2020 NFL trade deadline (Nov-03, 4pm EST)

[Merlin]

Brown's biggest value to this team is his pass blocking. Not sure Akers or Henderson can replace him there this year. It's more than just technique. You have to have to savvy and experience to know who's coming and adjust on the fly. With Van, I think he could replace Josh sooner than later, but Van is still learning the reads and concepts imo.

True. And there are instances on film of Brown lining up outside the hashes and Goff grabbing him pre-snap to stand beside him to do just that.

I agree both Akers and Jefferson probably aren't quite up to snuff mentally on the plays at least to where McVay wants them. But at some point as they near that you get the trade off with talent/impact. I think we're nearing that with both of them tbh.

 

[Merlin]

My biggest issue with Reynolds is that he plays soft with the ball in the air. He's 6'3". He needs to play like it. Use your length to create separation. Instead, he gets manhandled by smaller defenders.

Yes but he also has a QB who doesn't trust him like he trusts Woody & Kupp. And a QB who doesn't like to throw jump balls.

I think the Rams would trade him quickly with a reasonable offer.

 

[Mojo Ram]

My biggest issue with Reynolds is that he plays soft with the ball in the air. He's 6'3". He needs to play like it. Use your length to create separation. Instead, he gets manhandled by smaller defenders.

Yeah his size hasn't translated. He appears to have the physical tools to go up and get those 50/50 deep sideline jump balls but he seems to shrink instead. We(Goff) could sure use a guy who can do that well. Merlin mentioned Goff and the no confidence. I think that's right on point and why we don't see Goff throwing many of those deep sideline shots.

I think Reynolds is what he is at this point. Solid #3 guy but not a specialist at anything.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

I don't want to shortchange JR--I think he's made a bit of a leap from last year and seems to be playing with more efficient movement, like he's copying from Robert Woods. But yeah he never developed into the rebounder I thought he would.

Now that I think about it, maybe that's by design. McVay & co. like everybody interchangeable and crosstrained.

 

[oldnotdead]

The only issue I've had with Reynolds is his drop history. They spent years developing him and now he's finally proving himself. I love the fact they now are legitimately 4 deep at WR with Webster showing he's a very good kick returner and a decent WR as well. Hill on the other hand continues to be hit or miss. He will blow coverage then make a good play. His lack of consistency screams backup. Williams simply needs to polish his play and he will be a very good boundary CB. Of all the tradeable players, Hill has the most value on the market. On most teams, he would be a starter but that is how high the bar is on the Rams.

They are not going to be able to keep Everett. Just look at what the market is and in the right system, Everett can be a standout player. I go along with those that feel they will simply play him this year, make him an offer, then accept the compensatory 3rd round pick they probably would get for him in 2022.

The bottom line is that this team is essentially built. There are not many if any holes in the roster. As good as Snead drafts, having 3 day two picks gives him a lot to work with. I really feel they will extend Floyd and Lewis will really blossom in that DE position. With Robinson in the middle, they have an awesome d-line. Lewis really flashed last Monday. That move to disengage and make the stop for a loss was amazing. That shows the first-round talent this young man possesses. He doesn't have the long speed but he's athletic as hell and is very quick and strong. On the d-line quickness counts more than long speed. Lewis is explosive and showed a level of technical polish that is rare in a rookie.

With Kiser playing well at MIKE there really isn't a lot more needed defensively. That other ILB position is at best a 40-50% of the snaps type of position in this scheme. Next year with Burgess, Fuller, Rapp and Scott they can play a 3 safety nickel as a base 1B. With the other ILBs on the PS they have enough talent to fill the part-time second ILB spot on early downs. Rozeboom and Moncrief are two very intriguing prospects.

This is all to say I don't expect a trade simply because it's a matter of for what position? You don't trade for a backup.

 

[jrry32]

Yes but he also has a QB who doesn't trust him like he trusts Woody & Kupp. And a QB who doesn't like to throw jump balls.

I think the Rams would trade him quickly with a reasonable offer.

Eh, Goff has given him chances. Outside of that TD a couple weeks ago, Reynolds has typically not delivered.

 

[Ram65]

Nobody on that list should be considered a trade option. If Jefferson could do what Reynolds is doing they'd be splitting snaps. They obviously aren't.

SJD, as much as I think he's not a good player, they shouldn't mess with Dline depth. That would be foolish.

Malcolm Brown is the more physical tough yards type. That role can't be replaced with a guy with a rib injury. I don't think Brown is blocking Akers from playing as much as they are trying to let him heal. When he first was injured it was reported that a separated rib cartilage can take a year to heal. I also don't think the Rams just let Brown walk after the season. He won't command a big contract from other teams. Having his style of running in the rotation is nice.

Troy Hill? If David Long was capable of playing as well or better than Hill then he'd be starting over Troy. Darious Williams starts and he's not a third round pick. Hill is a backup for a reason.

Gerald Everett is the only possibility that could make sense because he's not a good blocker, but they'd have to be sure Mundt could replace him. I still think it makes little sense to disrupt the roster at this point. btw Mentioning Hopkins at this point is foolishness. Saying he was drafted to replace Everett may be accurate in May but the fact that he hasn't even displaced Mundt makes me think its a long shot to project Hopkins to take over for Everett any time soon, if ever. Mundt seems to have the upper hand in that battle.

Nice post. McVay hasn't given up this year. He has to feel good about the Rams being able to play with the rest of the NFC. They are going to need all hands on deck. This is the year of the injured. Rams need to keep the depth in case of more injuries. Brown's physicality is hard to replace while having three solid RBs is makes good sense. Everett fills in for Higbee while Reynolds and Jefferson give the Rams good depth should Kupp or Woods get hurt.

Same on defense Rams just lost Burgess with Obo and Fuller already injured. Getting Big A in the lineup brings needed depth for the defensive line which would be lessened with a trade of SJD. Rams will be coming into the strength of the schedule and can't afford to come up short-handed to fight for a playoff seating.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I think it's the basic mastery of the offense. In that week 8 interview Snead did for McVay he talked about how the offense has grown and some of these guys who have been here have enormous advantages over new additions. Last year Hendy's head was reportedly spinning. This year both Akers and Jefferson showed well reportedly in camp but are they going to be able to play every call without concerns? Probably not.

But at some point soon IMO McVay needs to make that call. Because Jefferson will upgrade us over Reynolds. Akers will upgrade us over Brown. Both of those vets are just guys IMO. Both the rooks on the other hand might be more than that.

Yes it likely is mastery of the offense. I did not ran to suggest that Reynolds is better physically than Jefferson. I have no way to tell at this point. But if Jefferson was where Reynolds is at mentally I think we would see more of him. I find it odd because I thought this offense used a pretty basic concept that wouldn't be too hard to pick up. There ate rookie receivers starting all over the league.

Akers is a different case. His rib cartilage separation may not be healed. There is no advantage in telling anyone right now though. That injury likely won't be completely healed until next season if he is running the ball at alk this year.

 

[bomebadeeda]

How many points do you get for a target in fantasy football?

In some leagues ( I know yahoo does...) it is 1 point.

 

[dieterbrock]

You may have a point dieter, but I’d be more interested in what those numbers look like in the past two years. Because we all know that Reynolds has improved immensely as a receiver since his rookie year.

Well, that's what we all would have expected, but he was only at 54.7 in his 2nd year, and dropped down to 48.8% last year.
We can just agree to disagree on Reynolds, I just dont understand disregarding targets as a viable stat.
Either way, its all good and lets kick some Dolphin ass tomorrow

 

[dieterbrock]

In some leagues ( I know yahoo does...) it is 1 point.

For a target? I know some leagues give a point for a reception but a target? Man those must be some high scoring leagues

 

[majrleaged]

When a pass is thrown to them that is clearly uncatchable not only is it an incomplete pass but that stat will show that the receiver failed to catch the ball when it clearly was not his fault. So two people get blamed, the QB and the WR. Unfair stats by far.

Sometimes a ball is uncatchable because the WR didn't get separation and the QB has no time or choice but to throw it away. WR's fault

 

[ottoman89]

Players I'd consider trading:
WR Josh Reynolds - Feel like he's almost been "force fed" these last few weeks to gain trade traction. He's a real nice player and probably our best trade bait. Van is in line and has shown flashes this year and I feel could replace what Reynolds gives.

TE Gerald Everett - Yeah, he can cause mismatches but not consistently. We have Higs and Mundt who do better than given credit for, also a youngin in Hopkins. Everett is real nice but expendable.

RB Malcolm Brown - Dudes been a total professional for us and real solid. A desperate RB needy team could ohwrpay for him. Hendo and Akers will be able to carry the load, only negative is his Pass Pro would be gone, but that's coachable.

What I'd like to see them look at is EDGE, LB and DL.

Some real solid players available that would be well worth it for us. Don't need the splash moves too, even a few simple to help solidify ILB and DL would be nice.

The way I look at it, losing JR or GE on offense would be a small hit, but the gain in defense with a move for LB, DL, or Edge would be HUGE.

 

[Merlin]

Re: Everett I think everyone here agrees the guy has that potential to be an elite player. I also don't think we get him the ball enough on the move because his RAC is excellent. But I wonder about the dude at times, like in that 3rd and 4 quick screen play that got "blow'd up" early in the game.

Here he is pre-snap, lined up out wide at the bottom of the screen. You can see Kupp telling him something, but Kupp is about to go into motion to the far hash and Everett is either ignoring him or not understanding.

Kupp in motion and here he is telling Goff that Everett is lined up wrong and pointing at him. I'm sure the Bears are wondering why he's so concerned about it...

Still pointing at Everett, Goff looking at Everett, and Everett is about to realize it or whatever and get into position.

Everett saunters over, no hurry... The LOLB watching all this still btw

At the snap the edge seems to know the play and Hav can't get his mitts on him

Everett gets the ball with the backer in his face, and the corner has the edge behind him

When I watched it during the game I thought Goff dished it too quickly, but clearly it's a quick screen that the defense anticipated. And I believe they anticipated it due to Everett lining up wrong and needing to be corrected pre-snap.

 

[ottoman89]

Re: Everett I think everyone here agrees the guy has that potential to be an elite player. I also don't think we get him the ball enough on the move because his RAC is excellent. But I wonder about the dude at times, like in that 3rd and 4 quick screen play that got "blow'd up" early in the game.

Here he is pre-snap, lined up out wide at the bottom of the screen. You can see Kupp telling him something, but Kupp is about to go into motion to the far hash and Everett is either ignoring him or not understanding.
View attachment 40528

Kupp in motion and here he is telling Goff that Everett is lined up wrong and pointing at him. I'm sure the Bears are wondering why he's so concerned about it...
View attachment 40529

Still pointing at Everett, Goff looking at Everett, and Everett is about to realize it or whatever and get into position.
View attachment 40530

Everett saunters over, no hurry... The LOLB watching all this still btw
View attachment 40531

At the snap the edge seems to know the play and Hav can't get his mitts on him
View attachment 40532

Everett gets the ball with the backer in his face, and the corner has the edge behind him
View attachment 40533

When I watched it during the game I thought Goff dished it too quickly, but clearly it's a quick screen that the defense anticipated. And I believe they anticipated it due to Everett lining up wrong and needing to be corrected pre-snap.

Just seems like he has more of these mental lapses than he should for this many years in the Offense.

Also, his RAC is excellent, but his ball security is very questionable.

 

[nighttrain]

another thing about Everett, he's in his contract year and should be playing for his 2nd contract, stupid on his part not to be giving it his best, Brain dead or what?
train

 

[ReekofRams]

Well, that's what we all would have expected, but he was only at 54.7 in his 2nd year, and dropped down to 48.8% last year.
We can just agree to disagree on Reynolds, I just dont understand disregarding targets as a viable stat.
Either way, its all good and lets kick some Dolphin ass tomorrow

Don’t worry Dieter after personal in-depth research of my own shockingly I’m in total agreement with you.

 

[BriansRams]

I'd like to throw in my Reynolds thoughts. I have a gut feeling he can be really REALLY good, just needs to play more. Dude is NOT afraid of contact. But yeah, trade him if a really nice offer comes in.

 

[dang]

I'd like to throw in my Reynolds thoughts. I have a gut feeling he can be really REALLY good, just needs to play more. Dude is NOT afraid of contact. But yeah, trade him if a really nice offer comes in.

I feel Reynolds is a good WR3. Decent speed, hands, nice height. But he’s not the redzone receiver the Rams need. He cannot high point the ball and doesn’t deliver enough. As a result he is replaceable especially if he demands a significant bump in salary next year.

 

[Mackeyser]

Well, if the QB completion % is consistently higher throwing to other recievers, doesn't that make it fair in comparing players on the same team? The QB is the same, so why such a variance? Is Reynolds running more difficult routes? I dont think so

No, but if Reynolds is the fourth option, Goff may be affected by pressure at that point or Reynolds is covered and Goff has to throw it away in Reynolds’ direction. All the WRs were covered, but the last option takes the hit for the throw away pass. That’s just one scenario