Center is the need

[Neil039]

I read Cushenberry isn't suited real well to a zone team. I like Hennessy and Scott but Scott is small...6'1" 305. I think a good one can be had in the 3rd round

I honestly had to go read his bio again. His strengths are suited for handling bull rushers, strength and hand placement. Weaknesses include lateral and his edge. He's rated to be a starting Center no later than season 2. One positive not mentioned is that he could be called CUSH "Jerry Maguire" lol

Ruiz...not exactly the opposite but his glaring knock is that he's not broad enough and needs more power. Although his player profile fits more with the Rams blocking.

Baidasz ...(pronounced bee-AH-dish) not projected to be the players Harris Cush Ruiz will be but this is the one strength that stood out to me...Identifies and communicates protection duties pre-snap

There is rumor that Philadelphia is in love with Ruiz. His family is from the north east and his mom has been on record that she would love for him to play for the Eagles. Not tampering but hey she likely got paid for his college career. If Harris and Cush are gone leading up to the Rams pick at #52 I'd bet a quick $100.00 Philadelphia trades up in the second for him.

Sorry for the long post...If I were the Rams brain trust I wouldn't pick Baidasz or Harris ( not sure he's an NFL Center) in the 2nd. If he's there in the 3rd yes.

I do believe in value at certain picks, BPA at #52 IMO

 

[Soul Surfer]

I truly believe that Blythe has all it takes to be a excellent starting center with his brain power. Butt monkey here....other elements are also needed that Blythe will never have.

In hindsight Kromer might have been kicking his own bum over his decision early last season to go with {no experience} Brian Allen over Blythe as starting center. As I have stated before Allen had only 1 season as a starter @ center in college:explode:. Blythe has 3 straight seasons over 40 gms starting @ OC in college:ubet:. Blythe in his first season in the NFL in 2016 was a full time backup center for the Colts & started one gm @ OC.

In 2017 Blythe was signed up early by Snead & new OL coach Kromer. Kromer quickly booted OC Demetrius Rhaney out. Kromer also had OC Jake Eldrenkamp OC/OG & later picked up OC Aaron Neary. Blythe beat out all & was a very good reserve center in 2017.

In 2018 Rams selected OC Brian Allen to be Kromers new starting center. Kromer got a drafted Jamil Demby & 2 WWC's Evan Boehn & Jeremiah Kolone to be his reserve OG's behind Jamon Brown & Saffold. However, it was Blythe who has been forgotten @ OC due to two things .... the pushing of Brian Allen & Blythe got involved in the battle for the starting RG post, due to Brown's SUP. It was Blythe who grasped the starting post & did not turn it loose thus making the Rams Org's :dream: by giving Allen a home @ OC behind Sullivan.

Last season the DINKY Blythe was injured early while he in a trending downward worn down status with degraded damaged shoulders. Once Allen went down Blythe finally got his opportunity to return to the only real starting post in the NFL that Blythe should ever be considered for....CENTER.

Blythe has always been Small by all measures that NFL teams use to measure for centers. Now think about that before realizing that the measures for NFL OG would be magnified against Blythe as starting RG for 2018 & 2019 seasons. No wonder he was deteriorating.

Blythe's official NFL size when he came in was 6-2 1/8 291 lbs. Blythe's size screams OC only & then only in offenses with zone specific offenses. Even this 2020 season Blythe's deficiency in length & mass will be a McVay/Kromer lasting legitimate concern.

Zero techniques (NT's) will always give Blythe trouble. We saw it late last year over & over when he was unable to establish leverage as he was being mauled by a bigger opponent. Both Allen & Blythe due to their size will be outsized in almost every matchup by much larger DT's & NT's until eternity .......... Now's the time to draft a good sized center who will be able to win these matchups more often!

My wish list starting lineup, as I posted in here, for 2019 was;
Whitworth
Noteboom, (that didn't work out very well )
Blythe
Camp battle winner between Evans and Edwards
Havenstein

my reasoning was you wouldn't have two players with no experience lining up right next to each other.

I don't know why Kromer attempted what he did because it didn't have a good chance of working.

 

[Soul Surfer]

And if Blythe is 6'2", I don't understand why he's not 310/ 315 at least.

I hope he comes in heavier.
291 is college size.

 

[oldnotdead]

Blythe struggles to pull as it is...extra weight would just make him worse. The Rams have their center and his name is Allen. People are critical of Allen and hold Sullivan up as some kind of measurement. Well if that is the case, they ignore that Allen outplayed Sullivan last year. He outplayed Blythe as well. Blythe lacks not just the weight, but the height and arm length you want in a good center.

Austin was signed on a one year deal. That is hardly a ringing endorsement of his talent. IMO Blythe was signed as insurance in case Allen isn't ready to start, in the same way, Whitworth was re-signed to buy Noteboom time to recover and regain his form. The signing of these place holders tells me that the Rams are sticking to their original o-line plans. Both Allen and Noteboom could easily start the season on PUP.

Center is one of the hardest positions to start as a rookie. This is why with Allen and Shelton already on the roster drafting another doesn't make a lot of sense at this point.

 

[PhillyRam]

This guy gets it . We need to be shooting for starters with our first few picks. OL, ILB, EDGE, then WR, RB IMO. Makes no sense to draft a RB with 52 or 57 when we already have Henderson/Brown and our line is so bad. We should double or triple down on OL in this draft, grab edge and ILB BPA. IF for some reason a monster WR falls to 52 then maybe thats the exception but everything else can wait IMO. We have a lot of solid young players in our secondary. We cant fill our starting holes AND fill out our depth all in one draft. If we improve the o-line, all facets of the offense will improve. The people that think our OL talent is already sufficient for this season truly, truly baffle me.

Agree that I would stay away from WR/RB unless somehow Taylor or Swift fall to you or some freakish WR.

You can get a quality committee RB and WR role player later in 4-6.

I am not as concerned about the OL, especially the idea of a rookie stepping in and starting and especially this year where there will be no OTA's, most likely and possible a shortened camp.

I do see the need for a future starting C and depth elsewhere to push to start next year or maybe by late this season.

I do think the rookies from last year should continue to develop as they showed progress last yr.

So add a C early, maybe a LT prospect, but also focus on Edge & LB, where impact can be made early. Even BPA at #52 if someone slides. Would kike to see a DL with pass rush ability.

 

[BonifayRam]

Great post as always,
Who’s the guy you like at OC in this draft?

Thanks

I know it sounds lame but I have not settled on my top list of center draft prospects @ this time. This upcoming draft has some very good prospects & certainly would be the year to finally attempt to get a promising outstanding center for Goff for the 2021 through 2023 seasons. We might be able to keep him awhile with a 2nd contract if we are real lucky. It takes a long time to get center prepared well enough to start let alone ask them to be good at it.

Rams have NEVER drafted a good NFL center. Going back to the early 70's. Rams have a deplorable history when it comes to finding a starting center through the draft. The only OC that the Rams drafted that was a long term starter was a 1st rd. pick in 1990 named Bern Brostek who played for 8 seasons. He was the best that I know of. An average starting OC. The best of Ram center came to the team by other means. IMO the best Ram OC in the last two decades was WWC Andy McCollum. Starter from 2000 to 2007. Richie Incognito was drafted in 2005 as a center but moved to OG.

I certainly believe we have an unusual amount of interior OL'ers (seven) who have some center experience signed currently. So it's not a concern for this team when you're talking about Ram center prospects.....but it's a different story if you're speaking of a good well balance ready to perform OC.

Its very possible that one or maybe two may yet might be good NFL centers with some starting experience. Brian Allen was not prepared to be an NFL starting OC last season. He did not have much time @ center in college & certainly had very few snaps with the Ram offense in actual NFL gm. experience before Kromer rushed him into starting service. I beleive it would be foolish to dump Allen this early in his career too. Rams have invested in him it would be a waste. If by the end of this season Allen has not proven himself to be a good interior reserve #7th or 8th OL'er then it's time to cut bait.

 

[bubbaramfan]

In defense of Allen, it was a big mistake in not giving him snaps in preseason.

 

[Soul Surfer]

In defense of Allen, it was a big mistake in not giving him snaps in preseason.

Not to mention Noteboom.
I would almost bet they will run Edwards and Evans this preseason.

 

[Merlin]

I honestly had to go read his bio again. His strengths are suited for handling bull rushers, strength and hand placement. Weaknesses include lateral and his edge. He's rated to be a starting Center no later than season 2. One positive not mentioned is that he could be called CUSH "Jerry Maguire" lol

Ruiz...not exactly the opposite but his glaring knock is that he's not broad enough and needs more power. Although his player profile fits more with the Rams blocking.

Baidasz ...(pronounced bee-AH-dish) not projected to be the players Harris Cush Ruiz will be but this is the one strength that stood out to me...Identifies and communicates protection duties pre-snap

There is rumor that Philadelphia is in love with Ruiz. His family is from the north east and his mom has been on record that she would love for him to play for the Eagles. Not tampering but hey she likely got paid for his college career. If Harris and Cush are gone leading up to the Rams pick at #52 I'd bet a quick $100.00 Philadelphia trades up in the second for him.

Sorry for the long post...If I were the Rams brain trust I wouldn't pick Baidasz or Harris ( not sure he's an NFL Center) in the 2nd. If he's there in the 3rd yes.

I do believe in value at certain picks, BPA at #52 IMO

Once you get past the Biadasz point (I presume he's going to go round 3ish but who knows) there's a lot of guys who look to me like depth types. So if we want to actually upgrade the position I think it's going to have to be done by round 3-4 range. After that you start getting into depth players with a longer shot to help us quickly and for me personally the round 4, 6, 7 picks are sort of earmarked for a kicker, depth by committee RBs if they didn't get one early, upside types who have the medical flags, really raw but talented dev types, maybe even a backup QB who fits, etc. I'm not actively looking for a starting Center in that range basically.

So for my own draft plan, which might well look nothing like that of the Rams, you either get your Center early (by that round 3ish range) or say fuck it and wait a year. We're really going to be at the mercy of the board and other teams here obviously when we start so late. Could be we see a really good OT drop to us and if that happens we jump on it. Or a RB, CB, S, etc who we have to take because of that value so just take them if/when that happens.

I do think that the Rams need to focus on big value and increased chance of impact players even if it's not the desired position. And doing that would help make up for the lack of the earlier pick and maybe even help us contend this year. We need first term all star type players on this roster. First term starters would be nice and all, but hitting big with the Pro Bowl level types should be the plan and that starts with your draft board IMO.

 

[Ram Ts]

Bingo Merlin. Regardless of need, we’re gonna be at the mercy of the board and who is available. We need the BPA/impact type guys more so than simply filling needs. Which honestly makes this draft just a that much more interesting as a Ram fan considering we have so many day 2 picks.

 

[Neil039]

Hardest part about having pick 52 over a top 10 one. So many different avenues to go. I always wonder how fans see glaring needs so much differently than their teams. I know why, it's just baffles me.

McVay and Snead have worked well together. I hope this draft yields a few gems for the Rams...and yes I hope 1 is a Center lol

 

[FarNorth]

Bingo Merlin. Regardless of need, we’re gonna be at the mercy of the board and who is available. We need the BPA/impact type guys more so than simply filling needs. Which honestly makes this draft just a that much more interesting as a Ram fan considering we have so many day 2 picks.

This will be a REALLY interesting draft. Having so many Day 2 picks enables us to be flexible at the order in which we fill our top positional needs. Imo we will have some good choices as the first round will overemphasize certain positions and there is depth at others. We should be able to go BPA for the top picks and still cover our most important needs.

It will be fascinating to see how Snead and McVay play this hand and which players and/or positions they really value.

 

[Zaphod]

I think the jury is still out on B.Allen. Defenses knew what was coming and he got blown up.

I’m not so much down on Allen either. My expectation for him would be starting the season as depth at guard/center. After that who knows on the offensive line.

Blythe is the expected starter, allowing them to solve for increased competition at center through the draft.

That pretty much settles things down, but I still think they may look for depth behind Noteboom and Whitworth.

 

[Zaphod]

This will be a REALLY interesting draft. Having so many Day 2 picks enables us to be flexible at the order in which we fill our top positional needs. Imo we will have some good choices as the first round will overemphasize certain positions and there is depth at others. We should be able to go BPA for the top picks and still cover our most important needs.

It will be fascinating to see how Snead and McVay play this hand and which players and/or positions they really value.

I really like how they try to position themselves so that position is a less a need.

There are certainly enough variables to worry about without being overly weighted by any one.

 

[BonifayRam]

Austin Blythe Hoping To Remain With Rams Long-Term, Willing To Play Any Position

Austin Blythe Hoping To Remain With Rams Long-Term, Willing To Play Any Position - Rams Nation

Austin Blythe is hoping to remain with the Los Angeles Rams long-term and is willing to play any position on the offensive line.

ramsnation.com

Unlike last offseason, the Los Angeles Rams put an emphasis on keeping their offensive line intact in free agency by bringing back left tackle Andrew Whitworth and interior lineman Austin Blythe. The decision to keep Whitworth around as the anchor was certainly a no-brainer given the current state of this group. Meanwhile, Blythe’s presence gives the Rams perhaps their most versatile weapon up front.

Blythe has gotten ample playing time at center and both guard spots since entering the league prior to the 2016 campaign. He is happy to have another chance to show off his skill set after signing a one-year, prove-it deal with Los Angeles.

“It just came to be a one-year contract because that’s what my agent advised me was the best route to take given the opportunities that were on the table,” Blythe said. “And right now, I’m focused on this one year.
“I’m going to be in the same boat a year from now. Hopefully, at that point, I’ll have another chance to return to the Rams and finish my career.”

Blythe started at guard for the Rams last season and then moved to center when Brian Allen went down with a season-ending injury. He added that he is willing to play any position the Rams place him:

“I’m still comfortable going back and forth,” he said. “I think that kind of ties into just my personality as a person — I’m more of a people pleaser. Wherever the team thinks that I can help the best or help the most, that’s the position that I’ll play.”

Blythe’s willingness to take on any role is indicative of how determined he is to continue proving himself in Los Angeles. After all, this is where he was able to find his footing and get his career on track by working his way up the pecking order to emerge as a starter over the last few years.

Although it remains to be seen where the Rams plan on having Blythe play in the 2020 NFL season, his ability to play multiple positions on the inside will help pay huge dividends when the time comes for head coach Sean McVay to assemble the depth chart. Being a jack-of-all-trades has helped him maintain a steady role thus far, however, he will now need to prove that he is capable of playing each role at a high level if he hopes to potentially earn a long-term deal.

 

[BonifayRam]

Great post as always,
Who’s the guy you like at OC in this draft?

Just found this Dieter the Brock......If I were going to bet on whom the Rams might select on either on Friday or Saturday {4/24 & 4/25} these would be my top three:
Nick Harris, C, Washington (Virtual)

Nick Harris Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com

www.nfl.com

Cesar Ruiz, C, Michigan (Combine)

Cesar Ruiz Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com

www.nfl.com

Lloyd Cushenberry, C, LSU (Senior Bowl)

Lloyd Cushenberry III Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com

www.nfl.com

 

[BonifayRam]

I’m not so much down on Allen either. My expectation for him would be starting the season as depth at guard/center. After that who knows on the offensive line.

Blythe is the expected starter, allowing them to solve for increased competition at center through the draft.

That pretty much settles things down, but I still think they may look for depth behind Noteboom and Whitworth.

I agree & believe coach Kromer would be smart to go with this upcoming season position. Brian Allen would make a very good game day reserve for all three interior posts this is important. Like I pointed out with my comments above BA has many college starts @ both LG & RG but primarily LG. Then in his last two NFL seasons BA has added 9 starts @ OC in 2019 & top back up @ OC in his rookie season 2018.

This also would permit OL'er Chandler Brewer to be the game day swing OT reserve if Rob Havenstein is traded during the draft & Bobby Evans continues his 2019 starter status @ RT.

Ref. you were mentioning needed depth @ LT......seems to me that this would be a higher priority in this draft than OC.

 

[Soul Surfer]

@BonifayRam
I think this draft will definitely give us and idea of what the coaches and staff think of our prospects at left tackle and Center.

Like you have pointed out before, we have MANY prospects at Center.

Left tackle?
Not so much.

And I would say those are the two most important positions on the offensive line.

If they do pick up a left tackle prospect that might be the end of the line for Noteboom for Brewer.
If they pick up a Center, Brian Allen better watch his back.

 

[BonifayRam]

@BonifayRam
I think this draft will definitely give us and idea of what the coaches and staff think of our prospects at left tackle and Center.Like you have pointed out before, we have MANY prospects at Center.
Left tackle?Not so much.
And I would say those are the two most important positions on the offensive line. If they do pick up a left tackle prospect that might be the end of the line for Noteboom for Brewer.
If they pick up a Center, Brian Allen better watch his back.

Not sure anyone here @ ROD really knows the position on how Snead/McVay/Kromer are projecting their current abundance of OC prospects. We will soon find out. Might Austin Blythe really surprise us again this time @ center & return to what he was in 2018 season?

One thing we do know is #1- outside a well-used, over cured, seasoned, way pass his prime Whitworth & #2- a one legged Noteboom who is freshly off his walking aids ......the Rams have nothing on the roster close to being an LT prospect or match the quantity of OC prospects.

I would not view the selection of an LT next week on Friday to indicate "end of the line" for either Noteboom or Brewer. I would see it more directed towards the retirement of Whitworth as starting LT after this season. Noteboom has one more season under contract in 2021 & should be back near in health & playing condition as he was before his Late 2019 injuries & surgery. So he is sure to remain on the roster.

Swing OT/OG Chandler Brewer is far more OG than OT & is sure to return next season to get involved in roster competition for the swing OG post behind Edwards & Corbett in 2021. Currently, I view Brewer's 2020 importance to Kromer as very high. Brewer demonstrated that he can play four OL posts in his rookie season. Can you name another OL'er who has done this last season?