WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — The chemistry built by an offensive line has to transcend what's on the football field. At least, that's what Rams offensive lineman Kevin Dotson believes.

"We got offensive line stuff, go eat and things like that. That's another thing that builds togetherness, watch film together, and anything we can do, we do," Dotson told therams.com. "That's kind of how most offensive lines have to be, or good offensive lines have to have that to build on. You can't just be football friends, you got to be a group."

For the interior of the Rams offensive line — Dotson, and offensive linemen Steve Avila and Coleman Shelton — the three are moving into their second-consecutive year playing together and are continuing to build that sense of togetherness. The initial introductions, though, were made in the 2023 season when the three started at their respective positions next to each other for the majority of the season.

After building a strong rapport, the goal was to make the transition from one season to the next feel effortless heading into 2026.

"There's an expectation from all of us. We all know what we're good at, and we all know what that is," Avila told therams.com. "So, yeah, I feel like continuity definitely plays a vital role in offensive line success."

Having already spent multiple season with each other, learning each other's tendencies and preferences, getting into midseason form becomes a whole lot easier.

"We can't wait till we get to that spot in the season where it's like, okay, we damn near reading each other's mind on what we're thinking," Dotson said.

Already in Week 1 of the 2026 season, all three of Dotson, Avila, and Shelton seem to be nearing the midseason form they're looking to achieve as quickly as possible. As a collective, all three earned a run-blocking grade above 80.0, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). Individually, both Shelton and Avila performed at the top or near the highest at their respective position in Week 1, according to offensive and run blocking grades by PFF.

"If you say, 'all right, what are some of the things that we can build on?' There was some really good stuff from Coleman and from Steve and from K-Dot," head coach Sean McVay said Sept. 17.

Granted, it's only Week 1. The three experienced interior offensive linemen know that the trust and instinctual shifts built in previous season will only become more concrete with time — and that's what's most exciting for them.

"You take pieces with you from previous seasons, and we always discuss about how those last maybe six weeks — and I'm getting chills right now, I can't even explain it — you're just on it," Avila said. "Every play I know when this was gonna happen. I know what I have to do."

That on-field chemistry is nearly indescribable, as Avila attempted to convey. Although it takes most offensive lines until midseason to reach that form, the continuity with the Rams interior group has already shown how years of reps with each other make that transition easier, and potentially quicker.

"The more continuity, the less hesitation. Less hesitation, the better you play," Dotson said. "So it's more like when we can get to that confidence of where I know this guy is gonna be here, I can go full speed, and I'm not leaving him, but I know that he'll be in the spot that I just left because we've done it so much."

Much of that chemistry is built on the field and in the film room, giving ideas and observations to each other when they see fit. But with added years of working together and built trust, everyone feels comfortable enough to simply have a conversation to give pointers, no matter the place or time.

"We're always working together on how can we hit this block the best way possible to get the best result," Shelton told therams.com. "So we're always working with each other and kind of spit balling ideas and then going out on the field and trying to execute it. And if it doesn't work one way, we'll try another way. We're kind of always working together."

"Outside of film sessions, people tell each other like, 'Hey, I seen this right here. Any way you can do this?' And if somebody thinks 'I don't know if I could do that,' then we find some type of way to get it done," Dotson said. "That's how we get to the end of the season doing stuff where we're not even talking."

That trust also isn't limited to just the three players themselves. Now under a third-straight season with offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase on the coaching staff, and his first in his current coordinator role, he feels comfortable knowing who he and the Rams have to protect quarterback Matthew Stafford and set the tone in the run game.

"The fact that those guys have played around each other as much as they have, we're able to lean on them," Scheelhaase said Sept. 18. "We got a lot of trust in those guys. We got trust in Coleman getting up there, making calls, getting us right, play in and play out. We got trust in K-Dot and Steve, and obviously their ability to create removal on the inside, their ability to pass protect, and they've done a great job of that. I'm fired up that that's the interior of our offensive line."

It's only one week into the regular season, so there's still plenty of practices and games for everything to click back into midseason form. But if Week 1 was any indication, that feeling of reaching their fullest potential that Avila can hardly describe might come sooner than expected.