Rams Draft Redux

[ArkyRamsFan]

Since the 2017 draft there has been a lot of discussion on the Rams selections, and none more so on the failure to draft Forrest Lamp. Now for the record I was a "Lampian" and was very excited about the possibility of grabbing him with our 37th pick. (Heh.....excited enough that I was on board with trading up to get him even though it would cost valuable picks that we sorely need.)

So you can imagine my elation when he fell to us at our pick only to be immediately followed by complete disgust in ignoring him and negotiating a trade back.

At any rate since that time I have had some time to cool off a bit and take another look at the situation. It has occurred to me that in some ways we may be better off now with the two players we got (Everett and Johnson) than if we had stayed at #37 and taken Mr. Lamp.
Actually I seem to go back and forth on this one so hence this thread......

So how about it? If we somehow had a do over which scenario would ya'll prefer? Lamp @37 or Everett and Johnson?
And please include your reasoning for the choice you like.

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[DaveFan'51]

I'm happy we didn't. While lamp would have been a great addition to the O-Line, Everett and Johnson have more of a potential to be "Big Play Playmaker's" on offense and Defense!:snicker::shades:

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

I'm happy we didn't. While lamp would have been a great addition to the O-Line, Everett and Johnson have more of a potential to be "Big Play Playmaker's" on offense and Defense!:snicker::shades:

This is the conclusion I have pretty much come to myself, Dave. Not to mention but 3 of our safetys are in the final year of their contracts (Joyner, Alexander and Davis) and we are going to have to get ready to fill some holes in our secondary sooner rather than later.

I believe John Johnson could be an important guy going forward for our Rams and is a big reason why he was drafted where he was. Plus we got to factor in that he played corner at B.C. before moving to safety so I gotta believe he will be a candidate to play slot corner when he is not lining up at free safety and vice versa.

Thanks for your post!!

 

[dolphinlover123]

two is better than one

 

[OldSchool]

It's amazing that Forrest Lamp is being appointed All Pro and Hall of Fame status by Rams fans yet we're perfectly ok crapping on the guys we picked instead.

 

[fearsomefour]

It's amazing that Forrest Lamp is being appointed All Pro and Hall of Fame status by Rams fans yet we're perfectly ok crapping on the guys we picked instead.

Particularly when you consider the reason for the perceived need to draft an O line man is the poor performance of the guys that were drafted by the team recently. Whats the reasoning that they would get an O line pick any more right than they have previously?

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

Particularly when you consider the reason for the perceived need to draft an O line man is the poor performance of the guys that were drafted by the team recently. Whats the reasoning that they would get an O line pick any more right than they have previously?

Well of course there are no guarantees in the draft but being a former "Lampian" I can tell why I was so disappointed in our refusal to pick the man. It is because most of the commentators and scouts I trust had this guy going somewhere in the first round. So in my mind for us to score him in the second had value written all over it.

Not to mention that many draft wonks had Gerald Everett going somewhere in the third round or lower. When you add the value lost with the shun of Lamp and furthermore the loss of value in taking Everett it made for a painful experience to say the least.

Having said all of that I have come around a lot on this deal and that is why I posted this thread to see if my fellow "Lampians" are on board with what the FO did or what.

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[Riverumbbq]

I tried pointing out that Lamp had no more experience playing Center than Wichmann, Brown or Donnal, so passing on Lamp was actually a bit of a relief for me. My man was Njoku, although he went late in the 1'st round. I recovered nicely when we went with Everett who happened to be the guy we were aiming for anyway. It wasn't that I disliked Lamp, he'll do quite well i'm sure, I just didn't want our first pick to have to learn a new position and possibly sit on the bench for several weeks getting up to speed, and he's probably a bit small at OG in a McVay/Kromer scheme. I'm quite happy with the way the draft fell. jmo.

 

[Mackeyser]

I'm not only fine with it, but excited.

Fans often get wrong how teams value players. How many had Toth as a 4th rounder? Iirc, he went undrafted...

I don't understand the angst. I mean, had the Rams passed on Donald..., well that would have been frustrating.

But short of passing on a once in a generation player, I dunno how anyone can be bent before we see them in this system.

How can we say in one breath, "the draft is a crap shoot" and then turn around and be upset about a player picked or not picked because...certainty.

Maybe it's just me.

 

[Loyal]

It's amazing that Forrest Lamp is being appointed All Pro and Hall of Fame status by Rams fans yet we're perfectly ok crapping on the guys we picked instead.

Actually no...I was for Lamp in a big way, but hey, it's over. I don't hate the guys we picked and look forward to see them have great careers...

 

[ReddingRam]

Well of course there are no guarantees in the draft but being a former "Lampian" I can tell why I was so disappointed in our refusal to pick the man. It is because most of the commentators and scouts I trust had this guy going somewhere in the first round. So in my mind for us to score him in the second had value written all over it.

Not to mention that many draft wonks had Gerald Everett going somewhere in the third round or lower. When you add the value lost with the shun of Lamp and furthermore the loss of value in taking Everett it made for a painful experience to say the least.

Having said all of that I have come around a lot on this deal and that is why I posted this thread to see if my fellow "Lampians" are on board with what the FO did or what.

~ArkyRamsFan~

"draft Wonks" .... nuff said ......

 

[fearsomefour]

Well of course there are no guarantees in the draft but being a former "Lampian" I can tell why I was so disappointed in our refusal to pick the man. It is because most of the commentators and scouts I trust had this guy going somewhere in the first round. So in my mind for us to score him in the second had value written all over it.

Not to mention that many draft wonks had Gerald Everett going somewhere in the third round or lower. When you add the value lost with the shun of Lamp and furthermore the loss of value in taking Everett it made for a painful experience to say the least.

Having said all of that I have come around a lot on this deal and that is why I posted this thread to see if my fellow "Lampians" are on board with what the FO did or what.

~ArkyRamsFan~

I don't love where they took Everett either. Of course if he is a glove fit for McVeys O and some of weaknesses are developed it could be a great pick.
To me it is interesting they kept the guys they did along the O line. Really looking forward to see if the hold overs can develop under the new staff.

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

I don't love where they took Everett either. Of course if he is a glove fit for McVeys O and some of weaknesses are developed it could be a great pick.
To me it is interesting they kept the guys they did along the O line. Really looking forward to see if the hold overs can develop under the new staff.

This is another thing I've thought about. If we had taken Lamp and missed out on a move TE like Everett where would Coach Mac be now? In other words sure Lamp could be an excellent interior OL guy but without a move TE McVay's offense would never fire on all cylinders.
I would really have hate it if he would have to scour UDFA lists and other teams cuts in a desperate attempt to find the guy for his offense when he had him sitting there in the draft.

I've come to the conclusion that I have had enough of failed offenses and such and since we have given Coach Mac the keys to the car we've got to let him get the people he needs to operate it at peak efficiency.

And if he thinks that guy is Gerald Everett then so be it......let's rock

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[jrry32]

Lamp. JMO.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Particularly when you consider the reason for the perceived need to draft an O line man is the poor performance of the guys that were drafted by the team recently. Whats the reasoning that they would get an O line pick any more right than they have previously?

The perception that we needed to draft Olinemen came from the media and fans. The guys on the roster played at a high level to end 2015. The move to LA, Boudreau being ill, a lousy offensive plan...all could have contributed to a down year.

Now consider that in a weak OLine draft, the few decent ones get overvalued. Lamp lasted into round 2. In a draft with a lot of good Olinemen how much further does he fall? Round 3? It's kind of like when you think your small town girlfriend is the shit and then you make a trip to the city and you realise she is a ten for your small town but in the Big picture she is a five. I trust the coaching staff, particularly Kromer since he has had success. He had a look at the Olinemen on the team and he saw enough to think they were better than or as good as Lamp. They also added two pieces to the line in free agency so the glaring holes were filled. They had bigger needs, like someone who could get open, catch the ball and run with it afterwards.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I don't love where they took Everett either. Of course if he is a glove fit for McVeys O and some of weaknesses are developed it could be a great pick.
To me it is interesting they kept the guys they did along the O line. Really looking forward to see if the hold overs can develop under the new staff.

How do you know other teams weren't hoping to choose Everrett in round 2? I think it was Shraeger who said the Rams knew of a few teams that liked him and would have picked before their next pick. I think he specifically said the Saints were one.

I liked this draft. But, even if I didn't it would be difficult for me to be very critical of it with a new coaching staff, especially with guys like Phillips and Kromer. I thought for sure that they would dip into the massive DB pool, but I don't know what Phillips was thinking. I never would have guessed that they would pick John Johnson over some of the corners, but I trust that they know what they want. It's easier to pick apart a draft once you become more familiar with a staff, and if they consistently fail in the win column because of picking certain types athletes over football players like Fisher and Snead did. I have to give McVay's a chance to succeed with his guys first.

 

[LACHAMP46]

How many had Toth as a 4th rounder? Iirc, he went undrafted...

He had some undisclosed injury....and I thought maybe the 5th or 6th as the draft fell...I also liked JJ Dielman from Utah too...oh well.

If Lamp can play center...and I think he can...he should have been the pick.

No one...not McVay...not Snead...can tell me that Gerald Everett is gonna be a better pro than Jake Butt. Hell, Hodges, Kittle, Legget, and ....another TE...also went in the 5th. If we wanted Njoku or Engram we shoulda went up and got them.
I don't think Johnson is an NFL starter....and is a poor tackler. How's he gonna play ST?

If one player is a 10 year starter..in most scouts eyes...then he's better than 2 marginal players.

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

Lamp. JMO.

jrry, so are you saying that you would have taken F. Lamp and not done the trade down? If so, what would you propose Coach Mac do for a move TE?

P.S. Somehow I get the feeling that Higbee is not a candidate to fill the Jordan Reed role on the Rams' offense. Don't have any direct evidence except the fact that Coach Mac took Everett so high.

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[fearsomefour]

The perception that we needed to draft Olinemen came from the media and fans. The guys on the roster played at a high level to end 2015. The move to LA, Boudreau being ill, a lousy offensive plan...all could have contributed to a down year.

Now consider that in a weak OLine draft, the few decent ones get overvalued. Lamp lasted into round 2. In a draft with a lot of good Olinemen how much further does he fall? Round 3? It's kind of like when you think your small town girlfriend is the crap and then you make a trip to the city and you realise she is a ten for your small town but in the Big picture she is a five. I trust the coaching staff, particularly Kromer since he has had success. He had a look at the Olinemen on the team and he saw enough to think they were better than or as good as Lamp. They also added two pieces to the line in free agency so the glaring holes were filled. They had bigger needs, like someone who could get open, catch the ball and run with it afterwards.

The line was not good in 2015 either in my opinion. Some, Brown, Grob, Barnes, Wichmann....for example, have never put together so much as solid back to back games.
Barnes is gone of course and some like Brown would seem an outsider to land a starting spot.
Maybe they love what they have.
Maybe they just didn't prioritize it.
The question still remains was the issue the scheme/coaching or the players. It will make this season watching th line interesting to me.

 

[fearsomefour]

How do you know other teams weren't hoping to choose Everrett in round 2? I think it was Shraeger who said the Rams knew of a few teams that liked him and would have picked before their next pick. I think he specifically said the Saints were one.

I liked this draft. But, even if I didn't it would be difficult for me to be very critical of it with a new coaching staff, especially with guys like Phillips and Kromer. I thought for sure that they would dip into the massive DB pool, but I don't know what Phillips was thinking. I never would have guessed that they would pick John Johnson over some of the corners, but I trust that they know what they want. It's easier to pick apart a draft once you become more familiar with a staff, and if they consistently fail in the win column because of picking certain types athletes over football players like Fisher and Snead did. I have to give McVay's a chance to succeed with his guys first.

Not being critical really.
Just surprised to see them grab a guy with lack of polish that early. As we have seen over and over Snead has a record of this.
But, Everett is their guy. That's cool with me.