The Los Angeles Rams failed to address the center position in Round 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft. Instead, the team invested their 57th overall pick in Louisville rookie wide receiver prospect Tutu Atwell, a player who many expected to remain on the draft board until Day 3. Perhaps the worst feeling of all happened to Rams fans who lobbied passionately for the team to select Oklahoma rookie center prospect, Creed Humphrey.
The Kansas City Chiefs did not make the same mistake, selecting Humphrey late in Round 2 with the 63rd overall pick. As a result, Rams fans have never forgotten, and some Rams fans have never forgiven the team for the willingness to prioritize a gadget offensive weapon over securing a vital position in the offensive trenches.
But it gets worse.
Since failing to select Humphrey in 2021, the Rams have started a small army at center. They include:
Brian Allen - retired
Coleman Shelton -Super Bowl LVI starter
Steve Avila - cross-trained to center, struggled, returned to left guard
Jonah Jackson - cross-trained to center, struggled, returned to left guard, injured, traded away
Beaux Limmer - Day 3 rooke selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, started in 2024
Coleman Shelton - Returned, projected starter for the 2025 NFL season.
Meanwhile, center Creed Humphrey has started every game for the Kansas City Chiefs since being drafted. That works out to 68 regular season games plus 13 NFL Playoff games. He was in the running for 2021 Offensive Rookie of the Year, a three-time Pro Bowler, and an All-Pro once. He competed in the Super Bowl three times and twice was the starting center for the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.
And now, he reminds Rams fans once again about a draft gaffe by the front office that could have made a huge difference in the team's history to this point in time. Creed Humphrey is ranked 93rd among the Top 100 NFL players for the 2025 NFL season:
Creed Humphrey is the first Chief to crack this year's #NFLTop100 💪 pic.twitter.com/alJGUxjVzO
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) July 4, 2025
Of course, any action to change the past changes everything about the past. That is, were the team able to go back and draft Creed Humphrey over Tutu Atwell, the Rams may never have won Super Bowl LVI either. Would the Rams even have been confident enough in a rookie offensive lineman to allow him to start in his rookie season? We can and will never know.
Perhaps it's better that way. Who can say how successful this Rams team might have been with consistent elite production from the center position?
As always, thanks for reading.
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