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Rams 2020 breakout watchlist: OL David Edwards
It’s no coincidence that the Rams offense took a step back in the same year that the offensive line all but fell apart. It started to improve toward the end of last season after David Edwards, Aust…
theramswire.usatoday.com
It’s no coincidence that the Rams offense took a step back in the same year that the offensive line all but fell apart. It started to improve toward the end of last season after David Edwards, Austin Corbett and Bobby Evans were thrust into the starting lineup out of necessity, but it still wasn’t even close to average by the NFL’s standards.
Edwards was one of the bright spots, though, playing both left guard and right guard. He played best at right guard after Austin Blythe moved over to center, and he could remain there to start the 2020 season.
He won’t be handed the job, of course, but Edwards is one of the lead candidates to grab hold of a starting spot on the offensive line. And if he does, he could be in for a breakout season for Los Angeles.
NFL career thus far
Edwards was drafted in the fifth round last year and wasn’t expected to contribute as a rookie. However, with injuries suffered by Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen, Edwards was thrust into the starting lineup for 10 games.
He mostly played right guard, but his first taste of NFL action came at left guard in Week 7 after Noteboom went down. A few weeks later, Allen suffered an injury of his own and Austin Blythe shifted inside to center, thus moving Edwards to right guard and promoting Austin Corbett to the starting left guard.
Edwards committed far too many penalties – nine in total – last season, but he did only allow one sack on 689 snaps played and earned a PFF grade of 61.0.
Why he could break out
Edwards wasn’t a highly touted prospect out of Wisconsin, slipping all the way to the fifth round. But he has the size teams desire at guard and tackle, standing 6-foot-6 and 308 pounds. Of course, offensive line play comes down to much more than just physical stature, which is where Edwards must improve.
One reason he could break out, though, is his versatility and experience at right tackle. That helps him in pass protection when he’s left on an island, which was often the case when he was at Wisconsin. This isn’t a perfect example of that, but against the Bears last season, he had a one-on-one rep versus Khalil Mack, who rushed inside.
Edwards made Mack take a wide enough path to the quarterback that it was too late by the time Jared Goff got rid of the ball, which was a win for Edwards.
In the running game, he showed decent awareness when it came to getting to the second level and working with Bobby Evans on combo blocks. On this play, Edwards does a good job pushing the defender aside to open up a big hole for Todd Gurley on the right side of the line.
He got some help from Edwards, who gave the defender a shove, but this was a nice block by Edwards to give Gurley some room to run.
In the same game, Edwards cleared another path for Gurley up the middle by sustaining his block long enough for a hole to develop. It wasn’t a perfect block and the defender eventually slipped free from Edwards’ grasp, but Gurley picked up a solid chunk of yardage as a result of Edwards’ block.
If Edwards gets beat on the play, Gurley probably gets stopped right at the line.
Why he may not
For as many encouraging plays as Edwards had, he also had some that raise questions about his ability to play inside. Most of those questions come in pass protection where he can get overpowered by bigger interior defenders.
Al Woods of the Seahawks gave Edwards some trouble in their late-season matchup last year, winning a few battles on the interior. Edwards allowed Woods to pressure Goff on this play after getting beat to his outside shoulder, barely slowing Woods down.
Later in the game, he got bull-rushed by Woods straight back into Goff’s lap, though Goff was able to get rid of it before being sacked. Edwards loses leverage after he gets too upright and allows Woods to walk him back fairly quickly.
Woods isn’t known for being a dominant defensive tackle, either, so against the better linemen in the league, Edwards could struggle.
And finally, here’s an example of Edwards being thrown aside by a Bears defender on a running play up the middle. His assignment makes the tackle on Malcolm Brown, clearly losing this rep up front.
Edwards has good size, but his functional strength must improve. He has to be able to anchor down better and sustain blocks.
The biggest hurdle in Edwards’ path to potentially breaking out is the competition he’ll face at guard. Noteboom, Corbett, Blythe and even Bobby Evans could all compete for starting spots at guard, which might push Edwards to the bench.
The Rams just want to get their five best linemen on the field, and if Edwards can’t prove to be one of them, he’ll be relegated to a backup roles like the one he had early last season.
