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Rams mailbag: Vacation edition
4/3/2015
By Nick Wagoner, ESPN St. Louis Rams reporter
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/17531/rams-mailbag
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- With a couple of weeks to go before the draft and the schedule expected to be released soon, I'm on a little vacation this week. But before I departed, I wanted to drop in another Saturday mailbag which is what you see here.
Thanks to those who submitted enough questions last week to fill two of these.
RAM-BULL @McCleery
Why are the Rams only team without mini camp?
@nwagoner: It's just one of those Jeff Fisher quirks where he feels like his team can get all of the needed work done in the allotted organized team activities. They are indeed the only team not to have a mandatory minicamp. Usually, it's something of a carrot for players to attend offseason conditioning and OTAs as well. They didn't do it last year with a new defensive coordinator and they're not doing it this year even after a change on the offensive side. Hard to say if it really makes much of a difference. It probably doesn't, but it's a little strange considering teams with a lot more success follow the usual methods.
James Armstrong @jamessarmstrong
You were very accurate with top 3 Rams picks last year. What do you hear about how they are rating the OL this year?
@nwagoner: Haven't really had a chance to zero in on things just yet, and it's always difficult to decipher between what's real and what's not. At this point, we know the Rams have a lot of interest in a lot of linemen. They've either visited with or expected to visit with Andrus Peat, T.J. Clemmings, Ereck Flowers, Laken Tomlinson and Jamon Brown. I'd imagine Brandon Scherff is also on the list, though that's not confirmed just yet. One name to keep an eye on is Peat. If the Rams are set on going with youth on the line, a guy like Peat with a lot of experience playing in a pro-style, power-run oriented offense would seem to have less of a learning curve than guys like Clemmings or Flowers. From talking to scouts around the league, I get the impression Peat is viewed more highly than some of the media mock drafts currently have him rated.
Ryan Miller @Budlightyear76
How do they feel about Grayson?
@nwagoner: The Rams have showed interest in pretty much every quarterback with a pulse during this process and Grayson is one of them. Jeff Legwold, our Broncos reporter, reported a few weeks back that Grayson has a private workout scheduled with the Rams, so they clearly at least have some level of interest. If he fell into the third round or so, he could be a name to watch.
lemon @lemonjii
If we do draft a qb this year are we really gonna dump davis or keenum? does trading for him mean keenum's a sure thing?
@nwagoner: Assuming a drafted quarterback is taken relatively early (rounds one through four, let's say) then yes, it seems likely that one of Davis or Keenum wouldn't make the roster. I don't think it's a guarantee that Keenum makes the roster since the Rams traded for him. Remember, it was a seventh-round choice in 2016. Cutting Keenum would be the equivalent of cutting that pick, and it's not unusual to cut a seventh-round pick. The difference for Keenum this time is that he should get a fair and legitimate chance to win a backup job. He arrived too late last year to really make an impression. Now he gets a full offseason and camp to beat out Davis. Also, after this season, Davis will be an unrestricted free agent and Keenum will be restricted.
LA Rams Fan Zone @LARamsFanZone
Rams have a ton of their players up for FA next year. Do they have to draft this year to compensate for losses?
@nwagoner: Have to? No, not necessarily. But that can certainly be a consideration when making picks. The point is that things that might not be viewed as needs right now could be needs as soon as next year. That's why the draft isn't a one-year proposition. Teams that do it well don't draft only for immediate needs but see the big picture and try to have needs meet value. That's a big reason why it'd be silly to completely rule out the chances of the Rams taking a defensive end or a cornerback early in this year's draft.
B Rau @BobbyRau
What's more likely for the draft if no OL are good value picks at the 10 spot. Trade back or draft a non-OL?
@nwagoner: I think we all agree that offensive line is this team's biggest need. But the worst thing the Rams can do is pigeonhole themselves into making a pick based on position when better players are on the board. In an ideal world, the need meets the value of an offensive lineman at 10 and they can just get the job done. But this draft isn't flush with linemen worthy of that pick. If there isn't one there, the Rams could very easily draft a non-offensive lineman. A trade down might be ideal if they could get an extra pick that's valuable and still land a top offensive lineman later on but you also have to have a dance partner to make that happen. If, for example, one of those top pass-rushers slips to 10, the Rams might have a tough choice between trying to flip the pick to a team in more dire need of such a player or just simply taking the player and banking him for the future.
4/3/2015
By Nick Wagoner, ESPN St. Louis Rams reporter
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/17531/rams-mailbag
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- With a couple of weeks to go before the draft and the schedule expected to be released soon, I'm on a little vacation this week. But before I departed, I wanted to drop in another Saturday mailbag which is what you see here.
Thanks to those who submitted enough questions last week to fill two of these.
RAM-BULL @McCleery
Why are the Rams only team without mini camp?
@nwagoner: It's just one of those Jeff Fisher quirks where he feels like his team can get all of the needed work done in the allotted organized team activities. They are indeed the only team not to have a mandatory minicamp. Usually, it's something of a carrot for players to attend offseason conditioning and OTAs as well. They didn't do it last year with a new defensive coordinator and they're not doing it this year even after a change on the offensive side. Hard to say if it really makes much of a difference. It probably doesn't, but it's a little strange considering teams with a lot more success follow the usual methods.
James Armstrong @jamessarmstrong
You were very accurate with top 3 Rams picks last year. What do you hear about how they are rating the OL this year?
@nwagoner: Haven't really had a chance to zero in on things just yet, and it's always difficult to decipher between what's real and what's not. At this point, we know the Rams have a lot of interest in a lot of linemen. They've either visited with or expected to visit with Andrus Peat, T.J. Clemmings, Ereck Flowers, Laken Tomlinson and Jamon Brown. I'd imagine Brandon Scherff is also on the list, though that's not confirmed just yet. One name to keep an eye on is Peat. If the Rams are set on going with youth on the line, a guy like Peat with a lot of experience playing in a pro-style, power-run oriented offense would seem to have less of a learning curve than guys like Clemmings or Flowers. From talking to scouts around the league, I get the impression Peat is viewed more highly than some of the media mock drafts currently have him rated.
Ryan Miller @Budlightyear76
How do they feel about Grayson?
@nwagoner: The Rams have showed interest in pretty much every quarterback with a pulse during this process and Grayson is one of them. Jeff Legwold, our Broncos reporter, reported a few weeks back that Grayson has a private workout scheduled with the Rams, so they clearly at least have some level of interest. If he fell into the third round or so, he could be a name to watch.
lemon @lemonjii
If we do draft a qb this year are we really gonna dump davis or keenum? does trading for him mean keenum's a sure thing?
@nwagoner: Assuming a drafted quarterback is taken relatively early (rounds one through four, let's say) then yes, it seems likely that one of Davis or Keenum wouldn't make the roster. I don't think it's a guarantee that Keenum makes the roster since the Rams traded for him. Remember, it was a seventh-round choice in 2016. Cutting Keenum would be the equivalent of cutting that pick, and it's not unusual to cut a seventh-round pick. The difference for Keenum this time is that he should get a fair and legitimate chance to win a backup job. He arrived too late last year to really make an impression. Now he gets a full offseason and camp to beat out Davis. Also, after this season, Davis will be an unrestricted free agent and Keenum will be restricted.
LA Rams Fan Zone @LARamsFanZone
Rams have a ton of their players up for FA next year. Do they have to draft this year to compensate for losses?
@nwagoner: Have to? No, not necessarily. But that can certainly be a consideration when making picks. The point is that things that might not be viewed as needs right now could be needs as soon as next year. That's why the draft isn't a one-year proposition. Teams that do it well don't draft only for immediate needs but see the big picture and try to have needs meet value. That's a big reason why it'd be silly to completely rule out the chances of the Rams taking a defensive end or a cornerback early in this year's draft.
B Rau @BobbyRau
What's more likely for the draft if no OL are good value picks at the 10 spot. Trade back or draft a non-OL?
@nwagoner: I think we all agree that offensive line is this team's biggest need. But the worst thing the Rams can do is pigeonhole themselves into making a pick based on position when better players are on the board. In an ideal world, the need meets the value of an offensive lineman at 10 and they can just get the job done. But this draft isn't flush with linemen worthy of that pick. If there isn't one there, the Rams could very easily draft a non-offensive lineman. A trade down might be ideal if they could get an extra pick that's valuable and still land a top offensive lineman later on but you also have to have a dance partner to make that happen. If, for example, one of those top pass-rushers slips to 10, the Rams might have a tough choice between trying to flip the pick to a team in more dire need of such a player or just simply taking the player and banking him for the future.
