20 Random Post-Draft Thoughts

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AvengerRam

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1. The draft did not go as I expected.

2. And that's... okay.

3. I thought the Rams would prioritize CB and OL. I was wrong.

4. Given that Snead/McVay and Co. know more than I do, the question I'm asking is "what are the Rams seeing that I'm not seeing." Here are some thoughts...

5. Perhaps the Rams believe that, given the complexity of their offense, players with a year or more in the system - even if watching from the sidelines - have a greater chance of success than rookies.

6. Perhaps the Rams were particularly concerned with the way the Packers ran the ball on the defense in the playoffs, and therefore prioritized run stoppers like Ernest Jones and Bobby Brown.

7. Perhaps the Rams thought the offensive line, more than anything, needed deep threats to keep defenders out of the box, and therefore prioritized adding speedy players like Tutu Atwell and Jacob Harris (and, of course, DJax).

8. I think the Rams have the potential for improved rosters at most of the position groups.

9. At QB, Stafford > Goff. That's the big one.

10. At RB, Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson should improve with experience (and, hopefully, good health). There are prospects behind them who should make up for the loss of Malcolm Brown.

11. At WR, we're stacked with Woods, Kupp, Jefferson, DJax and Atwell.

12. At TE, Higbee and Mundt return, while Brycen Hopkins and Harris will compete to fill the role vacated upon Gerald Everett's departure.

13. The OL is the big question mark, as noted.

14. On the DL, the Rams drafted to replace lost pieces (Brockers, Fox). I'm also intrigued by what A'Shawn Robinson can bring to the table after a healthy offseason.

15. The LB corps has potential with the addition of Jones. If Terrell Lewis and Obo can stay healthy, the pass rush should remain strong.

16. The Rams are counting on young players such as Taylor Rapp, Jordan Fuller and Terrell Burgess. At CB, we're in good shape.

17. The draft class brings great potential for special teams play.

18. So, yeah... I'm optimistic. But, more than anything, I'm impressed how the Rams were able to keep the roster strong in the face of a ton of dead money resulting from the departure of Gurley, Goff and others.

19. The roster is far from perfect, and certainly there are young players who will need to step up, but I certainly see enough talent to make another playoff run.

20. And now.... we wait.
 

CGI_Ram

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At RB, Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson should improve with experience

A'Shawn Robinson can bring to the table after a healthy offseason.

The game seemed to slow down for Akers the second half. Another off-season of work... I am excited to see him.

A’Shawn is like an additional player this year. Good point.
 

dang

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The Rams definitely beefed up their run defense which was cringe worthy at times last year. They also definitely went for speed in their WR/TE picks. Another area of weakness last year. I feel they are a one FA vet light at CB. I agree that a OL player at R2.57 would not have helped much this year but they sure missed out on some talent that looked to be long term solutions. I am hoping Anchrum progresses in case Evans struggles at OG. I wouldn’t mind another vet at Edge in case Lewis isn’t able to answer the bell anytime during the season.
 

FrantikRam

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I was confident that WR was one of the biggest needs - play three WRs a lot and two of our four are 50/50 shots to get injured.

I thought we would address OL, but for next season. Not this season. That we didn't doesn't bother me because we took care of just about every other potential off-season need next year.

The OL got a bad rep for certain reasons this year. For the life of me I don't understand why the veil hasn't been lifted - this OL was a fringe 10 unit last year and we are going to improve on our worst offensive lineman.

This team is now stacked and IMO will be better than 2018. We have two RBs capable of popping a 40 yard run, 5 WRs capable of making big plays, a solid TE and a competition to replace Everett which should bring out the best.

We have the best CB room in the league, and should have a top 5 pass rush again. We improved our run defense with Jones and Brown, and have three safeties who will play a lot.

And our special teams looks to be better too.

People will talk up the Bucs but I think we have the best roster in the NFL.
 

xander47

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The Rams definitely beefed up their run defense which was cringe worthy at times last year. They also definitely went for speed in their WR/TE picks. Another area of weakness last year. I feel they are a one FA vet light at CB. I agree that a OL player at R2.57 would not have helped much this year but they sure missed out on some talent that looked to be long term solutions. I am hoping Anchrum progresses in case Evans struggles at OG. I wouldn’t mind another vet at Edge in case Lewis isn’t able to answer the bell anytime during the season.
There was a podcast referring to college defenses and how the rams 2 man look would eventually take over the nfl. The theory was with the pass happy nature of offenses. 2 man coverages would force the offense to either run in the light box and be successful or pass into unfavorable conditions. The theory was since there are so few game changers on the dline. It would be better to emphasize run defense in the light box. If the opposing team decided to pass, the dline would still have more time to pressure because of the extra db in coverage. It must have definitely been a point of emphasis with the dl picks as well as a Mike linebacker who apparently was always in the right position. + improvement on special teams WITH guys who have potential to do different things than current receivers. It all fits. I'm excited.
 

Merlin

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As I kick this draft around I'm thinking right now that...

1. The OL took back seat because it's depth and they want the Super Bowl now. Worry about it later basically. Of course they wanted a center and left tackle but the other stuff was more important given that they like their guys.

2. When you lose in the playoffs due to your DL getting trucked and then you lose a starter and a top backup something has to come in. Also I think the ground game losses were particularly sickening to them. It was a fatal flaw in a great defense last year. And keep in mind that previous to last season the only McVay defense to play the run well was our 2019 group and that was only in spurts like the playoff run when Suh quit taking plays off.

3. They wanted enough depth to absorb passing game talent loss due to injury. When Kupp goes down are they going to be better off? I have to say yes.

4. This was probably the best round 4 and 5 range I've seen from Snead. I really like the players they chose in those rounds. IMO those players made our draft..

I'm not gonna worry about the OL next year until after this season. Let's go win a Super Bowl. :horns: :biggrin: :horns: