Should Rams consider using Jonah Jackson like this against Vikings?

Should Rams consider using Jonah Jackson as a sixth offensive lineman?

One of the bigger offseason acquisitions for the Los Angeles Rams this offseason was the free agent signing of guard Jonah Jackson. Unfortunately for the Rams, the signing has not gone as planned and Jackson has been a free agent bust up to this point. Jackson started the year hurt and then was moved to center. When Jackson did play with the starting five, it didn’t look good which is why the Rams eventually moved to Beaux Limmer at center.

After not seeing the field in eight weeks, Jackson finally got playing time at right guard in Week 18 against the Seattle Seahawks. The performance ended up being by far Jackson’s best performance in a Rams uniform. According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson finished with an overall blocking grade of 91.8 with a run blocking grade of 91.6. Jackson allowed just two pressures in pass protection and was the third-highest graded interior offensive lineman for the week.

At this point, the Rams aren’t going to make a change along the offensive line and nor should they. Kevin Dotson has found his form at right guard while Steve Avila and Limmer have consistently been a stable presence on the inside. The Rams will need to figure out the Jonah Jackson problem this offseason. However, they can still find ways to utilize him..

Over the past week, there has been a lot of discussion about how stale the Rams offense has been. Since scoring 44 points against the Buffalo Bills, the starting Rams offense has scored just 44 points in the three games since, failing to eclipse 20 points. If the Rams go into the game on Monday Night with the thought process that a week off is all that they needed to get back on track, they will lose.

It will be important for Sean McVay to tinker, but not tinker too much. The Rams head coach needs to make adjustments without those adjustments being detrimental to what the offensive identity has been this season.

In big games throughout McVay’s coaching career, it has not been unlike him to go deep in his bag of tricks to catch the defense off balance. That’s exactly what happened back in Week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings and it worked. Back in Week 8, the Rams got into heavier personnel, running almost two dozen plays with two tight ends on the field. The Rams would operate with two tight ends on the field and then run Kyren Williams to the weak side of the formation. The Rams also utilized a lot of quick passes with eight of Matthew Stafford’s passes coming at or behind the line of scrimmage. That was a season high for the Rams quarterback.

Back in 2021 against the Arizona Cardinals, in the same State Farm Stadium that the Rams will be playing in on Monday Night, McVay once again got in his bag of tricks. Dealing with a lack of personnel due to Covid, the Rams brought out a few six-man. In that game, the Rams used Bobby Evans as an extra tackle and utilized more six-offensive-linemen personnel groupings than at any other time with McVay as the head coach. That game plan worked as the Rams won 30-23.

This is something that the Bills have done regularly this season with a lot of success. The Bills have used Alec Anderson as a sixth offensive lineman more than any other team. Utilizing a sixth offensive lineman has helped create mismatches in the run game for the Bills offense. It also allows them to have an extra inline “tight end” and block big on big when they go play action in those heavier formations. Doing this is even more effective against teams with smaller edge players.

It’s at this point that it’s worth noting that Jonathan Greenard has a height and weight in the 39th and 20th percentile while Dallas Turner’s are in the 21st and ninth. When the Rams did this in 2021, it was with an extra tackle in Evans. The Bills use it with Anderson who is also an extra tackle. However, the primary point here is to find a way to get a bigger body on the field in order to physically overwhelm opponents in the trenches, especially in the run game. That’s exactly what Jackson’s role would be and he has shown to excel in the run game.

Again, Anderson has 152 snaps as an in-line tight end this season which is more than any other offensive lineman in the NFL. The Rams haven’t used an offensive lineman as an in-line tight end once in 2024.

This could be an added twist that helps get the Rams offense back on track in a big playoff game on Monday Night football against the Vikings. To win this game, the Rams are going to have to find success in the game against the NFL’s best run defense based on EPA per rush.

In his first action since Week 10, Jonah Jackson showed the upside that he brings, especially in the run game against the Seahawks. By using a sixth offensive lineman, the Rams can add a new twist that the Vikings haven’t seen and still get Jackson on the field in a limited capacity.