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- Aug 16, 2014
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Preface: My plan for the offseason will probably be unpopular and go against the grain. But, that’s OK. I’m sure there will be at least 1 person who can relate.
The Rams came out of nowhere to make the playoffs in McVay’s first season as coach and the Superbowl in his second. The Rams got there because they score on average 30 points a game, near tops in the league, and without a top performance by the defense. Yes, the defense improved their play in the playoffs to help elevate the team. Even with the team averaging 30 pts/gm, they had a difficult time scoring against high ranked defenses. This is the biggest area of improvement needed and the reasoning behind my decisions.
I am going to invest high draft capital in offense because I know McVay will be in the Captain’s chair for a while. While on the other hand, Wade Phillips is 71 and I don’t know how much longer he will remain the DC . I don’t want to invest capital in young 3-4 Edge rushers that may not be needed if something happened to Wade in the next season or so and having to bring in another DC that may run a 4-3 base. I will go the route of Free Agency, short term deals, to stock the OLB and NT position.
Main focus: the interior of the O-line has to become Stout.
Cuts:
John Sullivan
Mark Barron
Justin Davis
Marqui Christian
Resign:
Roger Saffold
Sam Shields
CJ Anderson
Blake Countess
Bryce Hagar
Corey Littleton 2nd rnd RFA tender
Outside FA’s:
Preston Smith (Edge/OLB) 2-yrs from the Redskins, coming of his rookie deal, he had 50 pressures along with 30 run stops in 2018
Anthony Harris ( Safety) 1 YR Had his best season last year with the Vikings and is now a UFA. He can be a stop gap until the next drafted Safety gets their feet wet.
Rashaan Melvin (CB) 3 yrs I projected him to the Rams last season. He signed with the Raiders for 1 year and his performance dipped, but then so did most of the team. He still has the skills to be a productive man-to-man coverage CB.
Jonathan Hankins ( DT/NT ) 1-yr signed a 1 yr deal with the Raiders last year and outplayed most of his teammates. He can play most of the snaps at NT.
Mitch Morse (Center) 3-yrs from the Chiefs; coming off of his rookie contract where he only gave up 4 pressures on 443 pass snaps in 2018 ; he does not succumb to the Bull rush.
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TRADE:
Rams trade CB Marcus Peters to the Chargers for their 3rd round pick.
Chargers are walking away from Jason Varrett and need another play making CB to help slow down the rival Chiefs. They will take on his 9-Mil dollar salary.
After starting the FA period with 32-Mil in Cap space, Rams will end up with 12-Mil after these cuts/signings and the draft
Draft:
Trade: Rams send picks #31 & #98 (approx.) to Colts
Colts send pick #26
Trade: Rams send pick #91 (from Chargers) to the Giants
Giants send picks #108 & #137 ( approx. due to comp picks )
1st Rnd #26 Dalton Risner OT/C Kansas St. 6/5 310
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWK6xR2Et70
Risner has top tier functional strength. Power rushers rarely cause pressure through him. He has exceptional hand usage. In the run game, when he gets his hands on a defender it’s game over . He is great in space ; he explodes out of his stance and arrives at his target under control. Plays with great tancity and nastiness. Has uncanny mental processing ; picks up late pressure, passes off stunts and picks up twists all with ease. Very durable ; only missed 1 game in his career. And, in pass sets, only gave up 28 total pressures in 4 years, and I believe only 1 sack in 3 season at RT. Played Center as a freshman and then RT for the balance. He would be my starting RG on opening day.
3rd Rnd #100 Marquise Blair Safety Utah
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4mx5m1LJ-8
Even though the Rams have their safeties play both in coverage near the LOS and back as a single high, there are not many in this Safety class that possess the range needed to play Sgl high. I think @Jrry alluded to this in his Mock. However, Blair has traits that translate to playing Sgl high on occasion. He is a big Safety who can move better than average. Per a scout from the Senior bowl, “Blair showed the most functional versatility of all the Safties at the Senior Bowl”. His movement skills are similar to Deionte Thompson. And, as you can see in his highlite reel he can lay the wood like John Abraham from Miss St. When tasked to play Sgl high, he always played deep and he never let receivers get behind. But, in doing so he lost his opportunity to make plays on the ball. This is something he will need to be coached on. Per another source, “his playing temperament and demeanor are ideal for the poisiton”. I look for him to start as a situational 3rd safety in packages, taking Marqui Christian’s spot.
Rnd 4 #108 (from Giants) Dawson Knox TE Ole Miss 6/4 250
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uEaWmXk7ow
.
A TE with great upside as a pass catcher and above average fundamentals as a blocker. He is somewhat of an enigma in that he wasn’t targeted much in the passing game. And, that could be because Ole Miss had one of the best WR Corps in the country with Metcalf, Brown and Lodge. He is explosive off of the LOS and is a challenge for Safties to cover in the middle of the field. He often ran wheel routes with LB’s having a difficult time trying to stay with him. I see him as an upgrade to Everett as in in-line TE and has a better ability to separate from defenders than Higbee downfield.
Rnd 4 #133 Antoine Wesley WR Texas Tech 6/5 200
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0V1X7vs0AI
Long WR with speed and agility. Great leaping ability to be a legitimate RED Zone threat. Doesn’t have great burst but has good long speed to separate. He is fluid in all of the cuts in his route running. He thrives with contested catches ; easily adjusts to the ball, good body control, and excellent concentration on the ball in flight. He has shiftiness you don’t see in WR’s his height. He is also a willing blocker. With his arm length he wins most reps while blocking up field. He provides Goff another weapon in the Red zone along with being to haul in contested balls that others have a difficulty with, i.e Brandin Cooks. He will be great depth to play on the outside if Woods or Cooks goes down.
Rnd 4 #137 (from Giants) Justin Layne CB Michigan St
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0CJAwGnmdU
Layne has great size and length. He has decent long speed to stay with receivers on long routes but is not explosive enough to make up ground if beaten at the LOS. Has good ball skills ; is a converted receiver. Has great length, strength, technique and balance to disrupt receivers at the LOS. He has limitations playing in zone. Layne will do well as an outside CB in a Press/Man scheme.
Rnd 5 #170 L.J. Collier DE/DT TCU 6/4 276
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnHS1Qduvgg
Collier played mostly on the Edge for TCU. At the Senior bowl, he practiced on the Outside, but during the game they moved him to the 3-Tech (DT). He not only held his own, he was dominate ; he had 3 tackles, 2 Sacks, 2 tackle for loss, and 1 forced fumble. Collier has good speed when rushing from the Edge, has a powerful Bull rush, various counters to go along violent hand usage. He is also stout in the run game. He can take over in the DL rotation replacing Ethan Westbrooks and can fill in as an OLB if needed.
Rnd 6 #205 Drue Tranquill LB Notre Dame 6/2 233 4.65/40
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g553FLQgYwc
Tranquill is an undersized LB who converted from Safety after his Junior year. He has 2 ACL injuries during that time which sapped him of some of his athleticism. He is instinctive and plays fast which helps make up for some of his lost quickness. Not explosive, but has build-up speed to get to the boundary, and takes good angles. Has good coverage skills against TE’s going up the middle of the field ; stays in their hip pocket with minimal contact. he is a bit limited in the flat covering RB’s due to the loss of some his athleticism. He is a smart LB who’s physicality & toughness will never be questioned. He is assignment sound and good at maintaining gaps in run defense. High character player with great heart that I want even if he doesn’t become a starter. Even with his ACL injuries, most likely offers better coverage skills than Hager & Kiser.
Rnd 7 #253 Armon Watts DT Arkansas 6/4 310
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUcTDr83WTA
Watts took 3 years to become a starter and made the most of his opportunity as a senior. His stat line as follows ; 7 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 49 total tackles, 25 solo.
Positives: Great leverage ; difficult to move in the Run game. Has great hand usage to neutralize o-line men attempting to get a hand on him. Has a good Bull rush and eventhough he is slow off of the LOS, his 2nd & 3rd step help him get to the blockers edge.
Negatives: slow footed in space ; does not pursue once the ball is out of the area. He can’t attack gaps at the snap due to lack of first step quickness.
Watts should make a good back-up NT in Wade’s system. He should be an instant upgrade over Tanzell Smart.
Projected starters:
QB: Jared Goff
HB: Todd Gurley
XWR: Brandin Cooks
ZWR: Robert Woods
SLWR: Cooper Kupp
TE: Tyler Higbee / Dawson Knox
LT: Andrew Whitworth
LG: Rodger Saffold
C: Mitch Morse
RG: Dalton Risner
RT: Rob Havenstein
5T: Michael Brockers
NT: Jonathan Hankins
3T: Aaron Donald
WOLB: Samson Ebukam
ILB: Cory Littleton
ILB: Ramik Wilson / Micah Kiser
SOLB: Preston Smith
RCB: Aqib Talib
LCB: Rashaan Melvin
SLCB: Nickell Robey-Coleman
FS: John Johnson
SS: Anthony Harris
The Rams came out of nowhere to make the playoffs in McVay’s first season as coach and the Superbowl in his second. The Rams got there because they score on average 30 points a game, near tops in the league, and without a top performance by the defense. Yes, the defense improved their play in the playoffs to help elevate the team. Even with the team averaging 30 pts/gm, they had a difficult time scoring against high ranked defenses. This is the biggest area of improvement needed and the reasoning behind my decisions.
I am going to invest high draft capital in offense because I know McVay will be in the Captain’s chair for a while. While on the other hand, Wade Phillips is 71 and I don’t know how much longer he will remain the DC . I don’t want to invest capital in young 3-4 Edge rushers that may not be needed if something happened to Wade in the next season or so and having to bring in another DC that may run a 4-3 base. I will go the route of Free Agency, short term deals, to stock the OLB and NT position.
Main focus: the interior of the O-line has to become Stout.
Cuts:
John Sullivan
Mark Barron
Justin Davis
Marqui Christian
Resign:
Roger Saffold
Sam Shields
CJ Anderson
Blake Countess
Bryce Hagar
Corey Littleton 2nd rnd RFA tender
Outside FA’s:
Preston Smith (Edge/OLB) 2-yrs from the Redskins, coming of his rookie deal, he had 50 pressures along with 30 run stops in 2018
Anthony Harris ( Safety) 1 YR Had his best season last year with the Vikings and is now a UFA. He can be a stop gap until the next drafted Safety gets their feet wet.
Rashaan Melvin (CB) 3 yrs I projected him to the Rams last season. He signed with the Raiders for 1 year and his performance dipped, but then so did most of the team. He still has the skills to be a productive man-to-man coverage CB.
Jonathan Hankins ( DT/NT ) 1-yr signed a 1 yr deal with the Raiders last year and outplayed most of his teammates. He can play most of the snaps at NT.
Mitch Morse (Center) 3-yrs from the Chiefs; coming off of his rookie contract where he only gave up 4 pressures on 443 pass snaps in 2018 ; he does not succumb to the Bull rush.
TRADE:
Rams trade CB Marcus Peters to the Chargers for their 3rd round pick.
Chargers are walking away from Jason Varrett and need another play making CB to help slow down the rival Chiefs. They will take on his 9-Mil dollar salary.
After starting the FA period with 32-Mil in Cap space, Rams will end up with 12-Mil after these cuts/signings and the draft
Draft:
Trade: Rams send picks #31 & #98 (approx.) to Colts
Colts send pick #26
Trade: Rams send pick #91 (from Chargers) to the Giants
Giants send picks #108 & #137 ( approx. due to comp picks )
1st Rnd #26 Dalton Risner OT/C Kansas St. 6/5 310
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWK6xR2Et70
Risner has top tier functional strength. Power rushers rarely cause pressure through him. He has exceptional hand usage. In the run game, when he gets his hands on a defender it’s game over . He is great in space ; he explodes out of his stance and arrives at his target under control. Plays with great tancity and nastiness. Has uncanny mental processing ; picks up late pressure, passes off stunts and picks up twists all with ease. Very durable ; only missed 1 game in his career. And, in pass sets, only gave up 28 total pressures in 4 years, and I believe only 1 sack in 3 season at RT. Played Center as a freshman and then RT for the balance. He would be my starting RG on opening day.
3rd Rnd #100 Marquise Blair Safety Utah
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4mx5m1LJ-8
Even though the Rams have their safeties play both in coverage near the LOS and back as a single high, there are not many in this Safety class that possess the range needed to play Sgl high. I think @Jrry alluded to this in his Mock. However, Blair has traits that translate to playing Sgl high on occasion. He is a big Safety who can move better than average. Per a scout from the Senior bowl, “Blair showed the most functional versatility of all the Safties at the Senior Bowl”. His movement skills are similar to Deionte Thompson. And, as you can see in his highlite reel he can lay the wood like John Abraham from Miss St. When tasked to play Sgl high, he always played deep and he never let receivers get behind. But, in doing so he lost his opportunity to make plays on the ball. This is something he will need to be coached on. Per another source, “his playing temperament and demeanor are ideal for the poisiton”. I look for him to start as a situational 3rd safety in packages, taking Marqui Christian’s spot.
Rnd 4 #108 (from Giants) Dawson Knox TE Ole Miss 6/4 250
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uEaWmXk7ow
.
A TE with great upside as a pass catcher and above average fundamentals as a blocker. He is somewhat of an enigma in that he wasn’t targeted much in the passing game. And, that could be because Ole Miss had one of the best WR Corps in the country with Metcalf, Brown and Lodge. He is explosive off of the LOS and is a challenge for Safties to cover in the middle of the field. He often ran wheel routes with LB’s having a difficult time trying to stay with him. I see him as an upgrade to Everett as in in-line TE and has a better ability to separate from defenders than Higbee downfield.
Rnd 4 #133 Antoine Wesley WR Texas Tech 6/5 200
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0V1X7vs0AI
Long WR with speed and agility. Great leaping ability to be a legitimate RED Zone threat. Doesn’t have great burst but has good long speed to separate. He is fluid in all of the cuts in his route running. He thrives with contested catches ; easily adjusts to the ball, good body control, and excellent concentration on the ball in flight. He has shiftiness you don’t see in WR’s his height. He is also a willing blocker. With his arm length he wins most reps while blocking up field. He provides Goff another weapon in the Red zone along with being to haul in contested balls that others have a difficulty with, i.e Brandin Cooks. He will be great depth to play on the outside if Woods or Cooks goes down.
Rnd 4 #137 (from Giants) Justin Layne CB Michigan St
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0CJAwGnmdU
Layne has great size and length. He has decent long speed to stay with receivers on long routes but is not explosive enough to make up ground if beaten at the LOS. Has good ball skills ; is a converted receiver. Has great length, strength, technique and balance to disrupt receivers at the LOS. He has limitations playing in zone. Layne will do well as an outside CB in a Press/Man scheme.
Rnd 5 #170 L.J. Collier DE/DT TCU 6/4 276
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnHS1Qduvgg
Collier played mostly on the Edge for TCU. At the Senior bowl, he practiced on the Outside, but during the game they moved him to the 3-Tech (DT). He not only held his own, he was dominate ; he had 3 tackles, 2 Sacks, 2 tackle for loss, and 1 forced fumble. Collier has good speed when rushing from the Edge, has a powerful Bull rush, various counters to go along violent hand usage. He is also stout in the run game. He can take over in the DL rotation replacing Ethan Westbrooks and can fill in as an OLB if needed.
Rnd 6 #205 Drue Tranquill LB Notre Dame 6/2 233 4.65/40
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g553FLQgYwc
Tranquill is an undersized LB who converted from Safety after his Junior year. He has 2 ACL injuries during that time which sapped him of some of his athleticism. He is instinctive and plays fast which helps make up for some of his lost quickness. Not explosive, but has build-up speed to get to the boundary, and takes good angles. Has good coverage skills against TE’s going up the middle of the field ; stays in their hip pocket with minimal contact. he is a bit limited in the flat covering RB’s due to the loss of some his athleticism. He is a smart LB who’s physicality & toughness will never be questioned. He is assignment sound and good at maintaining gaps in run defense. High character player with great heart that I want even if he doesn’t become a starter. Even with his ACL injuries, most likely offers better coverage skills than Hager & Kiser.
Rnd 7 #253 Armon Watts DT Arkansas 6/4 310
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUcTDr83WTA
Watts took 3 years to become a starter and made the most of his opportunity as a senior. His stat line as follows ; 7 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 49 total tackles, 25 solo.
Positives: Great leverage ; difficult to move in the Run game. Has great hand usage to neutralize o-line men attempting to get a hand on him. Has a good Bull rush and eventhough he is slow off of the LOS, his 2nd & 3rd step help him get to the blockers edge.
Negatives: slow footed in space ; does not pursue once the ball is out of the area. He can’t attack gaps at the snap due to lack of first step quickness.
Watts should make a good back-up NT in Wade’s system. He should be an instant upgrade over Tanzell Smart.
Projected starters:
QB: Jared Goff
HB: Todd Gurley
XWR: Brandin Cooks
ZWR: Robert Woods
SLWR: Cooper Kupp
TE: Tyler Higbee / Dawson Knox
LT: Andrew Whitworth
LG: Rodger Saffold
C: Mitch Morse
RG: Dalton Risner
RT: Rob Havenstein
5T: Michael Brockers
NT: Jonathan Hankins
3T: Aaron Donald
WOLB: Samson Ebukam
ILB: Cory Littleton
ILB: Ramik Wilson / Micah Kiser
SOLB: Preston Smith
RCB: Aqib Talib
LCB: Rashaan Melvin
SLCB: Nickell Robey-Coleman
FS: John Johnson
SS: Anthony Harris
