Ex Horned Frogs OL Poised for Another Big NFL Season With Rams

Former TCU standout Steve Avila continues to establish himself as an important piece of the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive line, and Pro Football Focus’ latest rankings reflect the progress he has made during his NFL career.

PFF ranked the Rams’ offensive line No. 11 entering the 2026 season, putting Los Angeles among the better units in the league. While the ranking reflects the collective strength of the group, Avila stands out as one of the key reasons for optimism surrounding the Rams up front.

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"Eleven guards earned PFF grades of 75.0 or better in 2025, and Steve Avila and Kevin Dotson were the only two teammates in that group," Gordon McGuinness writes. "Avila has improved throughout his three seasons in the league and could make himself some serious money with another strong campaign in a contract year."

Avila is entering his fourth NFL season after Los Angeles selected him in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Arlington native immediately became a fixture on the Rams’ offensive line, starting all 17 games as a rookie and earning PFWA All-Rookie Team honors.

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His development has continued since then.

After dealing with injuries during the 2024 season, Avila returned to left guard in 2025 and put together the strongest season of his young career. According to PFF, he finished with a 76.8 offensive grade, which ranked eighth among qualified guards. His 74.1 run-blocking grade also placed him among the league’s better players at the position. He surrendered just one sack on 450 pass-blocking snaps.

That performance is particularly encouraging for the Rams heading into 2026.

Avila has already demonstrated that he can be a reliable interior blocker when healthy, while his versatility remains an important part of his value. At TCU, he played multiple positions along the offensive line before becoming one of the Horned Frogs’ most dominant interior linemen. He eventually became a consensus All-American during TCU’s memorable 2022 season.

That versatility has carried into the NFL. Avila has experience at center and guard, giving Los Angeles another valuable option when constructing its offensive line.

The former Horned Frog also showed his impact late in the 2025 season. After returning from an ankle injury, Avila quickly became one of the Rams’ better offensive linemen. He earned an 80.1 PFF grade in Los Angeles’ Week 11 win over Seattle, with his run blocking helping spark a strong performance from the Rams’ ground game.

Now, Avila enters a critical 2026 season. With the Rams already viewed as having one of the NFL’s stronger offensive lines, another step forward from the former TCU star could make the unit even more formidable.

For Avila, staying healthy and building on his 2025 breakout could be the next step toward establishing himself as one of the league’s premier young guards.