Rams Pick Offensive Lineman Olu Fashanu in 2024 NFL Mock Draft

In a new 2024 NFL Mock Draft, the Los Angeles Rams finally find a successor for Andrew Whitworth.

Led by the veteran trio of defensive tackle Aaron Donald, receiver Cooper Kupp, and quarterback Matthew Stafford, the Los Angeles Rams are hopeful to rebound from a disappointing 5-12 campaign a season ago and return to the postseason in 2023. 

However, between an aging core and a lack of proven talent outside of Donald on the defensive side of the ball, there's a chance that the best-case scenario doesn't happen, and the Rams end up with a high pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

That's exactly what ESPN's Matt Miller projected in his latest 2024 Mock Draft, as he has the Rams winding up with the fifth overall pick. And with the No. 5 selection, general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay (??) select Penn State offensive tackle. 

"Andrew Whitworth retiring is among the chief reasons the Rams struggled last season, but a top-five selection would provide a chance to address the left side of the offensive line," Miller wrote. "An evaluator from an AFC team with over 10 years of NFL experience told me this is the deepest tackle group he can remember, and Fashanu is graded as OT1 right now, showing great mobility and quickness. A first-year starter in 2022, Fashanu allowed zero sacks and just two pressures." 

Regardless of who is playing quarterback for the Rams, solidifying left tackle for the long term needs to be of utmost importance for Los Angeles moving forward. Fashanu -- who is 6-foot-6, 323 pounds and was Second-Team All-Big-10 in 2022 -- would seemingly accomplish that goal. 

At the same time, we would argue that if the Rams are picking this high in 2024 -- when they're slated to have a first-round pick for the first time since 2016 -- quarterback will need to be a serious consideration. Stafford was limited to nine games in 2022, and if the Rams struggle in 2023 again, the 35-year-old quarterback would have an uncertain future, both with his current employer and in the league as a whole. 

The Rams would likely need to secure one of the top three picks -- and possibly top two, if they aren't both owned by the division-rival Arizona Cardinals -- to land USC's Caleb Williams or North Carolina's Drake Maye. 

But depending on how their final collegiate seasons go, Washington's Michael Penix Jr., Texas' Quinn Ewers and Oregon's Bo Nix are among the other quarterbacks that could be considerations for the Rams in the first round. It's possible Los Angeles would be able to move back from No. 5, collect much-needed draft capital and still land one of those quarterbacks. 

In the scenario that the Rams do go with a quarterback in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, left tackle would still be a glaring hole on the team. But if it's clear this upcoming season that Stafford has hit a wall physically -- and you're trying to lure both Donald and McVay back for at least another season -- Los Angeles will need a plan at quarterback. 

You can follow Tim Kelly @TimKellySports on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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