FrantikRam mock offseason 1

[FrantikRam]

Trade:

Brockers to the Giants for 4th and 5th round picks (both comp picks) - Giants have a ton of picks and despite likely getting a rookie QB, with Barkley and OBJ in place and other vets on D, they want to try to win sooner rather than later.

Cut:

Barron
Sullivan

The above moves give us a total of about $50 million in cap space - figure $10 million for the rookie class and a few moves during the season, and about $5 million for the RFAs, which leaves us about $35 million to spend:

Re-sign:

Suh - 2 years $22 million - make most of this guaranteed and Suh would take it IMO
Saffold - 3 years $30 million
Shields - 1 year $1.5 million
Barron - 1 year $3 million - after being cut and gauging the market for him, he has no choice but to take whatever the Rams are willing to pay him


Free agents:

Ryan Groy C/G - 2 years $3million - this one makes so much sense it would be shocking if it didn't happen
Darian Stewart S - 1 year $5 million - another one that makes a ton of sense

Before going into the draft:

Projected Starters
QB: Jared Goff
HB: Todd Gurley
XWR: Brandin Cooks
ZWR: Robert Woods
SLWR: Cooper Kupp
TE: Tyler Higbee or Gerald Everett
LT: Andrew Whitworth
LG: Rodger Saffold
C: Austin Blythe vs. Brian Allen vs. Groy
RG: Joseph Noteboom vs. Austin Blythe
RT: Rob Havenstein

5T: Ndomukong Suh
NT: Sebastion Joseph-Day
3T: Aaron Donald
WOLB: Obo Okoronkwo
Mo LB: Cory Littleton
Mike LB: Mark Barron or Micah Kiser or Bryce Hager
SOLB: Samson Ebukam
RCB: Aqib Talib
LCB: Marcus Peters
SLCB: Nickell Robey-Coleman
FS: John Johnson
SS: Darian Stewart

K: Greg Zuerlein
P: Johnny Hekker
LS: Jake McQuaide


Up until now I would LOVE this offseason because it comes with starters that I would be confident in at every position except our NT and OLB - I also love the upgrade of Noteboom at guard and Blythe to center - these moves give us a ton of flexibility in the draft, and the trade of Brockers adds an additional two picks.

Draft picks:

1st (pick 31)
3rd (pick 93)
3rd (comp)
4th
4th (comp from Brockers trade)
5th
5th (comp from Brockers trade)
6th
7th (comp)


Nine draft picks while likely adding more comp picks next year for Fowler and Joyner leaving, plus having our starters possibly set - this seems exactly what Snead and McVay will go for this year. the defense was amazing in the playoffs save for Joyner and I want to run that back for the most part.

Round 1 - Dexter Lawrence, DT Clemson - trying to guess who will or will not be on the board right now at 31 is an exhausting exercise - but Lawrence might be and if he is, I would love to plan him next to Donald and Suh on the DL. This will also lessen the blow when Suh leaves the following year or year after.

Round 3 - Lil'Jordan Humphrey, WR Texas - I've felt consistent in this thought: Kupp going down just can't kill the entire offense like it did at times, and unlike Reynolds, Humphrey played from the slot quite a bit and should be comfortable there. Also provides us with KR and PR ability.

Round 3 (comp) - Christian Miller, EDGE Alabama - a guy with the tools but hasn't consistently put it together.

Round 4 - Beau Benzschawel, G Wisconsin - powerful guy but needs a lot of work - good developmental guard to have who can fill in as needed and potentially take over for Saffold or Noteboom when he moves to LT.

Round 4 (comp) - Jarrett Stidham, QB Auburn - between us needing a backup QB and Snead's Auburn connection, I imagine if Stidham is still on the board here we're probably running to the podium.

Round 5 - Iman Marshall, CB USC - will need some work obviously, but his size/athleticism will be enticing here.

Round 5 (comp from Brockers trade) - Wyatt Ray, EDGE BC - seems like a guy that will test well but his production was just okay - looks like his film isn't great either, which is why he could fall this far.

Round 6 - Isaiah Johnson, CB Houston - not a lot to like about him except for his size - at 6'4", worth the flyer with what is essentially a 6th round pick to see if he can learn from our talented CB room. Any pick at this point is going to struggle to make the team.

Round 7 - Trace McSorley, QB PSU - this pick, whoever it is, will be the longest of long shots - Rams will likely take a priority UDFA here, but I say bring McSorley in - his athleticism is intriguing at the very least.

 

[jrry32]

I like it. Good draft. FA and re-signings are logical. My only complaint is Stidham. I'm not big on him. I've heard bad things about him as a teammate. He reminds me of Blaine Gabbert.

 

[den-the-coach]

I like it. Good draft. FA and re-signings are logical. My only complaint is Stidham. I'm not big on him. I've heard bad things about him as a teammate. He reminds me of Blaine Gabbert.

 

[OldSchool]

I like it a lot. Lawrence is my dream scenario at 31. I especially like the two corners late. I agree with Jrry Stidham hard pass for me. If you’re going to pick the other QB late, who I don’t know much about, just use the other pick elsewhere. There will be a couple ILB or RB there worth it.

 

[jrry32]

I do like Rypien. But my favorite of the Day 3 developmental QBs is Easton Stick from North Dakota State.

 

[den-the-coach]

I do like Rypien. But my favorite of the Day 3 developmental QBs is Easton Stick from North Dakota State.

Don't know much about him, but he could stick! Some info off the web:

PROS: Has sturdy build. Does well to lead targets into space and give them chances to create after the catch. Accurate thrower on the move in any direction. Keeps his eyes down the field when things break down around him and working outside the pocket. Works his progressions with consistency and rarely locks in on a single read. Willing to test man coverage and work the football into tight windows. Has the arm strength do drive the football with pace and velocity. A true dual-threat that can scramble for yardage and execute designed runs. Footwork is rhythmic and he is capable of building quick platforms to deliver from. Sound mechanically – weight transfer, establishing a throwing platform, aligning his shoulders and hip rotation are clean. Throwing motion is compact and efficient. Has the mobility to manipulate the pocket and generally feels the rush well. Has positive flashes of vertical accuracy. Works from a pro-style system that features under center reps, frequent play action and 5/7 step drops. Utilizes a pump fake to move coverage, resets and delivers. Sells and carries out his play fakes with intent. Will be a three-year starer.

CONS: Field vision is spotty – there are too many times that he fails to see (or respect) leveraged defenders in space and will still try to fit the ball despite modest consistency with ball placement. There are times that more touch is required to give his targets their best chance to make a play on the ball. Needs to be most deliberate about protecting the football and not try to work the ball between windows it cannot fit. Makes throws with anticipation but still needs to speed up his process at times. Level of competition is a concern that concern is accentuated by his intermittent ball placement and decision making issues that will be problematic at the NFL level should they not improve.

https://thedraftnetwork.com/2018/08/05/2019-nfl-draft-player-profile-easton-stick/

 

[jrry32]

Here are how I rank the QBs I've evaluated thus far:
1. Kyler Murray - Top 5

Comparison: Michael Vick

Summary: He doesn't fit everywhere. He needs to find the right system and coach. But if you unleash this kid and let him play his game, he's a special playmaker. Still polishing the mental and technical sides of the game as a passer, but he has an unreal combination of athleticism and arm talent with a compact release and great footwork.

Best Fit: Arizona Cardinals (I could have also offered up the Eagles here due to Pederson's willingness to change his offense to play to his QB's strengths, but the Eagles aren't in the market for a QB. I think Kingsbury is willing to play the wide open system that will allow Murray to make full use of all his gifts.)

2. Dwayne Haskins - Top 10

Comparison: Matt Stafford

Summary: Haskins is more of a prototypical pocket passer. The ball jumps out of his hand, he makes a lot of wow throws, he's a good enough athlete to need to be respected, and he flashes the mental side of the game. He's still polishing the mental and technical aspects as he gains experience, and he has had some issues when hit early. He's also not an elusive QB in the pocket despite being a solid athlete.

Best Fit: New York Giants (The Giants OL started to pull together during the second half of the year. If the Giants can make another upgrade or two, they'll have a good unit. With their weapons and Shurmur's ability to cater to rhythm throwers, I see Haskins being a really good fit here.)

3. Drew Lock - Top 20

Comparison: Derek Carr

Summary: Lock is the prototype in terms of size, arm, and athleticism. When he has a clean pocket, he looks beautiful standing back and slinging. Still, as gifted as he is as a thrower and athlete, I found the other parts of his game to be fairly pedestrian. IMO, he's a guy who will always look capable of taking that next step to greatness but never actually do it because something is just missing.

Best Fit: Jacksonville Jaguars (I think he's a great fit in DeFilippo's offense. It's a fairly wide open system that schemes guys open and uses a lot of concepts that opens up clean windows. That suits Lock well.)

4. Daniel Jones - First Round

Comparison: Alex Smith

Summary: Jones is a smart kid who moves smoothly through his progressions, throws with anticipation, doesn't lock onto WRs, and generally makes smart decisions. He's also a good athlete with good size and some elusiveness in the pocket. However, Jones has an average all around arm (both arm strength and accuracy), he's fairly risk averse as a passer, takes unnecessary sacks, and has a lot of passes batted down at the LOS (possibly because he's a ball patter).

Best Fit: Washington Redskins (With the injury to Alex Smith, the Redskins need a QB. Jones makes a lot of sense for a team like Washington that runs a system that fits his game well and needs a pro ready QB to step onto a team that looked like a potential playoff contender before Smith's injury.)

5. Easton Stick - Third Round

Comparison: Rich Gannon

Summary: Let me clarify that I'm not guaranteeing he'll land in the perfect situation like Gannon did that will allow him to go from borderline starter to MVP. Instead, I see a kid who offers a lot of what Gannon did as a younger QB. He's coming from a small school, is a stellar athlete for the position, is extremely elusive in the pocket, can rip off huge chunks when you give him a lane, moves through progressions seamlessly, is a smart QB capable of handling a lot at the LOS, is tough as nails, and basically nails everything from the intangible standpoint. However, he's also a streaky passer and decision maker at this point in time with middling arm strength. But there's something about him that just gives me the gut feeling that he'll surprise a lot of people at the NFL level. He's a winner.

Best Fit: Los Angeles Rams (Stick has arguably the best play-action fake in this Draft, is comfortable running his offense at the LOS, and he looks at his best when operating off of play-action with a strong running game behind him. The Rams need a backup. Stick seems like the perfect kid to step into that role.)

6. Will Grier - Third Round

Comparison: Ryan Fitzpatrick

Summary: Grier is the quintessential gunslinger with an average arm. He's smallish with an average arm, struggles when pressured, and makes some really bad decisions. However, when he's on and being protected, he's capable of making some absolutely magical throws into tight windows, he's very elusive in the pocket, and he displays outstanding anticipation. Nevertheless, he's overly aggressive and does a poor job at coming off his deeper reads and finding his checkdown. He also needs to learn to take off and grab easy yardage when he has a seam. He's an overaggressive rhythm passer.

Best Fit: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (It would be smart for the Bucs to consider life after Winston in case they decide not to extend him. Grier's aggressive, arrogant style is a good fit for Bruce Arians and his offensive system.)

7. Brett Rypien - Third Round

Comparison: Colt McCoy

Summary: Rypien is a smart, experienced passer with a quick release and good accuracy. He is smooth through his progressions, reads the entire field, and sees the field as well as anybody in this class. Where Rypien comes up short is the physical talent. He is a smaller QB with a middling arm and average mobility. Rypien also has made some bad decisions under pressure, but he did improve a lot in that respect as a senior. Rypien also needs to do a better job of protecting the football when he takes sacks.

Best Fit: New England Patriots (I thought about comparing Rypien to Jimmy G, but he doesn't have the same sort of physical tools. Still, Rypien's intelligence, field vision, quick release, and accuracy would play well in New England's system. That offense is just a phenomenal fit for his skill-set.)

8. Jordan Ta'amu - Fourth Round

Comparison: Jason Campbell

Summary: Ta'amu is an athletic QB with clean mechanics, a strong arm, and good overall accuracy. He's a great fit as a developmental QB behind an established starter. The big problem with Ta'amu is that he comes from a simplistic system that didn't ask much of him mentally. At this stage, he doesn't see the field particularly well, hasn't flashed much in terms of going through complex progressions or reading the entire field, and has a tendency to look to scramble when given time in the pocket instead of being patient and hanging in. I see him as like Jason Campbell because he has the entire tool-set as a passer, but I'm just not sure the mental game will ever catch up with the rest of his talent.

Best Fit: Green Bay Packers (Jordan isn't quite Rodgers gifted, but he has some similarities in terms of gifts and play style. Learning behind Rodgers might give him the opportunity to smooth out the mental aspects of his game, and playing in a Shanahan WCO variant seems like a good fit for him.)

9. Jarrett Stidham - Fourth Round

Comparison: Blaine Gabbert

Summary: When you watch Stidham when he's protected, he looks like a prototypical first round QB. He has plenty of arm strength, he throws with accuracy and anticipation, and he's a very athletic QB. However, Stidham turns into a complete disaster when pressured. He's easily rattled, he makes poor decisions, his lower body mechanics go to crap, and he rushes throws. He also leaves the pocket too early, tends to turn his back to his receivers, and doesn't maneuver the pocket well. However, the biggest knock for me is hearing that Stidham's teammates don't like him because he's arrogant and cares more about his personal success than team success.

Best Fit: New Orleans Saints (There's no denying that Stidham is a stellar ball distributor when protected. The Saints have tended to have good OLs over the years, and Payton is a good QB teacher. Hopefully, learning from Brees will show Stidham how to be a better teammate.)

10. Clayton Thorson - Fifth Round

Comparison: Drew Stanton

Summary: I can totally understand why Thorson received some first round hype in 2017. He's a big guy with a strong arm who showed the ability to work quickly through progressions in a pro style scheme, is tough as nails when being pressured, moves well, sees the field well, and maneuvers the pocket effectively. However, Thorson's accuracy is bad, his deep ball is terrible, he doesn't feel pressure well, and I didn't see much anticipation when I watched him.

Best Fit: Oakland Raiders (I see Thorson fitting best in a WCO with an emphasis on the quick-passing game. Thorson's deep ball is just too inaccurate to fit in a system that values deep shots. His intelligence, field vision, progressions, and athleticism should fit well in Gruden's system. The question is if he'll ever be accurate enough to be anything more than a backup.)

11. Tyree Jackson - Seventh Round

Comparison: John Skelton

Summary: People are going to want Jackson to be better than he is because he's 6'7" 240 with a strong arm and good athleticism. That all said, Jackson has a slow, methodical release, doesn't see the field especially well, and isn't particularly accurate. He's a pure lottery ticket.

Best Fit: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (If Arians thinks Winston is his guy and doesn't want to draft a QB on Day 1 or 2, this makes sense. Arians likes big, strong-armed passers. Jackson has the sort of aggressiveness that Arians likes in a QB.)

 

[Ram65]

Looks good. Seems realistic overall. Would like to find a way to keep Fowler.

 

[CanRamFan]

Nice work but I think our defense takes a step back in this scenario and I'm hoping Snead finds a way to strengthen that unit. Snead usually does something crazy that none of us say coming. Just don't know what we have with Obo and JFM.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Trade:

Brockers to the Giants for 4th and 5th round picks (both comp picks) - Giants have a ton of picks and despite likely getting a rookie QB, with Barkley and OBJ in place and other vets on D, they want to try to win sooner rather than later.

Cut:

Barron
Sullivan

The above moves give us a total of about $50 million in cap space - figure $10 million for the rookie class and a few moves during the season, and about $5 million for the RFAs, which leaves us about $35 million to spend:

Re-sign:

Suh - 2 years $22 million - make most of this guaranteed and Suh would take it IMO
Saffold - 3 years $30 million
Shields - 1 year $1.5 million
Barron - 1 year $3 million - after being cut and gauging the market for him, he has no choice but to take whatever the Rams are willing to pay him


Free agents:

Ryan Groy C/G - 2 years $3million - this one makes so much sense it would be shocking if it didn't happen
Darian Stewart S - 1 year $5 million - another one that makes a ton of sense

Before going into the draft:

Projected Starters
QB: Jared Goff
HB: Todd Gurley
XWR: Brandin Cooks
ZWR: Robert Woods
SLWR: Cooper Kupp
TE: Tyler Higbee or Gerald Everett
LT: Andrew Whitworth
LG: Rodger Saffold
C: Austin Blythe vs. Brian Allen vs. Groy
RG: Joseph Noteboom vs. Austin Blythe
RT: Rob Havenstein

5T: Ndomukong Suh
NT: Sebastion Joseph-Day
3T: Aaron Donald
WOLB: Obo Okoronkwo
Mo LB: Cory Littleton
Mike LB: Mark Barron or Micah Kiser or Bryce Hager
SOLB: Samson Ebukam
RCB: Aqib Talib
LCB: Marcus Peters
SLCB: Nickell Robey-Coleman
FS: John Johnson
SS: Darian Stewart

K: Greg Zuerlein
P: Johnny Hekker
LS: Jake McQuaide


Up until now I would LOVE this offseason because it comes with starters that I would be confident in at every position except our NT and OLB - I also love the upgrade of Noteboom at guard and Blythe to center - these moves give us a ton of flexibility in the draft, and the trade of Brockers adds an additional two picks.

Draft picks:

1st (pick 31)
3rd (pick 93)
3rd (comp)
4th
4th (comp from Brockers trade)
5th
5th (comp from Brockers trade)
6th
7th (comp)


Nine draft picks while likely adding more comp picks next year for Fowler and Joyner leaving, plus having our starters possibly set - this seems exactly what Snead and McVay will go for this year. the defense was amazing in the playoffs save for Joyner and I want to run that back for the most part.

Round 1 - Dexter Lawrence, DT Clemson - trying to guess who will or will not be on the board right now at 31 is an exhausting exercise - but Lawrence might be and if he is, I would love to plan him next to Donald and Suh on the DL. This will also lessen the blow when Suh leaves the following year or year after.

Round 3 - Lil'Jordan Humphrey, WR Texas - I've felt consistent in this thought: Kupp going down just can't kill the entire offense like it did at times, and unlike Reynolds, Humphrey played from the slot quite a bit and should be comfortable there. Also provides us with KR and PR ability.

Round 3 (comp) - Christian Miller, EDGE Alabama - a guy with the tools but hasn't consistently put it together.

Round 4 - Beau Benzschawel, G Wisconsin - powerful guy but needs a lot of work - good developmental guard to have who can fill in as needed and potentially take over for Saffold or Noteboom when he moves to LT.

Round 4 (comp) - Jarrett Stidham, QB Auburn - between us needing a backup QB and Snead's Auburn connection, I imagine if Stidham is still on the board here we're probably running to the podium.

Round 5 - Iman Marshall, CB USC - will need some work obviously, but his size/athleticism will be enticing here.

Round 5 (comp from Brockers trade) - Wyatt Ray, EDGE BC - seems like a guy that will test well but his production was just okay - looks like his film isn't great either, which is why he could fall this far.

Round 6 - Isaiah Johnson, CB Houston - not a lot to like about him except for his size - at 6'4", worth the flyer with what is essentially a 6th round pick to see if he can learn from our talented CB room. Any pick at this point is going to struggle to make the team.

Round 7 - Trace McSorley, QB PSU - this pick, whoever it is, will be the longest of long shots - Rams will likely take a priority UDFA here, but I say bring McSorley in - his athleticism is intriguing at the very least.

As a base for critiquing any off season plan, I recall McVay and Snead talking about bringing in vets and justifying trading picks for them because, they cannot afford to wait for a rookie to develop, when they are a playoff team. So starting any rookies or inexperienced players doesn't seem to fit that line of thought, still.

I'm not in the trade/cut Brockers camp. I'd try a restructure. Brockers isn't a NT and if Suh only stays one more year, or not at all, Brockers still will have value to this team. The guy that I wanted the Rams to sign was Linval Joseph, but that ship has sailed. He wasn't that expensive and could play the Nose. I don't think Joseph Day would cut it as a Brockers replacement. A vet Nose Tackle would be nice.

I would prefer to replace Barron because I don't think he's durable enough for the position, though I like him when healthy. He and Brockers played well in the playoffs. It's hard to replace a vet on a playoff team with a rookie.

I could see signing Groy. Blythe was exposed by N.E. So was Sullivan. I'd prefer Paradise if he is cut, which is rumored as likely. There may be a few Safeties cut that are better than Stewart. I am not a big fan of Stewart's hit or miss tackling. But, I do like the idea of a vet like Glover Quinn, another likely cut, who has been mired in a loser and could be thirsty for some winning and willing to give a discount.

I still think Barron needs replaced, even if restructured. A stud like Mosely would be huge there. But unlikely due to expense. If there is one player I'd love for the Rams to spend on it would be him.

It will be interesting to see if they can resign Fowler or choose to franchise him for a year. Of all of the need areas for future replacements, DL and edge are well suited to find help in this draft. Another vet who could be cut is Terrell Suggs. He can still produce and is an intelligent football player and a leader in the field.

The draft would be alright, except the QBs. Don't waste the picks. Any rookie is going to have trouble cracking the starting lineup, even Lawrence. Back to the QBs; I don't like Stidham, and although I love McSorley's winning ways, I don't see how he is a fit for the NFL. I don't think he can play any other position, and as a QB his accuracy was often poor in games. He's too small too. But I do like the idea of a backup who can run. It really can throw a defense off when a running QB comes in, in place of a pocket passer. I remember when Seattle had Seneca Wallace, and the Rams Defense didn't look prepared for his style of play. Any draft prospect the Rams draft would be based on potential development. High upside guys that aren't quite there because the lack something. Kind of like Noteboom lacking physicality and strength.

I'd love it if Perez was given another shot. It'd be a nice story and he's looking good in AAF. This year's QB class isn't very impressive. Finding a legit replacement for Mannion could be tough. I think the Rams will allow Mannion to test FA, because he's nothing special.