Rams take O-lineman in first round of Todd McShay's latest mock draft

[BonifayRam]

By: Cameron DaSilva | February 6, 2018
http://theramswire.usatoday.com/201...s-mock-draft-2018-billy-price-offensive-line/

Coming off of an 11-5 season and a playoff berth, the Rams are in good shape to make another run at the postseason in 2018. As of now, they don’t have many big needs, but that can obviously change in free agency.

Assuming they’re unable to retain their top free agents, the Rams’ biggest holes are at cornerback, edge rusher and interior offensive line. ESPN’s Todd McShay addressed one of the three in his second mock draft of 2018, but it’s not a position many fans feel is a pressing need.

He has the Rams taking an offensive lineman in Round 1.

23. Billy Price, G/C, Ohio State

Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Price is a guy who has experience at both guard and center, playing at a high level for the Buckeyes. What makes him a good fit with the Rams is just that: position flexibility. John Sullivan is a guy who could leave in free agency, while Jamon Brown isn’t exactly an elite-level guard.

Price could fill in at either of those spots right away before finding his best fit in the NFL. As a pure guard, he’s not the best in this class, but at center, there may not be a better prospect in 2018.

What makes this a bit of a difficult pick to swallow is the fact that the Rams are addressing the lesser of their three biggest needs in the first round, not having a second-round pick. That means they’ll have to wait two rounds to address cornerback and edge rusher.

There won’t be any top-level players at that point in the draft, and with the possibility that Robert Quinn, Connor Barwin, Trumaine Johnson and Nickell Robey-Coleman are all playing elsewhere in 2018, that’s a big risk to take.

 

[Riverumbbq]

He better be Travis Frederick good at Center is all I can say about this. jmo.

 

[den-the-coach]

He better be Travis Frederick good at Center is all I can say about this. jmo.

I can share this about Price, he jumped all over Denzel Ward for not playing in the Bowl game....Guy is a player, put him out there and no worries for the next several years and he's leader on and off the field.

The Price is Right on this one Bob.

 

[Merlin]

I would be a little annoyed by that selection tbh. Not a fan of interior guys in round one in general unless they're special, but all that aside I would understand it. Our OL positional depth with the 2019 FA class looming is effin hideous.

 

[Ram_Rally]

I get it, centers are important. I'll never want one in the first round though.

 

[OldSchool]

It makes sense, Kromer blocking scheme puts more of an emphasis on interior linemen.

 

[DaveFan'51]

What makes this a bit of a difficult pick to swallow is the fact that the Rams are addressing the lesser of their three biggest needs in the first round, not having a second-round pick. That means they’ll have to wait two rounds to address cornerback and edge rusher.

I like Price. BUT! for these ^ reasons I would pass on him in the 1st Round!
Maybe Snead can "Work-His-Magic" and keep us in the 1st round and pick-up a 2nd round pick and get Price there!
It's also possible Price could last until the 3rd Round, But I doubt that.

 

[BonifayRam]

I like Price. BUT! for these ^ reasons I would pass on him in the 1st Round!
Maybe Snead can "Work-His-Magic" and keep us in the 1st round and pick-up a 2nd round pick and get Price there!
It's also possible Price could last until the 3rd Round, But I doubt that.

I have yet to see a legit mock draft where Price slips past the middle area of the middle of the first round.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2018/mock-drafts?icampaign=draft-sub_nav_bar-drafteventpage-mockdraft
I guess I should make myself clear here I would not take an OL'er with our first selection unless for some reason a blue chip prospect fell close into our laps like:
OG Quenton Nelson
Swing OT Orlando Brown
LT Conner Willimas

I would quickly move up 3 to 5 places to offer up DE Rob Quinn & our first round pick @ #23 to move up to secure one of those 3 OL'ers. Rams are in deep @ OT. They have ZERO in reserve OT signed. Drafting a center does not help this situation.

As far as OT prospects that look interesting I like Timon Parris Swing OT or a Desmond Harrison LT with our 4th round selection. In the 5th rd Alex Cappa Swing OT would be a good pick. Followed in the 6th round where we have 3 selections in looking for Toby Weathersby LSU Swing OT or Cole Madison Wash St. OT.

Bottom line here is the length of time it takes to develop a drafted OL'er & get him ready to start in the NFL is very long. I would prefer to use a ultra high valued first round selection for an intimidate impact @ Edge Rusher or NT positions.

 

[Ram65]

Anything is possible. I like a dominate OC. However, Sullivan can hold the fort for a couple of years I would image at a reasonable price. Rams in more need at DT, LB and CB. This would be a luxury pick IMO.

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

Just can't see us taking a Center in the first round for the following reasons:

1.) I really believe that the Rams will make every effort to resign John Sullivan. He did an excellent job last year and most importantly STAYED HEALTHY for all 16 games!!

2.) The Center from OSU in last year's draft, Pat Elflein, was taken in the 3rd round by the Vikings even though some pundits had a low first round high second round grade on him. And although he seemingly played well he was in no wise worthy of a first round pick.

3.) I don't see that Billy Price is all that much better than Elflein and certainly don't see why he would go in the first.

Getting back to J.Sullivan. It is ironic to say the least but his injury and surgery caused him to miss approximately two years of time but that also means that in many ways he has two years of LESS wear and tear on him.

So really since his back is healed he in a rather "young" 32/33 year old man.

I say resign Sully and use our first rounder on an impact player.

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[12intheBox]

I have no problem with either the center of the future or the LT of the future being the first round pick.

 

[jrry32]

It makes sense, Kromer blocking scheme puts more of an emphasis on interior linemen.

More of an emphasis on guards. He's generally been able to get quality play out of Centers that weren't highly regarded.

 

[pmil66]

Could see a scenario where the Rams draft a G at the first pick, but after a trade down to accumulate more draft picks.

 

[dieterbrock]

Hard to believe the Rams come out of the 1st and 2nd rounds with a center

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I think that if no premiere players are left that fit a Ram need that Snead will try to trade back in the draft. This team is very close. They need to fill depositions with better players. Now, Center is a future weakness, however there are more urgent things to address. Sullivan has been important in developing our young linemen and QB. A first round center is going to sit on the bench like a first round OF will. A Corner, or OLB will get rotation time at the very least.

 

[BonifayRam]

Rams & Kromer did come up big IMO in 2017 @ the center position. Kromer did not like the Boudreau 3 signed centers. Starting center long time Ram Tim Barnes, Snead drafted center Demetrius Rhaney & WWC David Arkin were all released over a short period of time before the season began.

First in 2017 Snead signed McVay's veteran back up center John Sullivan very quickly. 2nd ....Then Kromer got UDFA rookie OC Jake Eldrenkamp signed. 3rd ....on mid May Kromer got Snead to sign 2nd yr center Austin Blythe off waivers from Indianapolis.Kromer dispersed starting RG Cody Wichmann & swing OT Pace Murphy then the next day Claimed C Aaron Neary off the Eagles.

As it stands today the Rams have 3 young centers signed.

Austin Blythe will be entering his 3rd season. He was drafted by the Colts. Blythe is under contract thru 2019 season. Blythe has 24 NFL gms under his belt with 2 starts. He saw action with the Rams offense @ both LG & OC. For the Colts he has starts @ OC & RT. In college he was a 4 yr starter @ the 3 interior OL positions. I was highly impressed with Blythe..he is very smart, quick thinker on the field of play. For his youth he has shown me he is blessed with high tuned technician skills in zone-scheme. It would not surprise me one bit if he is our starting center in 2018. Bookmark that!

Aaron Nearly has been on the rosters of the Broncos & Eagles before arriving here in 2017. In 2016 he was an UDFA who participated in the Broncos 2016 Training Camp & Pre season & was release as the 2016 regular season began. Nearly was signed by the Eagles practice squad after he was release by the Broncos. The Eagles release Nearly early in 2017 when the Rams signed him. Like Blythe he has played all three interior positions in college. He started one gm. for the Rams @ center. Rams have Nearly under contract for 2018. In Free Agency 2019 he will be a ERFA & can easily be signed for a very low econo contract for the 2019 & 2020 seasons.

Jake Eldrenkamp is 6-5 301 lbs...had a good amount of positive comments made about him early by Kromer. Jake is an athletic zone-scheme fit @ OC/OC. So whatever Jake has to offer Kromer is buying (@ the moment). Jake was a OT in college (do we see a possible pattern here?). Rams have Jake under contract for 2018. In Free Agency 2019 he will be a ERFA & can easily be signed for a very low econo contract for the 2019 & 2020 seasons. Bargain hunting at it best! Jake saw a goo amount of action in pre season @ LG.

Do you think that maybe the Rams will have the center position covered well enough if they sign John Sullivan then utilize these 3 youngsters to roam as reserves for all three interior positions? I still think that OT will be the target not centers & OG's in this upcoming draft.

 

[Ram65]

Rams & Kromer did come up big IMO in 2017 @ the center position. Kromer did not like the Boudreau 3 signed centers. Starting center long time Ram Tim Barnes, Snead drafted center Demetrius Rhaney & WWC David Arkin were all released over a short period of time before the season began.

First in 2017 Snead signed McVay's veteran back up center John Sullivan very quickly. 2nd ....Then Kromer got UDFA rookie OC Jake Eldrenkamp signed. 3rd ....on mid May Kromer got Snead to sign 2nd yr center Austin Blythe off waivers from Indianapolis.Kromer dispersed starting RG Cody Wichmann & swing OT Pace Murphy then the next day Claimed C Aaron Neary off the Eagles.

As it stands today the Rams have 3 young centers signed.

Austin Blythe will be entering his 3rd season. He was drafted by the Colts. Blythe is under contract thru 2019 season. Blythe has 24 NFL gms under his belt with 2 starts. He saw action with the Rams offense @ both LG & OC. For the Colts he has starts @ OC & RT. In college he was a 4 yr starter @ the 3 interior OL positions. I was highly impressed with Blythe..he is very smart, quick thinker on the field of play. For his youth he has shown me he is blessed with high tuned technician skills in zone-scheme. It would not surprise me one bit if he is our starting center in 2018. Bookmark that!

Aaron Nearly has been on the rosters of the Broncos & Eagles before arriving here in 2017. In 2016 he was an UDFA who participated in the Broncos 2016 Training Camp & Pre season & was release as the 2016 regular season began. Nearly was signed by the Eagles practice squad after he was release by the Broncos. The Eagles release Nearly early in 2017 when the Rams signed him. Like Blythe he has played all three interior positions in college. He started one gm. for the Rams @ center. Rams have Nearly under contract for 2018. In Free Agency 2019 he will be a ERFA & can easily be signed for a very low econo contract for the 2019 & 2020 seasons.

Jake Eldrenkamp is 6-5 301 lbs...had a good amount of positive comments made about him early by Kromer. Jake is an athletic zone-scheme fit @ OC/OC. So whatever Jake has to offer Kromer is buying (@ the moment). Jake was a OT in college (do we see a possible pattern here?). Rams have Jake under contract for 2018. In Free Agency 2019 he will be a ERFA & can easily be signed for a very low econo contract for the 2019 & 2020 seasons. Bargain hunting at it best! Jake saw a goo amount of action in pre season @ LG.

Do you think that maybe the Rams will have the center position covered well enough if they sign John Sullivan then utilize these 3 youngsters to roam as reserves for all three interior positions? I still think that OT will be the target not centers & OG's in this upcoming draft.

We know Blyth is a keeper. I'm not sure about the other two. How the Rams and Kromer see them could be a tell on when they draft offensive line help. They could be backups. They get the off season in the weight room and get to compete.

 

[BonifayRam]

We know Blyth is a keeper. I'm not sure about the other two. How the Rams and Kromer see them could be a tell on when they draft offensive line help. They could be backups. They get the off season in the weight room and get to compete.

It looks like your over target here on all three of Kromers newly under development young interior OL'ers. All the written information on these 3 new Rams read the same just about. When you look deep the big negatives here is the overall size & the lack of physical strength components that pushed them so far down into late draft picks or UDFA cadre. Bottom line they are were all just too weak!

Appears they do have what Kromer desire elsewhere in their backpacks which is being able to move in this athletic zone-scheme but needs to have serious improvement in the power area. This will be all three's FIRST off season & Training Camp with the Rams coaches & weight training staff. All 3 did have this time during the regular season though too. Lets keep close eye on them to see what develops during this period till the end of camp.

Here's what I would think we will see here in this OL in the future. First in FA'cy I would look for the Rams Org. to attempt to get 2 veteran interior OL'ers signed under contract NOW. This will be the plan to avoid the disaster lurking for this Ram OL this time next season. The Rams Org. will work first with our own present UFA's (Sullivan) & pending next yrs UFA's (Saffold, Havenstein & Brown). Depending how that goes & it could end up with none of them interested in future contracts with designs on hitting the open FA roller-coaster event then it will force the Rams to move now with non Ram UFA's.

I like these: Ryan Jensen & Spencer Long would be my top 2 targets. Jensen would be a a great addition but Long has a connection with McVay & will come @ a lower cost than Jensen. Both of these vetern can play all 3 interior OL posts. 2 other prospects would be RG Jack Mewhort who can start @ RT if needed. Another strong McVay connection is Skins starting OG Shawn Lauvao who has started in the NFL at both OG posts. These should be signed @ a cap friendly contract. Both those starting Skins OL'ers were injured in 2017 & could be the ticket & avoid too much of a cap hit. Second the draft should bring Kromer a more complete Swing OT prospect at some point either in late second day or early in the third day of the draft. I would also expect another same type OT to come later in third day too.

If the Org attacks this OL now they will avoid the future disaster in March 2019 & the nasty crunch time element you would place this teams OL in next season. It also puts the team Org in a power position & lets our 4 Ol'ers (who refused to reup with an extension deal) that their future here is not so secure & rich. That this team will move onto a SB winning season without them.

 

[Ram65]

Ryan Jensen

https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2...ting-the-market-for-ravens-center-ryan-jensen

Jensen may not be as proven as some of the best paid centers, but his strong contract year performance and age, along with the factors listed above should generate long term offers in the range of $6 to $9 million per season.
-----------------------

Too much money for this OC.

Spencer Long

Brother too Jake Long. He made about 1.6 Million starting 12 games at OC last year for the Skins. I'm not sure about OG play. Maybe, but I would just keep Sullivan. Blythe played well backing up Sullivan a couple of times.

Here's what I would think we will see here in this OL in the future. First in FA'cy I would look for the Rams Org. to attempt to get 2 veteran interior OL'ers signed under contract NOW. This will be the plan to avoid the disaster lurking for this Ram OL this time next season. The Rams Org. will work first with our own present UFA's (Sullivan) & pending next yrs UFA's (Saffold, Havenstein & Brown). Depending how that goes & it could end up with none of them interested in future contracts with designs on hitting the open FA roller-coaster event then it will force the Rams to move now with non Ram UFA's

I don't how it all shakes out but, I would resign Saffold and Sullivan. Lot's of moving parts as far as money, cap and free agents so I can't say the Rams would have cap space to redo Brown and Hav contracts. It would be nice if they could.

 

[BonifayRam]

https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2...ting-the-market-for-ravens-center-ryan-jensen

Jensen may not be as proven as some of the best paid centers, but his strong contract year performance and age, along with the factors listed above should generate long term offers in the range of $6 to $9 million per season.
-----------------------

Too much money for this OC.



Brother too Jake Long. He made about 1.6 Million starting 12 games at OC last year for the Skins. I'm not sure about OG play. Maybe, but I would just keep Sullivan. Blythe played well backing up Sullivan a couple of times.



I don't how it all shakes out but, I would resign Saffold and Sullivan. Lot's of moving parts as far as money, cap and free agents so I can't say the Rams would have cap space to redo Brown and Hav contracts. It would be nice if they could.

True Jensen cost would be high but Saffold would be even higher than Jensen & we would not know if he wants to sign with us until later next year. With Jensen they would have a young 27 old Ol'er for a long period time how much time do we really have with a damaged much older Sullivan. I do agree that Blythe may be the real long term bargain answer here if your looking at cap savings. If you loose Brown & Havenstein because you signed Saffold & Sullivan your are stuck with two over 30 Ol'ers instead with often injured Sullivan & Saffold.

Lots to think about here as you have hinted. What is the protection of Goff worth short range? Long range? As you know I consider the #1 priority over any other unit ...if your going to go cheap & bargain hunting would it be better to look at other areas beside the Goff protection unit? Goff must be protected if we are to win.