Despite needing edge rushers and linebackers last season, the Los Angeles Rams spent their first two draft picks on offensive linemen. They did so in somewhat surprising fashion, considering four of the five starting spots were already locked up.

Not surprisingly, Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen, their top two draft picks, hardly got on the field in 2018. Noteboom played 78 snaps, while Allen only played 36. Many fans were disappointed with the picks because they weren’t flashy or impactful, but the Rams knew what they were doing.

Noteboom and Allen are projected to be starters with Rodger Saffold and John Sullivan gone, two players the Rams knew this time last year might be off the roster in 2019. They haven’t locked down starting jobs just yet, but the Rams feel comfortable inserting them into the lineup.

That won’t prevent them from drafting another lineman or two, but not necessarily to be Day 1 starters.

“It will be a good year to try to get another quality OL that you can hopefully redshirt,” Les Snead said, via Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times. “The goal is to get younger.”

Sean McVay told Klein that “there’s some good depth inside in this draft,” which bodes well for the Rams. Just about every mock draft projects the Rams to take at least one offensive lineman at some point, some predicting it to happen as early as Round 1.

“[I] think you can expect to see us like we did last year add a couple guys that hopefully we project as [eventual] starters,” McVay said.

Which position the Rams address is the biggest mystery. There are a number of ways they can go, potentially drafting a player at any of the three offensive line spots: guard, tackle or center.

If they draft a guard, Noteboom could be supplanted as the starter and go back to being the swing tackle. If they draft a tackle, it’ll likely indicate Noteboom will be the starter with the draft pick being the backup and potential heir to Andrew Whitworth. If the Rams select a center, the “loser” of the training camp battle will simply become the backup.

The defense is clearly a bigger priority for L.A., as evidenced by the team’s pre-draft visitors, but the Rams are doing their due diligence on the offensive line with the expectation of drafting at least one guy up front.