In the two previous offseasons of the Jeff Fisher-Les Snead regime, the Senior Bowl has been an effective tool leading up to the draft.
In the 2012 draft, the Rams’ entire second round of wide receiver Brian Quick, cornerback Janoris Jenkins and running back Isaiah Pead participated in the Senior Bowl. From the 2013 Senior Bowl, the Rams selected safety T.J. McDonald in the third round of the draft.
So as a Rams contingent of scouts, personnel executives and assistant coaches descends on Mobile, Ala., for this week’s Senior Bowl, it’s a pretty safe bet that one or two of the college draft prospects on hand will hear their number called by the Rams in May during the NFL draft.
(Fisher normally doesn’t attend the Senior Bowl and isn’t expected to attend this year.)
The Senior Bowl is at the top of the food chain when it comes to the handful of college all-star games leading up to the draft. There will be plenty of early-round draft picks on display, many of whom will have an immediate impact on their NFL teams.
Last year, for example, offensive tackle Eric Fisher and offensive guard Kyle Long participated in the Senior Bowl. Fisher’s week there was so impressive, it helped catapult him to the No. 1 overall pick by the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 2012, Senior Bowl participants included quarterback Russell Wilson, running back Doug Martin and linebacker Bobby Wagner.
Obviously, the Rams will evaluate all positions this week. But offensive line and secondary figure to get plenty of attention by the team in Mobile, and perhaps quarterback as well.
If the Rams indeed select a quarterback in the middle rounds of the upcoming draft, they could pick from an intriguing cross-section of such prospects on display. The North roster features Tajh Boyd of Clemson, Stephen Morris of Miami and Logan Thomas of Virginia Tech. Playing QB for the South squad are Derek Carr of Fresno State, David Fales of San Jose State and the just-added Jimmy Garoppolo of Eastern Illinois.
Garoppolo earned the invite after starring in Saturday’s East-West Shrine game. Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray had accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl but had to pull out after suffering a knee injury late in the regular season. One of the biggest disappointments in setting up the roster for this year’s Senior Bowl was the decision by Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron not to attend.
Nothing can top the buzz created by the 2010 Senior Bowl participation of Tim Tebow but McCarron, who helped Alabama win two national championships and played his high school ball in Mobile, would have added some excitement. It’s a curious decision. It’s not unusual for elite draft prospects to skip the Senior Bowl, usually on the advice of their agents. But McCarron isn’t considered one of the top QB prospects.
Two of the top offensive line prospects, Texas A&M’s Jake Matthews and Michigan’s Taylor Lewan, have opted to skip the Senior Bowl, but there will be plenty to look at up front, including guards Cyril Richardson of Baylor and Gabe Jackson of Mississippi State as well as tackles Zack Martin of Notre Dame, Brandon Thomas of Clemson and Jack Mewhort of Ohio State.
There’s a local flavor to the group of defensive backs with the late addition of cornerback Pierre Desir of Lindenwood University (and Francis Howell Central) to the Senior Bowl’s North squad. Desir was among a handful of players added to the Senior Bowl rosters after playing well in the East-West game.
At linebacker, the North squad also includes University of Missouri star Michael Sam and Iowa’s Christian Kirksey, who played his high school football at Hazelwood East. Sam, a unanimous All-American and the SEC defensive player of the year, will be evaluated as an outside linebacker this week in Mobile.
Practices start today leading up to Saturday’s game, and they are more important than the game itself from a scouting perspective. In fact, a lot of the scouts and coaches leave after Wednesday, which is the last of the padded practices.
“You’re gonna have first-rounders, second-rounders, third-rounders there,” said Snead, the Rams’ general manager. “What’s neat about it is you get to see them live. You get to see them compete close up against other people of similar (skills). Pretty good prospects. So that’s always a nice thing.”
As usual under Snead, the Rams will have a scout assigned to watch and evaluate prospects at each position. For example, one scout watches the linebackers all week. Another watches the wide receivers, etc.
