A professional NFL scout told me years ago that a coach can see by the game film all he needs to see in terms of talent. Taylor Rapp is a prime example of that type of scouting. He fell in the draft because of his poor running times. But having watched him his whole career at UW I could see he was one of those rare talents that plays much faster than his timed speed. Why? Because of his outstanding vision and awareness. His anticipation allows him to get a jump, and that comes from intense film study of the opposition.
So McVay has said that film study will be the primary gauge of a player's talent. Personally I think it's an outstanding way to evaluate talent. How many times have we seen workout warriors destroy the combine and pro days and fail in the NFL. The bust rate for positions like QB, and o-line in the first round is huge.
The other advantage is it hides his draft from other teams. It's impossible for them to anticipate what the Rams will do. I will take a baller over a workout warrior any day. Reeder went UDFA route to the Rams but even during the draft process, I saw a kid that can simply play. It's why during TC he's one of the guys I mentioned in a post not to go to sleep on. He's actually exactly what you want in a two-down MIKE and why his emergence last year is going to allow them to let Littleton walk. I say two-down but he's capable of playing passing downs, but with a rotation of ILBs Reeder, Young, Howard & Kiser they have very good speed at the position with a solid rotation.
I can easily see Reeder and Kiser at MIKE and Young and Howard at MO. The highest drafted LB was Young a 4th round pick by Baltimore. Guys like these are the guys that you find on film. Then you factor in the physical metrics and combine and proday tests results and you thin the field for more vetting and focus.
In this draft one of their priorities will be a DE and WIL to play behind Ogbo and Fowler. After that other than a kicker, the rest are back up rotational guys particularly on the D-line.
