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Ram Ts

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So Gaines deal is 3.5m with potential to be 4m total. We didn’t want that and could t fit that in? Even if we had to go up to 5M - isn’t he worth it?

Really odd. Maybe they did not like him as a player. Or maybe they are supremely confident in the Browns (among others) being better. I gotta assume so. Just tape wise, he seemed a keeper and that salary is very manageable. I’m sure they know best and I trust them. I just personally can’t see the forest from the trees.
 

Riverumbbq

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Yeah, I stopped putting much faith in "draft profiles" and on-line reports after this

"Evans had a tough task in 2018, taking over for All-American Orlando Brown at left tackle. He excelled in that role, earnings second-team All-Big 12 honors after starting all 14 games for the playoff participants. He had started across from Brown at right tackle in all 14 games as a sophomore, garnering honorable mention All-Big 12 notice. He was also an honorable mention all-conference pick his redshirt freshman campaign, starting the team's final 12 games at right tackle. Evans was a four-star recruit at Allen (Texas) High School, ranking among the top 100 overall prospects and top 10 offensive linemen. His father, Bobby Joe, was the Texas Gatorade Player of the Year in basketball, then played at Oklahoma. His brother, Tay, played linebacker for the Sooners in 2015 and 2016 before injuries ended his career."

and it continued

"
Overview
Three-year starter with tackle experience on both sides who plays with excellent core strength, good hand placement and a noticeable nasty streak. Evans is below average as an athlete but makes up for it with upper-body power and solid technique. Despite being under 6-foot-5, his arm length (34 3/4 inches) might convince a team to try him at right tackle before any moves inside. He might be scheme-dependent, but strength and toughness give him a shot at becoming a good backup with eventual starter potential.
Strengths
  • Built with a stout frame and nearly 35-inch arms
  • Started at both right and left tackle and might offer swing value
  • Relatively unfazed by bull-rush attempts
  • Sticks a strong punch into the chest of incoming rushers
  • Grip strength for solid secure and mirror
  • Impressive core strength
  • Shows ability to match power for power in upper half
  • Adequate agility for short pulls
  • Well-schooled with feel for landmarks and technique
  • Good timing and radar up to second-level targets on gap runs
  • Play demeanor best described as aggressive and chippy (by who? His sister?)
Weaknesses
  • Shorter than average at the tackle spot
  • Hip tightness restricts depth of kick slides
  • Below-average quickness in race versus edge rushers
  • Shows a tendency to lunge when beaten
  • Lacks proper hip bend to drop pad level and win with leverage
  • Could struggle in generating drive movement if moved inside to guard
  • Stiff-kneed upper-body mauler on down blocks
  • Narrow drive base causes him to fall off-center from the block
  • Faces range limitations as move blocker
  • Plodding with heavy feet out in space
Sources Tell Us

"The tape (in 2018) was a little bit disappointing compared to (2017) when he was at right tackle. I would play him at right tackle before ever thinking of moving him inside. He has some limitations and you have to help him some, but he can be a player on the right side." Area scout for AFC team

I PLAN TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE AREA SCOUT FOR NFL TEAMS and not Zierlein or Kiper or McShay. It seems every draft report has somewhat glowing positives and somewhat damning negatives.

I try not to think too much about the Bobby Evans saga, and though he had the physical attributes which might have led to success, we know so little about the mental aspects of these players. For me, Evans either suffered from terrible coaching on the Rams end, or his head just wasn't into the game any longer. The dude looked lost at times, so I'm not sure he put much effort into trying to improve. jmo.
 

Tano

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I try not to think too much about the Bobby Evans saga, and though he had the physical attributes which might have led to success, we know so little about the mental aspects of these players. For me, Evans either suffered from terrible coaching on the Rams end, or his head just wasn't into the game any longer. The dude looked lost at times, so I'm not sure he put much effort into trying to improve. jmo.
Evans entire issue imho was not knowing who to block.

Too many times he let people by with barely a move to block the guy because I think he misread the blocking scheme.
 

Riverumbbq

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So Gaines deal is 3.5m with potential to be 4m total. We didn’t want that and could t fit that in? Even if we had to go up to 5M - isn’t he worth it?

Really odd. Maybe they did not like him as a player. Or maybe they are supremely confident in the Browns (among others) being better. I gotta assume so. Just tape wise, he seemed a keeper and that salary is very manageable. I’m sure they know best and I trust them. I just personally can’t see the forest from the trees.

Why pay Gaines when we can have such a consistent healthy player like Brian Allen for the same money ? :sarcasm:
 

MachS

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If we had OBJ, draft a RB like Gibbs… patch the offensive line and we got a top unit.
RB at 36 has been my thought as well and it makes a lot of sense. Most of our top picks under McVay have been offensive right? Everett, Cam, Noteboom, Tutu, Bruss...
 

El Chapo Jr

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RB at 36 has been my thought as well and it makes a lot of sense. Most of our top picks under McVay have been offensive right? Everett, Cam, Noteboom, Tutu, Bruss...
It would go with the MO that they want to tip the scales towards the offense
 

FrantikRam

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Snead /McVay utilized 2 recent top draft selections on WR's Atwell & Jefferson both 2nd rounders in 2020 & 2021. Neither of these two top draft picks is a starter. Jefferson is in his 4th season (final yr on contract)& Atwell is entering his 3rd.

Many here have posted positively & openly to the idea that the WR unit is in need of spending all our cap $$$ for another aging older WR. If so that is some solid evidence of the Snead/McVay draft skills & it's not positive.

What is even harder for me to fathom about my favorite team's GM & HC felt it was a smart move to spend more very big future cap cash to beef up that WR unit last season by signing Allen Robinson signed a 3-year, $46.5 million contract, including a $14,000,000 signing bonus, $31 million guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $15.5 million.

Now everyone is in distress over a large number of cuts of starters & the lack of action in free agency. Very clear to me & I sure not surprised. Bad decisions after bad decisions will give you a 5-12 NFL team in 2022.

But but it's all the injuries' fault....:violin::violin:

Because there's no way that Aaron Donald, Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and the OL staying healthy could have won us more than 5 games...???
 

BuffaloRam

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1679600306524.png

Probably not Edwards
 

ottoman89

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Bryce Perkins?

Yay - he will be our savior if Stafford isn't able to come back
Yeah I'm done with Perkins and Wolf. Give us a damn legitimate backup. Especially with a VERY unknown and average OL, and a unfortunately broken Stafford.
 

FarNorth

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I can't recall who had the metric, but it showed that ARob was one of the most open receivers in the league last year. Stafford just had eyes for Kupp only.
That may not have been his fault, but the fact that Stafford won't throw to him doesn't make ARob an effective receiver for the Rams. He's also just too slow. Rams imo need a playmaker with speed and ability to get open who can threaten a defense.
 

PARAM

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So Gaines deal is 3.5m with potential to be 4m total. We didn’t want that and could t fit that in? Even if we had to go up to 5M - isn’t he worth it?

Really odd. Maybe they did not like him as a player. Or maybe they are supremely confident in the Browns (among others) being better. I gotta assume so. Just tape wise, he seemed a keeper and that salary is very manageable. I’m sure they know best and I trust them. I just personally can’t see the forest from the trees.
Yeah, it seems like it could have worked money-wise. But isn't that how the draft is supposed to work? We always hear, "the draft isn't for *this* year". You draft guys and develop them, then replace players with those guys. The Browns have been with the Rams since 2021. It must be time. Both Gaines and A'Shawn. On the latter, he was a good run stuffer. But he didn't play much the first year we signed him and he missed 7 games in 2022.
 

Riverumbbq

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My Rams 4'th round mock pick (after trade) gets a projection :


 

BonifayRam

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Vernon
My top 3 would be:

LT/LG Ty Nsekhe
CB Grant Haley
CB Troy Hill

Resigning those 2 corners takes some pressure off the draft.

Rams need pass rushers in that DL ....Robinson & Copeland are run pure run stoppers absent any sort of pass rush moves. Adding another strong safety JJ III would make 5 on the roster with zero deep/free safeties. Perkins as an RB/QB maybe but not as a pure QB.
 

Angry Ram

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Yeah, it seems like it could have worked money-wise. But isn't that how the draft is supposed to work? We always hear, "the draft isn't for *this* year". You draft guys and develop them, then replace players with those guys. The Browns have been with the Rams since 2021. It must be time. Both Gaines and A'Shawn. On the latter, he was a good run stuffer. But he didn't play much the first year we signed him and he missed 7 games in 2022.

Episode 2 Abc GIF by The Bachelorette
 

1maGoh

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Until we actually see him it's pretty tough to come up with much of an evaluation. Bruss is in a somewhat similar situation, although drafted a bit higher, but the little we did see wasn't very encouraging. Rams fans have been disappointed with over-hyped OL lineman before, maybe the lack of discussion is based on the 'fool me once' doctrine.

Zac Thomas :

Strengths​

  • Gets everything out of his adequate size and frame with good length. Added bulk to his frame and flashes functional strength to get a good push in the run game.
  • Dips shoulder and moves his feet to get outside leverage when needed. Strong and low coming out of his stance, effective in short-yardage situations.
  • Good natural athleticism, knee bend and fluid lateral movement to mirror college defensive ends.
  • Plays with appropriate wide base and intelligence, instincts and agility to seal the edge. Aggressive extending with power to punch and looks comfortable in space.
  • Anchors against larger defenders in the middle; resets hands to maintain distance. Athletic enough to help on nose tackle then pick up twist or late blitzer. Mirrors quick interior rushers. Looks to help the center when uncovered.

Weaknesses​

  • Loses leverage battles and plays with high pad level. Can be late off the snap.
  • Limits ability to mirror by leaning forward with his upper body and neglecting his lower body. Not strong enough and remains rough around the edges.
  • He's athletic and a pure left tackle whose high-hipped frame and waist bending might be exposed against pro pass rushers.
  • Not a natural knee-bender and gets too upright. Needs to play with better leverage and stay balanced through contact.
  • Not physically imposing and has average overall strength. Upper body gets over his feet too often and he easily loses his balance.

Do these guys even read what they write? Or do they have one person write the strengths and someone else write the weaknesses? His good knee bend is cited as a strength, followed later by the negatives that he's a waist bender and not a natural knee bender. I guess if they say good and bad things about the same traits they can claim they weren't wrong.
 
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