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Draft trade cost not as high, but is somebody worth it to Rams?
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/p ... t-for-rams
In the four years that general manager Les Snead and coach Jeff Fisher have been building the Rams' roster, they've never offered even a modicum of fear about making bold moves up and down the NFL draft board.
In fact, Snead, Fisher and the Rams have made a whopping eight trades involving picks in the top 50 of the NFL draft. They've moved up, such as in 2013 when they jumped to No. 8 to land receiver Tavon Austin. They've also moved down, as in 2012, when they moved from No. 2 to No. 6 to No. 14 before taking defensive tackle Michael Brockers and walking away with a boatload of picks from Washington and Dallas.
Despite all of those moves, the Rams haven't been able to break through to a winning season or a postseason appearance. There are many reasons for those failures, but probably none more than the lack of consistent, productive quarterback play. So it is that the Los Angeles Rams now find themselves potentially staring back the other direction for another big draft-day trade, pondering the possibility of making a big move up to solve their perpetual quarterback conundrum.
Armed with the No. 15 pick in the draft as well as two second-rounders (Nos. 43 and 45), the Rams have some ammunition to make a move if they want. The good news is that the cost of such a move doesn't appear to be anywhere near what the Rams scored from the Redskins for the right to draft Robert Griffin III.
"Well, I would assume it’s probably not the same," Fisher said. "I don’t think anyone’s going to do that again. I couldn’t see that happen. We were very fortunate and both Washington and Cleveland at the time were very, very interested in it. That’s a lot to acquire and a lot to give up going from six to two."
Of course, the move for Washington and Cleveland wasn't nearly the leap the Rams would have to make to ensure a chance at someone like Cal's Jared Goff or North Dakota State's Carson Wentz, both of whom are generally regarded as the best quarterbacks in this year's draft.
The Rams would have to move 14 spots to get Tennessee's first overall pick, a move that isn't completely unheard of, but is a lot more difficult to pull off than the four-spot jump Washington made back in 2012.
"Not in the past, we've moved around, quite a bit, but not that far," Fisher said. "It's picks and maybe players, but typically picks, so you're going to have to have an awful lot of them and be prepared to give up future picks to move up."
More realistically, the Rams could make a leap somewhere into the middle of the top 10 at a much cheaper price and land a player like Goff, Wentz or Memphis' Paxton Lynch without having to surrender as much draft capital. Among teams in front of them in the draft, only Cleveland and San Francisco look to be in serious need of help at quarterback, and even that isn't a sure thing.
The question then becomes whether Wentz or Goff would be worth trading up to select? Of course, that's largely dependent on the price, but most draft analysts don't see either player at the level of Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, last year's top two quarterbacks.
"Wentz is obviously very smart," Fisher said. "I don't think he's ever gotten a B in his life. He's got the leadership qualities. And from a football standpoint he's got all the traits. The arm strength and decision-making ability and he can make all the throws. The same thing with Goff, too. Not every quarterback coming out is going to have that same personality. All their personality types are different. But both of them are perfect for the NFL, get in the huddle and to lead and win games."
But that might not happen if they have to play right away, as both Wentz and Goff likely will require some time to develop. That could leave the Rams rolling the dice in a different way by doing nothing and hoping that one of them or Lynch falls to their spot at No. 15. Or they could continue to ignore quarterbacks in the first round and look to add one later.
More so than any other position, there's a lot that goes into identifying a long-term quarterback solution. It's a process that's grown more complicated as college offenses have become less sophisticated.
"You have to take the mobility into consideration," Fisher said. "And then the arm strength and decision-making. You have to look and see what they did, what the body of work was. What system they played in, what they were required to do. And then, if it's not pro style, how far along are they and how far away are they, as well."
When all is said and done, a bold move for a quarterback who might not be able to help right away could be too risky, even for a Rams regime that hasn't been afraid to roll the dice.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/p ... t-for-rams
In the four years that general manager Les Snead and coach Jeff Fisher have been building the Rams' roster, they've never offered even a modicum of fear about making bold moves up and down the NFL draft board.
In fact, Snead, Fisher and the Rams have made a whopping eight trades involving picks in the top 50 of the NFL draft. They've moved up, such as in 2013 when they jumped to No. 8 to land receiver Tavon Austin. They've also moved down, as in 2012, when they moved from No. 2 to No. 6 to No. 14 before taking defensive tackle Michael Brockers and walking away with a boatload of picks from Washington and Dallas.
Despite all of those moves, the Rams haven't been able to break through to a winning season or a postseason appearance. There are many reasons for those failures, but probably none more than the lack of consistent, productive quarterback play. So it is that the Los Angeles Rams now find themselves potentially staring back the other direction for another big draft-day trade, pondering the possibility of making a big move up to solve their perpetual quarterback conundrum.
Armed with the No. 15 pick in the draft as well as two second-rounders (Nos. 43 and 45), the Rams have some ammunition to make a move if they want. The good news is that the cost of such a move doesn't appear to be anywhere near what the Rams scored from the Redskins for the right to draft Robert Griffin III.
"Well, I would assume it’s probably not the same," Fisher said. "I don’t think anyone’s going to do that again. I couldn’t see that happen. We were very fortunate and both Washington and Cleveland at the time were very, very interested in it. That’s a lot to acquire and a lot to give up going from six to two."
Of course, the move for Washington and Cleveland wasn't nearly the leap the Rams would have to make to ensure a chance at someone like Cal's Jared Goff or North Dakota State's Carson Wentz, both of whom are generally regarded as the best quarterbacks in this year's draft.
The Rams would have to move 14 spots to get Tennessee's first overall pick, a move that isn't completely unheard of, but is a lot more difficult to pull off than the four-spot jump Washington made back in 2012.
"Not in the past, we've moved around, quite a bit, but not that far," Fisher said. "It's picks and maybe players, but typically picks, so you're going to have to have an awful lot of them and be prepared to give up future picks to move up."
More realistically, the Rams could make a leap somewhere into the middle of the top 10 at a much cheaper price and land a player like Goff, Wentz or Memphis' Paxton Lynch without having to surrender as much draft capital. Among teams in front of them in the draft, only Cleveland and San Francisco look to be in serious need of help at quarterback, and even that isn't a sure thing.
The question then becomes whether Wentz or Goff would be worth trading up to select? Of course, that's largely dependent on the price, but most draft analysts don't see either player at the level of Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, last year's top two quarterbacks.
"Wentz is obviously very smart," Fisher said. "I don't think he's ever gotten a B in his life. He's got the leadership qualities. And from a football standpoint he's got all the traits. The arm strength and decision-making ability and he can make all the throws. The same thing with Goff, too. Not every quarterback coming out is going to have that same personality. All their personality types are different. But both of them are perfect for the NFL, get in the huddle and to lead and win games."
But that might not happen if they have to play right away, as both Wentz and Goff likely will require some time to develop. That could leave the Rams rolling the dice in a different way by doing nothing and hoping that one of them or Lynch falls to their spot at No. 15. Or they could continue to ignore quarterbacks in the first round and look to add one later.
More so than any other position, there's a lot that goes into identifying a long-term quarterback solution. It's a process that's grown more complicated as college offenses have become less sophisticated.
"You have to take the mobility into consideration," Fisher said. "And then the arm strength and decision-making. You have to look and see what they did, what the body of work was. What system they played in, what they were required to do. And then, if it's not pro style, how far along are they and how far away are they, as well."
When all is said and done, a bold move for a quarterback who might not be able to help right away could be too risky, even for a Rams regime that hasn't been afraid to roll the dice.