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After taking FSU nickel back, Rams draft Mizzou nemesis
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_2c39cd7c-d5f7-5a7f-92dc-c4259b5093db.html
After nine defensive backs found homes in Round 1 of the NFL draft, the Rams were in no mood to wait around Friday night.
So they moved up three picks in the second round, trading with Buffalo, to grab feisty Florida State cornerback and safety Lamarcus Joyner.
“That was so special, to hear that they traded up for me,” Joyner said on a conference call a few minutes after his selection. “I was like, ‘Wow, all these great guys left on the board.’ There’s so much talent that these guys could’ve picked from and they traded up to make a sacrifice for me.
“Now I feel like I owe them for that. I’m gonna give ’em my heart. I’m gonna give ’em my everything. Because they sacrificed for me, so I have to sacrifice for that organization.”
It wasn’t known at the time, but turns out Joyner paid a “top-30” visit to the Rams, meaning all three of their initial picks spent time at Rams Park during the pre-draft process. With glaring needs at both cornerback and safety, Joyner fills an obvious need, so in that sense his selection was almost expected.
But the Rams closed day two with their first real surprise. It was suspected that the Rams would take a running back at some point, but not in the third round. But that’s what happened when Auburn star running back Tre Mason was selected at No. 75 overall.
That made it two-for-four on Auburn players for the Rams in the first two days of the draft. Mason, 5-8, 207, will get to run behind one of the guys who opened all those holes for him in former Tigers teammate Greg Robinson, whom the Rams took at No. 2 overall on Thursday.
“Me and Greg spoke just like 2 minutes ago,” Mason said at the start of his conference call. “When I first called him he couldn’t believe it. He told me ‘stop lying.’ I told him just wait a couple minutes and you’ll see that I’m playing.”
Mason obviously knew he was getting drafted several minutes before the announcement came on television. Rated fourth on the Post-Dispatch’s list of top running backs in the 2014 draft, Mason set a single-season school record with 1,816 yards rushing, a mark held previously by the great Bo Jackson.
His 2,374 all-purpose yards and 23 rushing touchdowns also were Auburn single-season marks.
He couldn’t have done all that without the Missouri Tigers, against whom he rushed for an astounding 304 yards in the Southeastern Conference championship game, the fifth-highest single-game rushing total in league history.
“That’s one of the best games of my career,” Mason said in understatement. “I did all I could to get that win. I had a good time playing against the team from Missouri.”
Now that he’ll be working in the Show-Me State, Mason had a message for all Missourians — uh, nothing personal.
“I would love to tell them that I’m sorry for what I did in college, but hey, I’ll do it at this level now for them,” Mason said, chuckling.
Friday’s pair of Rams picks played against each other in the BCS national championship game in January with Joyner undoubtedly trying to run down Mason on occasion.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Joyner, 5-8, 184, will start out playing in the nickel package for the Rams, employing both his coverage skills and his gift for blitzing. He had 5½ sacks last season for Florida State — a big total for a DB. Eventually, Fisher said, Joyner could branch out and play a broader package of plays, including perhaps time at free safety.
But for now ...
“He’s a plug-in, Day 1 nickel back,” Fisher said. “He’s very, very aggressive. Tackles well. He has average balls skills; we’ll work on that.”
That nickel back role was filled by Cortland Finnegan last season, and then by Rodney McLeod after Finnegan’s injuries.
Nickel back was fine for Joyner, who came across as exuberant and up-beat, with a little bit of Seminole swagger mixed in during his conference call. Actually anything was fine for Joyner when it came to playing for the Rams.
“All I know right now is I’m a second-round draft pick for the St. Louis Rams and whatever Coach wants me to do I’m gonna do it,” Joyner said. “If I’ve got to tack on 100 pounds and move to offensive guard, I’m gonna do that. I’m gonna do whatever I need to do to help the organization.”
Even with 100 additional pounds he’d be undersized for guard at 284.
Depite his small size, Joyner has a tough and physical playing style.
“Those kind of guys are rare,” Fisher said. “That’s why he’s a Ram. We’re really excited about it.”
“You turn on the film, you noticed him,” general manager Les Snead said. “He plays really big.”
When the Rams closed out day one and re-stacked their board, Joyner’s name clearly stood out. And with their options dwindling in the secondary, the Rams didn’t want to get jumped for Joyner.
“He was clearly the guy that we identified last night, this morning, before we started,” Fisher said. “We suspected that there was a team ahead of us that had interest in him, so we had to get above them. As it was they traded down after he left, so I think we were right.”
The Rams sent a fifth-round pick to Buffalo, moving up from No. 44 overall to No. 41 to take Joyner. The suspected team, Tennessee, moved out of the No. 42 spot after the Rams selected him.
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_2c39cd7c-d5f7-5a7f-92dc-c4259b5093db.html
After nine defensive backs found homes in Round 1 of the NFL draft, the Rams were in no mood to wait around Friday night.
So they moved up three picks in the second round, trading with Buffalo, to grab feisty Florida State cornerback and safety Lamarcus Joyner.
“That was so special, to hear that they traded up for me,” Joyner said on a conference call a few minutes after his selection. “I was like, ‘Wow, all these great guys left on the board.’ There’s so much talent that these guys could’ve picked from and they traded up to make a sacrifice for me.
“Now I feel like I owe them for that. I’m gonna give ’em my heart. I’m gonna give ’em my everything. Because they sacrificed for me, so I have to sacrifice for that organization.”
It wasn’t known at the time, but turns out Joyner paid a “top-30” visit to the Rams, meaning all three of their initial picks spent time at Rams Park during the pre-draft process. With glaring needs at both cornerback and safety, Joyner fills an obvious need, so in that sense his selection was almost expected.
But the Rams closed day two with their first real surprise. It was suspected that the Rams would take a running back at some point, but not in the third round. But that’s what happened when Auburn star running back Tre Mason was selected at No. 75 overall.
That made it two-for-four on Auburn players for the Rams in the first two days of the draft. Mason, 5-8, 207, will get to run behind one of the guys who opened all those holes for him in former Tigers teammate Greg Robinson, whom the Rams took at No. 2 overall on Thursday.
“Me and Greg spoke just like 2 minutes ago,” Mason said at the start of his conference call. “When I first called him he couldn’t believe it. He told me ‘stop lying.’ I told him just wait a couple minutes and you’ll see that I’m playing.”
Mason obviously knew he was getting drafted several minutes before the announcement came on television. Rated fourth on the Post-Dispatch’s list of top running backs in the 2014 draft, Mason set a single-season school record with 1,816 yards rushing, a mark held previously by the great Bo Jackson.
His 2,374 all-purpose yards and 23 rushing touchdowns also were Auburn single-season marks.
He couldn’t have done all that without the Missouri Tigers, against whom he rushed for an astounding 304 yards in the Southeastern Conference championship game, the fifth-highest single-game rushing total in league history.
“That’s one of the best games of my career,” Mason said in understatement. “I did all I could to get that win. I had a good time playing against the team from Missouri.”
Now that he’ll be working in the Show-Me State, Mason had a message for all Missourians — uh, nothing personal.
“I would love to tell them that I’m sorry for what I did in college, but hey, I’ll do it at this level now for them,” Mason said, chuckling.
Friday’s pair of Rams picks played against each other in the BCS national championship game in January with Joyner undoubtedly trying to run down Mason on occasion.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Joyner, 5-8, 184, will start out playing in the nickel package for the Rams, employing both his coverage skills and his gift for blitzing. He had 5½ sacks last season for Florida State — a big total for a DB. Eventually, Fisher said, Joyner could branch out and play a broader package of plays, including perhaps time at free safety.
But for now ...
“He’s a plug-in, Day 1 nickel back,” Fisher said. “He’s very, very aggressive. Tackles well. He has average balls skills; we’ll work on that.”
That nickel back role was filled by Cortland Finnegan last season, and then by Rodney McLeod after Finnegan’s injuries.
Nickel back was fine for Joyner, who came across as exuberant and up-beat, with a little bit of Seminole swagger mixed in during his conference call. Actually anything was fine for Joyner when it came to playing for the Rams.
“All I know right now is I’m a second-round draft pick for the St. Louis Rams and whatever Coach wants me to do I’m gonna do it,” Joyner said. “If I’ve got to tack on 100 pounds and move to offensive guard, I’m gonna do that. I’m gonna do whatever I need to do to help the organization.”
Even with 100 additional pounds he’d be undersized for guard at 284.
Depite his small size, Joyner has a tough and physical playing style.
“Those kind of guys are rare,” Fisher said. “That’s why he’s a Ram. We’re really excited about it.”
“You turn on the film, you noticed him,” general manager Les Snead said. “He plays really big.”
When the Rams closed out day one and re-stacked their board, Joyner’s name clearly stood out. And with their options dwindling in the secondary, the Rams didn’t want to get jumped for Joyner.
“He was clearly the guy that we identified last night, this morning, before we started,” Fisher said. “We suspected that there was a team ahead of us that had interest in him, so we had to get above them. As it was they traded down after he left, so I think we were right.”
The Rams sent a fifth-round pick to Buffalo, moving up from No. 44 overall to No. 41 to take Joyner. The suspected team, Tennessee, moved out of the No. 42 spot after the Rams selected him.
