For the last couple of seasons, the St. Louis Rams have been one of the worst teams in the NFL when it comes to offensive line consistency, although things did improve drastically last season. Still, they have a huge need at Right Tackle, and going for Sebastian Vollmer seems like one of their biggest needs this free agency.

The Rams had 9 different players start for them in the offensive line last season, allowing 35 sacks; a huge improvement when compared with the 2011 season, when they allowed an NFL-worst 55 sacks. Still, Barry Richardson did a terrible job on the right side of the O-line, not only giving up a lot of sacks and quarterback hurries, but also making it very hard for running backs to go through the right side.

Right Tackle isn’t the only need for the Rams – they need depth, and a guard or center who can do more than just one thing will really help solidify the position, but looking at potential elite players hitting free agency, going after Sebastian Vollmer from the New England Patriots might be the best thing they do all offseason.

The Patriots decided not to use the franchise tag on anyone, which means that Vollmer, along with a few other high-profile players on the Pats, is going to hit free agency unless a long-term contract is agreed. There are some concerns because of his injury in 2011, but in general, Vollmer is the best tackle hitting free agency this season, and did a good job in coming back during the 2012 season.

In order for Sam Bradford to finally deliver in the way the Rams believe he can, he needs quality protection, especially in a division with teams like the 49ers, Seahawks and the Cardinals who are very good at getting to the quarterback. Vollmer excelled for the Patriots during his four seasons there, and his body of work, size, athleticism and age make him worthy of a big contract to finally take the Rams’ offensive line, and hopefully entire offense, to the next level.

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