St. Louis Rams: Five Best Position Battles Heading into OTAs

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

As the St. Louis Rams prepare to get back on the field as a full team with organized team activities starting in just over a week, there’s a sense of excitement. This collection of talent, which started coming to fruition in 2012 with Les Snead and Jeff Fisher’s first draft, is now nearing full development, and it’s time that this Rams team starts seriously competing for a playoff berth.

Before they begin pushing for the postseason, however, the Rams’ front office has some important decisions to make. More than in any other offseason under this administration, the Rams avoided free agency this year while allowing several contributors, including Kendall Langford, Joe Barksdale, Davin Joseph, Scott Wells, Jake Long, and Shaun Hill, to depart. There are several positions that are seemingly up for grabs going into this season, and we’ll see how that drama shakes out as offseason practices get underway.

Really, there aren’t too many authentic position battles in the NFL these days, because limited practice time under the new CBA and an ever-growing sense of pride at stake from front offices over their draft picks, many decisions have already been made before players ever step on the field. To an extent, though, on-field performance in advance of the regular season is always going to play a role in determining who plays when the games that count come around, so the guys who play positions without clearly-defined starters should be prepared to ramp it up.

Here are the five most intriguing competitions as we prepare for OTAs to get underway.

Next: 5. Wide Receiver