Who is your 'dark horse' for TC?

[BatteringRambo]

This can vary from a veteran, 2nd-4th year, rookie or even undrafted rookie?

Who do You see as 1 player regardless of position making an impact to open the coaches and other players eyes?

I'll roll with 6th round pick CB E.J. Gaines. I think he will showcase a solid training camp that transitions into preseason opp's. As far as regular season impact we have no clue yet...

 

[mr.stlouis]

I'm gonna go with Brian Quick. Schotty said he's the "most improved" player. I think he has a great opportunity to shine. With Bailey out 4 games it only opens up the window more. He can still live up to his draft status if he puts up a big year. All the negatives will be written off to experience. I wanna hear Snead say "Alshon who?" by the end of the year. Lol

 

[Rams and Gators]

Black Beauty.

 

[mr.stlouis]

Black Beauty.

Robert Quinn ain't an option!!!! Wait, that's Black Lightning. Carry on!

 

[Selassie I]

This Nole Homer is going with Greg Reid.

 

[CGI_Ram]

My first thought was Brian Quick. But then, I thought a little bit more about what a dark horse is;
A dark horse is a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort or a contestant that seems unlikely to succeed.

That would point me to this list of players;

# NAME POS. HT. WT. AGE EXP. COLLEGE
31 Alexander, Maurice S 6-1 220 23 R Utah State
82 Bayer, Alex TE 6-4 258 23 R Bowling Green State
26 Bryant, Christian S 5-9 198 22 R Ohio State
41 Bryant, Jarrid DB 6-3 185 24 R South Dakota
43 Cunningham, Avery DB 5-11 200 23 R Central Michigan
15 Franklin, Austin WR 5-11 189 21 R New Mexico State
33 Gaines, E.J. CB 5-10 190 22 R Missouri
5 Gilbert, Garrett QB 6-4 221 23 R Southern Methodist
68 Harlan, Deantre DT 6-4 281 23 R Bacone
Harris, Jordan WR 6-2 215 22 R Bryant University
51 Hill, Aaron LB 6-1 231 23 R Minnesota
45 Jones, Kadeem RB 5-10 266 22 R Western Kentucky
48 Millard, Johnny LB 6-2 232 23 R Cal Poly State
39 Reid, Greg DB 5-8 190 23 R Florida State
65 Rhaney, Demetrius C 6-2 301 22 R Tennessee State
47 Roberson, Marcus CB 6-0 191 21 R Florida
62B Salimu, Abasi T 6-5 310 24 R Nicholls State
96 Sam, Michael DE 6-2 261 24 R Missouri
17 Sherman, Jamaine WR 6-2 188 22 0 East Texas Baptist
3 Spencer, Diontae WR 5-9 161 22 R McNeese State
66 Van Dyk, Mitchell T 6-7 299 23 R Portland State
42 Watts, Trey RB 5-9 208 23 R Tulsa
62W Westbrooks, Ethan DT 6-4 267 23 R West Texas A&M
49W Wilson, Tavarius LB 5-11 239 23 R North Alabama
16 Blake, Emory WR 6-0 192 22 1 Auburn
60 Bond, Travis OG 6-6 329 23 1 North Carolina
86 Brodine, Mason TE 6-7 284 26 1 Nebraska-Kearney
2 Cowan, Bobby P 6-4 219 24 1 Idaho
84 Cunningham, Justice TE 6-3 258 23 1 South Carolina
64 Hooey, Sean T 6-9 304 23 1 Cincinnati
49 Hus, Jorgen LS 6-1 232 24 1 Regina
56 McSurdy, Caleb LB 6-1 237 24 1 Montana
87 Moe, T.J. WR 5-11 204 23 1 Missouri
59 Sabino, Etienne OLB 6-2 247 23 1 Ohio State
53 Steward, Phillip LB 6-1 235 23 1 Houston
19 Veltung, Justin WR 5-11 182 23 1 Idaho
35 Woodard, Darren CB 5-11 175 24 1 UTEP

From that list; TJ Moe

I will also say C Bryant seems to have a real chip on his shoulder. Those kind of guys have a chance to stand out!

 

[DaveFan'51]

Tavarius Wilson. He could be the back-up for Laurinaitus we need.

 

[LACHAMP46]

From CGI's list I'll take

31 Alexander, Maurice S 6-1 220 23 R Utah State, followed by

59 Sabino, Etienne OLB 6-2 247 23 1 Ohio State, but also keep an eye on

62 Westbrooks, Ethan DT 6-4 267 23 R West Texas A&M

 

[CGI_Ram]

Good point. Yeah, I should have trimmed them out. Will do that on an edit.

 

[TShram03]

Alex Carrington (FA) - Played on top-caliber NFL defensive line w/ BUF over last few seasons. Showed he more than held his own and contributed to cause in 2012, per PFF. Growth continued into 2013 when he became full-time starter, but injury limited him to just 3 games. Ascending veteran player entering athletic prime.

E.J. Gaines (Rookie) - Covered Mizzou football for 5 years. No player in that time had more natural football instinct in Columbia than E.J. Gaines. Some may have had as much, or close to that...but no one had more. I consider this the biggest steal of the draft for sure. Perhaps one of the biggest steals of any team in the NFL. Will immediately contribute on special teams, and will likely earn a LOT of trust on defense (from fans/coaches/players) by time season is over.

T.J. McDonald (returnee) - This category was reserved for basically anyone who was a returning Ram on the roster. I picked T.J. because I believe no player will be more positively impacted by Gregg Williams than McDonald. Williams' "specialty" seems to be maximizing safety talent within his particular scheme. Williams, have some have stated, may be the best/most important offseason addition in the organization.

 

[ChrisW]

This Nole Homer is going with Greg Reid.

Gonna agree with you. I think G. Reid comes in and solidifies himself as our return man, and last corner on the roster. Gives him time to work on his coverage and make the roster as a defensive player in 2015.

 

[MauiRam]

I am going with Reid as well, and I am not a "Nole Homer" It is no secret that both kickoff and return duties are up for grabs as the Rams' coaching staff apparently want to reduce wear and tear on Tavon while giving him a larger role in the offense. I see Greg Reid as securing at least one of those jobs if not both. He also can be a standout defender on special teams. The man is not afraid to hit. Anyone see the hit he put on Marcus Lattimore on one of Reid's highlight reels? There is no reason to believe he can't contribute depth in our secondary as well. Camp/preseason should be fun to watch ..

This Nole Homer is going with Greg Reid.

 

[CoachO]

I am going with Reid as well, and I am not a "Nole Homer" It is no secret that both kickoff and return duties are up for grabs as the Rams' coaching staff apparently want to reduce wear and tear on Tavon while giving him a larger role in the offense. I see Greg Reid as securing at least one of those jobs if not both. He also can be a standout defender on special teams. The man is not afraid to hit. Anyone see the hit he put on Marcus Lattimore on one of Reid's highlight reels? There is no reason to believe he can't contribute depth in our secondary as well. Camp/preseason should be fun to watch ..

I think you may be just a tad over zealous in stating that it's no secret that BOTH kickoff and punt return duties are up for grabs. They have stated that they would like to limit Austin in that role, not exclude him from it altogether. As I have seen NOTHING regarding his punt return duties being reduced. That is one of the biggest reasons they drafted him where they did.

As far as Reid and his now infamous hit on Lattimore, that was what 3 seasons ago? He hasn't been on a football field in 2+ seasons, having no less than 2 knee surgeries. To think he will suddenly return to the form he had in 2011 is a stretch, IMO. It's one thing to call him a dark horse. Its another to build him up as a can't miss "prospect".

For me, there are two dark horses i want to keep an eye on. One I have been on record repeatedly saying I think he may surprise some people. That is Cody Davis.

The other guy i am intrigued by, is Phillip Steward. Seems they like what he offers.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Alex Carrington (FA) - Played on top-caliber NFL defensive line w/ BUF over last few seasons. Showed he more than held his own and contributed to cause in 2012, per PFF. Growth continued into 2013 when he became full-time starter, but injury limited him to just 3 games. Ascending veteran player entering athletic prime.

I think Buffalo's run defense ranked 28th...and I know you can't blame it all on Carrington but...

 

[BuffaloRam]

For me, there are two dark horses i want to keep an eye on. One I have been on record repeatedly saying I think he may surprise some people. That is Cody Davis.

The other guy i am intrigued by, is Phillip Steward. Seems they like what he offers.

I would love for Davis to develop into a quality Safety. I like his tenacity and think he will find his feet in year two.

 

[TheDYVKX]

New TE Mason Brodine is my dark horse candidate. He's massive at 6'7" 285, has the strength and physicality to be a dominating blocker and a real mauler and possibly an extra linemen type of player, and if he has decent hands he can be a great red zone target. His hand size should be pretty big because he's a huge guy himself, but I can't find specific hand sizes. I know he's a project and he probably won't make the roster, but he has more size and length than the other TEs and could add a slightly different dimension in that way, and I really think he could work his way into being an essential part of the run game. And if for some reason our DL needs help due to injuries or something, he's there to step in.

I don't know why, but this guy's development intrigues me an extreme amount.

 

[MauiRam]

As far as Reid and his now infamous hit on Lattimore, that was what 3 seasons ago? He hasn't been on a football field in 2+ seasons, having no less than 2 knee surgeries. To think he will suddenly return to the form he had in 2011 is a stretch, IMO. It's one thing to call him a dark horse. Its another to build him up as a can't miss "prospect".

Who said anything about can't miss? You like Cody and Seward for your dark horses, I'm going with Reid as mine ..