20…heck, let’s make it 30 Random Draft Thoughts

[AvengerRam]

I’m going to give my 30 random draft thoughts in three parts.

Here are my first 10, based on day one of the draft. I’ll post 11-20 tonight after the Rams make their picks, and 21-30 Saturday night after the draft ends.

Here we go…

1. Alas, Jahmyr Gibbs was not to be.

2. That’s okay. There are still a lot of good players available.

3. My top choice is Darnell Washington, who I regard as a hybrid OT/TE. I think that’s a new toy that Sean McVay would enjoy working with. Imagine a Swiss army knife like Ben Skowronek, only four inches taller and sixty pounds heavier.

4. The top defender on my board is Adetomiwa Adebawore, DL, Northewestern. Another physical freak who I’d love to see lined up next to Aaron Donald.

5. Ironically, Washington was my pick in my Mock 1.0, and Adebawore was my top selection in Version 2.0. Talked myself out of them as I thought they’d both go on Thursday!

6. Speaking of falling players, Joey Porter, Jr. is a guy I didn’t expect to last. I’d be very happy to see him go to the Rams.

7. I don’t want a QB (Will Levis or Hendon Hooker) with the 36th pick. If we were able to swing a deal to turn our three day 2 picks into four, though, I’d be on board with using one for a potential starting QB of the future.

8. If the Rams were to choose a speedy WR (i.e. Jalin Hyatt) instead of a premium OC (John Michael Schmitz), will that be Tutu/Creed II?

9. Given the presence of two QBs who are deemed Top 50 prospects still available, I expect that Rams will have some enticing trade down offers. If a player they truly love as an immediate impact guy is there, though, I’d rather they just make the pick.

10. Hoping for some offensive firepower today. Four guys I really like who could be 3rd round options: Israel Abanikanda, Tyler Scott, Jonathan Mingo and Cedric Tillman.

Stay tuned!

 

[CGI_Ram]

1. Alas, Jahmyr Gibbs was not to be.

I was starting to get pretty confident he would go first round. The Lions surprised me, but he takes a good offense up a notch, and that makes it a good pick.

6. Speaking of falling players, Joey Porter, Jr. is a guy I didn’t expect to last. I’d be very happy to see him go to the Rams.

Steelers can’t actually pass on him, can they?

7. I don’t want a QB (Will Levis or Hendon Hooker) with the 36th pick. If we were able to swing a deal to turn our three day 2 picks into four, though, I’d be on board with using one for a potential starting QB of the future.

I don’t either. QB’s in that 2nd-3rd round range feel like a massive gamble. They are there for a reason, that’s a premium pick range for a “flawed” QB.

That said, eventually we need to draft one. If we can get Hall or Tune… I like that draft position better for rolling the QB dice.

 

[Flatlyner]

6. Speaking of falling players, Joey Porter, Jr. is a guy I didn’t expect to last. I’d be very happy to see him go to the Rams.

As would I. It seems to fit that the Steelers take him as CGI eluded to, but, I'd bet a large sum of money the Steelers trade out with the best offer, likely trading up for Levis.

8. If the Rams were to choose a speedy WR (i.e. Jalin Hyatt) instead of a premium OC (John Michael Schmitz), will that be Tutu/Creed II?

I would vomit indefinitely.

 

[AvengerRam]

11. Well, that was a workman-like Day 2 for the Rams. No flashy, gimmicky new toys for McVay to play with. Instead, three guys who fill needed roles and will likely contribute early.

12. Steve Avila is a great selection. Not only will he start as a rookie, he could very well be our best OL by the end of the year. For those still mourning the failure to draft Creed Humphrey... let the healing begin!

13. Byron Young was a guy who was not in my Top 50, but was on my radar for Day 3. I get why the Rams would grab him when they did, both because of his great workouts, and the shrinking list of EDGE rusher prospects. Another guy who should contribute as a rookie.

14. Kobie Turner was not a guy I scouted, but I like what I'm reading. He's reportedly, a "football player," which sounds trite and cliche, but typically means, "ignore the measurables, watch the tape." I'm intrigued.

15. Pretty shocked by who is still left on my board. Fifteen of my top 50 still available:
6. Adetomiwa Adebawore, DL, Northwestern
11. Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia
14. Israel Abanikanda, RB, Pittsburgh
16. Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinnati
24. Darius Rush, CB, South Carolina
26. Jaelyn Duncan, OT, Maryland
32. Luke Wypler, C, Ohio State
34. Eli Ricks, CB, Alabama
35. Sean Tucker, RB, Syracuse
39. Jaylon Jones, CB, Texas A&M
40. Terrell Smith, CB, Minnesota
42. Rochon Johnson, RB, Texas
44. Andre Carter, EDGE, Army
45. Emil Ekiyor, OG, Alabama
49. Tre Palmer, WR, Nebraska

16. I'm shocked that Adebawore is still there. Is he being viewed as a workout warrior, or is there something we don't know?

17. The other guy I was shocked to see drop (finally taken in late 3rd) was Darnell Washington. We now know, however, that his knee was a red flag for several teams. Shows how little we know.

18. Glad we didn't end up with Will Levis or Hendon Hooker. I'd be looking for a backup with one of our four 5th round picks.

19. Trade downs bring us to 9 selections on Day 3. The odds of hitting on a few of these selections seems pretty good!

20. The Rams have improved their roster today. First time we can say that this offseason.

 

[thirteen28]

19. Trade downs bring us to 9 selections on Day 3. The odds of hitting on a few of these selections seems pretty good!

If you think about it, hitting on 1/3 of those picks - 3 of 9, would be pretty good, and that's not at all unreasonable to think we can with the current regime drafting. We seem to have a couple decent day 3 picks in most drafts lately. And if they hit on more than 3 of 9? This could turn out to be a really good draft.

 

[bomebadeeda]

We evaluate the kids in the draft by the way they are presented to us by the sports media, and word of mouth, But we rarely "know" how the team views the players. So far I am quite content w/ our draft so far. Hopefully we keep moving forward in this draft. A CB and a safety or 2 would b nice and a backup QB who could be "groomed" to be productive if given the opportunity nessitates. (Hopefully they're only needed in the preseason...). BTW. AR..... I always enjoy your "finer points" posts. Always a good read. Keep them coming.

 

[AvengerRam]

21. We sure do have a lot of rookies!

22. Favorite picks from Day 3: Nick Hampton and Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson. Both have the “undersized” label, but both are very good, athletic, football players.

23. Seems like a common theme for our picks: premium on game tapes over measurable. Worked when we drafted Cooper Kupp.

24. Stetson Bennett was definitely not a guy I expected or favored, as he reminds me of Johnny Manziel. I’ll trust McVay and Snead on this one, but I hope he never plays a regular season game for us.

25. My board took a beating this year. It happens. Next year, when we finally have a first round pick, will be fun.

26. Jason Taylor II…the next Nick Scott?

27. Zach Evans is intriguing. If he can stay healthy, he could be a real steal. Feeling pretty good about our RB depth.

28. Ethan Evans may not make us forget Johnny Hekker, but I’m betting he’ll be an upgrade over Riley Dixon.

29. With all these rookies, preseason will actually be worth watching.

30. Headed off the grid for a while. Thanks for reading and I’ll talk to you all in a couple of weeks!

 

[FaulkSF]

Unless Ethan can improve down field coverage, I wouldn't expect a huge upgrade at punter

 

[Mackeyser]

Unless Ethan can improve down field coverage, I wouldn't expect a huge upgrade at punter

He does by having better hang times.

More hang time = more time to cover kick

 

[FaulkSF]

He does by having better hang times.

More hang time = more time to cover kick

That's not the problem. I remember back in 2005(?) we drafted a punter and started him that had zero hang time. He was awful and would correlate to your concern.

Last year Dixon wasn't the problem. Other teams had just as much an opportunity to run downfield as well, yet outperformed us on ST. Hence the new coach.

 

[oldnotdead]

The OL looks like they can be a very good unit in 2024 and beyond.

LT Noteboom
LG Maginn
C Avila
RG Bruss
RT Jackson

Swing: OT/OG Thomas, C/OG McAllister, OT/OG, McClendon

A good OL opens up the offense both running and passing. The Rams now have 3 good RBs in Akers, Williams and Evans. Nacua adds depth with another Skowronek like WR.

The defense could be very good with the addition of edge Young giving them elite speed on the outside. Turner could be Donald's understudy. Hampton could be the SAM they haven't had since Ebukam and a legit blitz threat. Hodges-Tomlinson gives them a legit fast, agile SCB who looks good in zone coverage.

This team is vastly improved in one draft. They hit with their first 3 picks and didn't stop there. Even their OL depth looks vastly improved. I don't particularly like Stetson, but he's clearly a huge upgrade over Wolford.

2024 will be all about keeping the momentum and building on this base. How can anyone think they are tanking now?

 

[Tano]

2024 will be all about keeping the momentum and building on this base. How can anyone think they are tanking now?

I was worried that they were going to go thru the motions a little bit this season but aren't now.