Will This Rams Lineman Win Protector of the Year?

Well, now the Rams' offensive linemen have an opportunity to win an award. The brainchild of Rams legend Andrew Whitworth and helped turned into reality by Buffalo Bills Dion Dawkins, the NFL will be debuting a new award titled Protector of the Year.

"I'm going to give credit to Dion Dawkins from Buffalo," NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said Wednesday from the Spring League Meeting in Minnesota.

"He was truly instrumental, him and Andrew Whitworth, of just making sure that we recognize the big fellas. LeCharles Bentley, Jason Kelce, Shaun O'Hara, Orlando Pace, Will Shields and Andrew Whitworth will be the panel. ... They've come up with a criteria on skills, metrics, impact, leadership, durability and strength of the opponent. We'll be tracking that quarterly with this group."

Whitworth was motivated by the idea in early April, telling the Los Angeles Times' Sam Farmer he believed the position group deserved an accolade to recognize the best of the starting five, the five who put their bodies through pain in the trenches in pursuit of the overall success of the unit.

Whitworth added that such an honor might also influence the next generation of future offensive linemen, incentivizing the position that is often overlooked and undervalued by the casual fan.

In my opinion, the award needs a better name like The Munoz or The Otto.

Rams legends Whitworth and Orlando Pace were bad men for the franchise back in the day. In fact, the Rams have a proud history of top-talent offensive linemen such as Tom Mack, Jackie Slater, and Rob Havenstein.

Therefore it may be fitting is just not overall poetic that a member of the Los Angeles Rams would win the inaugural award.

I believe Kevin Dotson has the best chance to win the award. He's a pros pro who has played every necessary game for the Rams over the past two years, only resting when the Rams' playoff spot was wrapped up.

He's hitting his intellectual and physical peaks at the same time, he is a monster on the field, and with a veteran center, Dotson can just look and get to work.

With running backs that love the inside, expect Dotson to get it done.