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With the 61st pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Rams select, Andrew Whitworth’s replacement?
There are those football fans who never stop thinking about the NFL Draft, treating it as a yearly long process and thinking about who could represent the future of their franchise.
And one mock draft on June 28 predicted where the Rams will land in the first two rounds and who the franchise will take. Signs are pointing to a future blindside protector, plus the soon-to-be 40-year-old Whitworth’s eventual successor.
Luke Easterling of USA Today’s Draft Wire released his early two round projections for 2022. He has the Rams, who won’t have a first round selection until the 2024 draft due to the Matthew Stafford trade, going at No. 61 overall in the second round. And Easterling’s pick: Oklahoma Left tackle Wayna Morris, who will soon protect a possible first round pick in Sooners quarterback Spencer Rattler.
Who is Wayna Morris?
For starters, there’s no family relation he has with R&B legend Wayna Morris of Boyz II Men fame whatsoever. Morris’s previous university Tennessee only lists his mother in his biography.
But this Wayna Morris is a 6-foot-5, 320-pound mammoth protector who tangled with Southeastern Conference defenders before transferring to OU in January 2021.
Morris rose to recruiting fame as a five-star offensive tackle from Grayson High in Loganville, Georgia for the 2019 class. He was the nation’s sixth-best tackle prospect for his graduating class per 247Sports. Morris was even used as a go-to short-yardage back in goal line situations as seen in his preps highlight reel.
He had 11 of the 14 SEC programs courting him through their scholarship offers including Alabama, LSU and in-state juggernaut Georgia but ultimately chose Tennessee. He delivered an immediate impact at Knoxville: Earning All-Conference Freshman team honors. He went on to start in 12 of the Volunteers’ 13 games. In the truncated 2020 season, Morris cracked the starting rotation in seven of nine games. The Vols sometimes used him as an extra blocking tight end in their “jumbo” looks, usually in short-yardage or goal line situations.
Morris was tabbed as the nation’s seventh-best transfer in the transfer portal. He’ll be playing in a fast-paced spread offense system in Norman.
Thinking Long Term After Whitworth
Whitworth has put together a Hall of Fame caliber career with four Pro Bowl appearances as proof. But he’s not getting any younger, even telling reporters in a June 1 video conference “Every time I get DoorDash from Taco Bell, I feel it. My joints know what happened,” while flashing a smile. Whitworth is also aiming to return from his left knee injury he sustained at SoFi Stadium in a November contest against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Rams made the bold decision to go without selecting a left tackle, let alone any offensive lineman, in the 2021 draft. Los Angeles didn’t turn to free agency either to add depth or a possible replacement for “Whit.” It goes to show the high level of confidence head coach Sean McVay has with this year’s offensive line unit.
But the draft process and thinking about the future comes with the territory of being an NFL franchise. And sometimes the thoughts surface in June, especially for those who love the draft. Even the Rams should be thinking about who can help the trenches moving forward. Morris looks like an intriguing fixture on the blindside with his past trench success in the SEC. But a big key for Morris is how dominant he looks in his move to OU. Protecting Rattler at a high level could mean protecting Matthew Stafford with little issue.
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