received a +4.6 score by PFF for Week 3, a big jump from his previous two games (-3.4 vs. SEA and 0.8 vs. WAS). Let's see if they saw the same things as we did.
Run Blocking
Overall, the Rams run blocking has been inconsistent (at best), so we won't dwell on the bad stuff. We'll instead point out that by our review, in Week 3 Brown graded positively or neutral on 13/18 runs and was an impact player in several.
Here, we see Brown and Barnes with excellent cut blocks to help create a giant hole on the right side for Cunningham. Brown got out ahead of Cameron Heyward and took him completely out of the play.
The Rams are still a work in progress in the run game, having favored a zone blocking scheme that is taking time to synchronize between the OL and Mason/Gurley (Gurley is still getting his feet wet in the ZBS). However, Brown looks like a natural player in this scheme and only had a few missed blocks.
Pass Blocking
In Week 3, Foles was sacked twice and pressured a handful of times but the OL held up well. One of the sacks was unblocked, with Arthur Moats coming off the right side of the line and no one assigned to block him. Brown was graded positively or neutral on 30/32 pass plays, and his OT background was clear.
Here we see Britt run a deep comeback route, which takes time to develop. Brown does a good job mirroring Cameron Heyward, and does not allow a pressure.
With two athletic former OT's at OG (Saffold was moved inside in 2013), the Rams appear to be setting up versatility inside and the ability to handle pressure from many looks.
Take Away
So far, Brown appears to be an ascending player for the Rams and should only continue to improve. He has not faced top tier pass rushers quite yet (Heyward averages 4 sacks a year, with 7.5 sacks last year) but possesses the skills to match up inside with athletic interior rushers.
The Rams sorely need impact play from at least one of their young OL sooner than later in order to give the Foles and the offense a chance. They appear to have that in Brown.