Wagoner Chat Highlights:
—Depending on what happens in free agency, I think 13 might end up being the sweet spot for the Rams to add a top defensive back. I could see Darqueze Dennard or Justin Gilbert at CB being an option. Obviously, the safeties are commonly mocked to the Rams (Clinton-Dix and Pryor) and I’ll throw in another name to monitor, especially if they lose Saffold, Notre Dame OL Zack Martin.
—I just don’t know what else needs to be said to make people believe that the Rams are sticking with Sam Bradford as their quarterback. He’s not getting cut. He’s not getting traded. He’s the guy.
—Mack at #2? I love Mack’s game but that seems awfully high for a 3rd LB who may not be on the field but half the time or so.
—I posted what an agent was hearing in Indy for Saffold was 7-8 million a year. And I think it’s possible he gets that. It’s a simple basic of business: supply and demand. There simply aren’t going to be many top OL available, even ones with injury history. Saffold will be one of the top three or four OL to hit the open market. Someone will pay up for his potential at guard and his versatility to play OT. I’d probably draw the line at $6 million or so average annually but I don’t know where the Rams cut it off. I doubt they’d go to the $7-8 million range.
—I wrote last week that I believe it should be Watkins. I also don’t believe Robinson or Clowney would be anything but a great pick. They can’t really go wrong with any of them. And to be clear, just because I think they should go with Watkins doesn’t mean I think they will take him. I still believe they will look to move down in a trade before making a pick.
—I think Watkins is gone by 6 and he could be by 5. If Cleveland traded up, I’m assuming it would be for a QB and I think he could still be had at 4. Any lower than that and I think there’s a very real chance he’s gone.
—Get a Future #1 in a Trade Down? It’s possible but I don’t know if it’s probable. I just don’t know that any team is going to love one of those QBs enough to give up that kind of a bounty.
—Les Snead said at the combine that he’s “not losing any sleep” over either (Bradford/Long) recovery. He noted that technology is really helping both along. Clearly, Long is further away since his surgery is still recent but by all accounts Bradford is right on schedule and will be fine barring some unforeseen setback.
—Clemens is a positive locker room presence and played better this year than most of us expected. I haven’t advocated bringing him back as the primary backup to Bradford but having him around as a tutor for a drafted No. 2 QB would make a lot of sense to me, especially with Bradford concentrating on getting healthy.
—I’ve said it before and will say it again, I really don’t know what’s going to happen. Anyone who isn’t Stan Kroenke who tells you they do know what’s going to happen is probably not telling you the truth. I will say this, I see almost zero chance the Rams long term home is the Edward Jones Dome.
—Quick a Bust? I’m not there yet. But this is absolutely a big year for him. Three years is a fair sample size to judge any player. If he doesn’t take a big step forward this year, I can understand those ready to give up and move on.
—If there’s a QB they think can be a good backup early and potentially push for a starting job at some point, I’d have no qualms with them taking a QB in round 2. I think round 3 is a better starting point but for the right guy, round 2 would be fine. It needs to be a priority one way or another, IMO.
—To me, the best news for the Rams about the cap jump is it should allow them to keep some of their young talent in the coming years. I still don’t expect them to spend big money in this year’s free agent market.
—I don’t expect Byrd to hit the market. If he does, I don’t expect the Rams to spend that kind of money on a safety.
—Four games into the season, the whole year was about to go down the drain. They had a run game that was headed toward historic levels of ineptitude. And they were asking an offensive line that wasn’t built to protect in a spread type of offense to protect the QB for long periods of time. It was a square peg and a round hole. Now, you can attribute it to poor scheming, poor evaluation, whatever you want but I don’t think it was anything but obvious that it was time for the Rams to reconfigure what they did offensively.
—It really seemed like one of the best groups in a long time in terms of workouts at the Combine. Some really impressive stuff going on in Indy. But some lesser known names that seemed to do well would include Oregon State WR Brandin Cooks and LSU WR Odell Beckham, among others. Dri Archer, with his speed, obviously opened some eyes. At least in Oakland.
—I could see them targeting a vet OL if they lose Saffold. They might bring back Chris Williams as it is, according to Fisher but if they lose Saffold they might have more impetus to do so. Problem is, I don’t think there’s going to be much on the open market in terms of good free agent OL. The ones that do shake loose will be costly.
—As I’ve written plenty of times, much will depend on Saffold. At some point, the Rams need to start solidifying the offensive line beyond a year at a time. Getting an elite OT would be a great move this year, even if he’d have to play guard for a year. Let me also add this, the additional salary cap space expectation could allow them to keep one of their vet OLs. My suspicion is if they went that way, Wells is more likely to stick than Dahl.
Read Complete Chat Highlights
—Depending on what happens in free agency, I think 13 might end up being the sweet spot for the Rams to add a top defensive back. I could see Darqueze Dennard or Justin Gilbert at CB being an option. Obviously, the safeties are commonly mocked to the Rams (Clinton-Dix and Pryor) and I’ll throw in another name to monitor, especially if they lose Saffold, Notre Dame OL Zack Martin.
—I just don’t know what else needs to be said to make people believe that the Rams are sticking with Sam Bradford as their quarterback. He’s not getting cut. He’s not getting traded. He’s the guy.
—Mack at #2? I love Mack’s game but that seems awfully high for a 3rd LB who may not be on the field but half the time or so.
—I posted what an agent was hearing in Indy for Saffold was 7-8 million a year. And I think it’s possible he gets that. It’s a simple basic of business: supply and demand. There simply aren’t going to be many top OL available, even ones with injury history. Saffold will be one of the top three or four OL to hit the open market. Someone will pay up for his potential at guard and his versatility to play OT. I’d probably draw the line at $6 million or so average annually but I don’t know where the Rams cut it off. I doubt they’d go to the $7-8 million range.
—I wrote last week that I believe it should be Watkins. I also don’t believe Robinson or Clowney would be anything but a great pick. They can’t really go wrong with any of them. And to be clear, just because I think they should go with Watkins doesn’t mean I think they will take him. I still believe they will look to move down in a trade before making a pick.
—I think Watkins is gone by 6 and he could be by 5. If Cleveland traded up, I’m assuming it would be for a QB and I think he could still be had at 4. Any lower than that and I think there’s a very real chance he’s gone.
—Get a Future #1 in a Trade Down? It’s possible but I don’t know if it’s probable. I just don’t know that any team is going to love one of those QBs enough to give up that kind of a bounty.
—Les Snead said at the combine that he’s “not losing any sleep” over either (Bradford/Long) recovery. He noted that technology is really helping both along. Clearly, Long is further away since his surgery is still recent but by all accounts Bradford is right on schedule and will be fine barring some unforeseen setback.
—Clemens is a positive locker room presence and played better this year than most of us expected. I haven’t advocated bringing him back as the primary backup to Bradford but having him around as a tutor for a drafted No. 2 QB would make a lot of sense to me, especially with Bradford concentrating on getting healthy.
—I’ve said it before and will say it again, I really don’t know what’s going to happen. Anyone who isn’t Stan Kroenke who tells you they do know what’s going to happen is probably not telling you the truth. I will say this, I see almost zero chance the Rams long term home is the Edward Jones Dome.
—Quick a Bust? I’m not there yet. But this is absolutely a big year for him. Three years is a fair sample size to judge any player. If he doesn’t take a big step forward this year, I can understand those ready to give up and move on.
—If there’s a QB they think can be a good backup early and potentially push for a starting job at some point, I’d have no qualms with them taking a QB in round 2. I think round 3 is a better starting point but for the right guy, round 2 would be fine. It needs to be a priority one way or another, IMO.
—To me, the best news for the Rams about the cap jump is it should allow them to keep some of their young talent in the coming years. I still don’t expect them to spend big money in this year’s free agent market.
—I don’t expect Byrd to hit the market. If he does, I don’t expect the Rams to spend that kind of money on a safety.
—Four games into the season, the whole year was about to go down the drain. They had a run game that was headed toward historic levels of ineptitude. And they were asking an offensive line that wasn’t built to protect in a spread type of offense to protect the QB for long periods of time. It was a square peg and a round hole. Now, you can attribute it to poor scheming, poor evaluation, whatever you want but I don’t think it was anything but obvious that it was time for the Rams to reconfigure what they did offensively.
—It really seemed like one of the best groups in a long time in terms of workouts at the Combine. Some really impressive stuff going on in Indy. But some lesser known names that seemed to do well would include Oregon State WR Brandin Cooks and LSU WR Odell Beckham, among others. Dri Archer, with his speed, obviously opened some eyes. At least in Oakland.
—I could see them targeting a vet OL if they lose Saffold. They might bring back Chris Williams as it is, according to Fisher but if they lose Saffold they might have more impetus to do so. Problem is, I don’t think there’s going to be much on the open market in terms of good free agent OL. The ones that do shake loose will be costly.
—As I’ve written plenty of times, much will depend on Saffold. At some point, the Rams need to start solidifying the offensive line beyond a year at a time. Getting an elite OT would be a great move this year, even if he’d have to play guard for a year. Let me also add this, the additional salary cap space expectation could allow them to keep one of their vet OLs. My suspicion is if they went that way, Wells is more likely to stick than Dahl.
Read Complete Chat Highlights
