Random Ramsdom, 2/19: Can Aaron Donald bench more than DK Metcalf?

Guess who is here and never left... Links about the LA Rams! Including finding out how much Aaron Donald can bench. Advice: If trapped under a car, tweet at Donald to come save you. But don’t attack him with a knife.

Can Aaron Donald out-bench DK Metcalf? Yes.

11 cut candidates the Rams could be interested in this offseason - Rams Wire

LB Avery Williamson

Williamson missed the entire 2019 season with a torn ACL and could now be out in New York. It was a freak injury, as he played all but one game in his career prior to that point. Coming from a 3-4 defense, he’d slide in seamlessly at inside linebacker if Cory Littleton were to leave. He’s certainly someone the Rams should call immediately if he’s cut by the Jets.

Rams, Bears, Jaguars and Other NFL Teams That Find Themselves in Salary-Cap Hell - Bleacher Report

Mortal sin: Building a tiny Super Bowl window

The Rams assembled their roster and their budget around winning in 2018 or 2019, and they almost pulled it off. But they now must pay the price. Their ledger is top-heavy with massive cap numbers, a few of which are worth the money (Aaron Donald at $25 million), many of which are not (Jared Goff at $36 million), and at least one of which needs to be renegotiated pronto (Jalen Ramsey at $13.7 million in the final year of his rookie contract).

The Rams also traded away their first-round picks until 2022 for Ramsey, leaving them with neither an easy way to get better nor an exit strategy for moving on from pricey veterans.

Drone Footage of SoFi Stadium, last reports having it 85% completed:

Time to move on from Bryce Hager - Rams Wire

Over the course of his career, Hager has primarily contributed on special teams. However, his inability to consistently contribute on defense make him expendable. The Rams tried to give him an opportunity at linebacker last season, but he was unreliable in coverage and missed one tackle on only 12 attempts.

Rob Havenstein has something to prove in 2020 - Ramblin’ Fan

The LA Rams have some issues to sort out for the 2020 NFL season over their offensive line. But looking at the overall offensive line, we can sort through the good, the bad, and the ugly fairly quickly. For the good, the LA Rams veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworth put in a solid performance all season. Not only was he the only lineman to play all 16 games, but his 72.8 grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF) was tops on the team. The bad was the other offensive tackle, Rob Havenstein, whose PFF grade of 50.9 for 2019 was the worst grade of his career. For the ugly? Well, the play at left guard all season was… ugly.

Rams could make changes on offense following disappointing 2019 - ESPN

Running backs

Perhaps no group caused as much confusion about the Rams’ offensive identity last season than the running backs. An unstable offensive line was part of it, but the game plans, which relied on Goff and a platoon of backs, did not provide the group any favors. That must change in 2020.

Todd Gurley is unlikely to ever appear as the same breakaway, hurdling star that he was in 2018, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be the offensive focal point. The Rams’ chances of winning correlate directly to the number of touches Gurley receives.

Los Angeles Rams: 3 Las Vegas Raiders worth trading for - LA Sports Hub

The Los Angeles Rams‘ recent run of success has been characterized by two things: the arrival of Sean McVay, the youngest head coach in NFL history who has already put his name among the discussion for best head coach in the league.

Second of all, the Rams have been very aggressive in McVay’s tenure as head coach, not turning their heads twice to the idea of trading draft picks and various other assets to improve the team. As a result, the Rams do not have a first-round pick in 2020, making it the fourth year in a row without a first-round pick.

LA Rams 2020 NFL Draft will benefit from the robust QB class - Ramblin’ Fan

So the Rams can ignore all the talk of the 2020 NFL Draft quarterback class, right? Well, perhaps not so fast. The 2020 NFL Draft class boasts these quarterbacks: LSU QB Joe Borrow, Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa, Oregon QB Justin Herbert, Georgia QB Jake Fromm, Utah State QB Jordan Love, Washington QB Jacob Eason, Colorado QB Steven Montez, Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts, and more. That’s as many as eight quarterbacks who all have a strong chance of selection before the LA Rams use their first draft pick at 52. Why is that important?