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I think most of us expect both these guys to be extended - if they are, here are the players we would have for at least the next two seasons:
Goff
Henderson
Higbee
Cooks
Woods
Kupp
Noteboom
Corbett
Allen
Edwards
Evans/Havenstein
Brockers
Robinson
Donald
Ramsey
Long
Rapp
JJ
Signing Brockers and A'Shawn have completely set our DL for at least the next two years, with solid depth in SJD and Gaines. Made me wonder who else we would have. The scariest proposition is at OLB and ILB, where we wouldn't have any starting caliber players after this upcoming season. CB is also not quite as deep as you'd think after next season, and I don't think JJ will get an extension, although I wouldn't be upset if he did.
So for draft priorities:
ILB - this is going in a category by itself because it's beyond dire
S - again, thinking JJ won't be re-signed
OLB - along with S, this player would hopefully be a starter after the 2020 season
CB - Williams and Hill are both FAs after this year
RB - this would depend on your opinion of Henderson and Brown
OL - ironic, isn't it? That our biggest weakness is this far down my list of draft priorities - for me personally, I'd rather let the guys we have develop
It looks like we will have $60 million in cap next year, before factoring in Ramsey and Kupp - assuming they'll take about $32 million, that leaves us with some money to spend to retain Ebukam, JJ, Floyd, Williams and/or Hill. Adding that into the equation, I'd say our three biggest needs are ILB and RB, with the caveat that if they fall in love with an OL, pull the trigger.
Without further ado..
TRADE: Rams trade Gerald Everett, Josh Reynolds, Rob Havenstein and pick 104 to the Bengals for pick 33.
This is a strange one, I'll admit. It'd probably be somewhat unprecedented in that there aren't a ton of player for pick draft day trades, particularly this high - why I think this could happen:
First let's get the obvious out of the way: yes, Everett and Reynolds are only under contract for one year - that's why the Rams would send pick 104 back to them. Second, AJ Green and John Ross have been extremely injury prone, and Everett immediately upgrades their TE room. All three have proven they can play and Zac Taylor has a history with them. Also from the Bengals perspective, this is assuming they take Burrow and want to give him some immediate help.
Second, from the Rams perspective, it feels likely that none of these guys are in the plans beyond 2020 (Hav could be since he'd still be under contract, but at this rate is more likely to be a cap casualty after next year). And I seriously question our current cap situation - it seems like after signing Brockers that we would be over and will need to make some type of move.
Finally, I could see something like this being contingent upon a certain player being there, and because of McVay and Taylor's relationship, they could keep this between them, and obviously because it's the first pick of Day 2, there would be ample time to discuss it.
Pick 33:
JK Dobbins, RB, Ohio St.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD6YTyg_sig
As an Ohio State fan, I've said before, I'm VERY tough on OSU players going into the NFL. I liked Michael Thomas at OSU and thought he would be good (can't stand him now obviously..), and I'm pretty decent at projecting OSU players in general. Dobbins will lead the NFL in rushing at some point - he has a vicious stiff arm, outstanding balance, great vision, breaks tackles, has some wiggle, and he's fast. He needs work in the passing game - while most OSU fans were up in arms about the officiating, I put the Clemson loss on Dobbins - two dropped TDs. And he's an average to below average blocker right now - but I see him and Henderson sharing the RB duties so I'm not concerned about that.
Round 2, Pick 52:
KJ Hamler, WR, Penn St.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1zqR1LzNKM
This one may give Rams fans some PTSD, but I'll say this about Tavon Austin - if we had taken him with the 52nd pick in the draft, he would have been worth it. And I trust McVay to cultivate this talent - it's also worth noting that Hamler is 20 - twenty - years old. In the short term, I see him as solving an immediate problem - or being an insurance policy, if you will - using him and Dobbins/Henderson similarly to how Fisher used Austin/Gurley during Gurley's rookie year - our OL was not good, but we were able to run the ball because of the horizontal threat of Tavon. In Hamler, most of his touches would come from behind the LOS while he works on route running and catching the ball. But you can't teach speed.
Round 3, Pick 84:
Malik Harrison, ILB, Ohio St.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e92pY0TqLwM
Happens to be another one of my favorites - may struggle against the pass, but with the additions/re-signings of Floyd, Brockers and Robinson, I'm continuing a theme here: improved run defense. I've seen him going earlier than this, but I don't see it for a LB with questions against the pass.
Round 4, Pick 126:
Thaddeus Moss, TE, LSU
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGyZOpqlsvQ
Hard to figure where he will be drafted, but his willingness as a run blocker is another theme I'm continuing here: improving the run game.
Round 6, Pick 199:
Jordan Fuller, S, Ohio St.
This is more about the person and what role he might be able to play rather than being a traditional "safety" - he's going to fall in the draft because he doesn't really stand out. Not rangy enough for what you want in NFL safeties these days, and not really a "box safety" either. But he's intelligent and if still on the board here, I think he can potentially chip in as a 3rd down LB/S role. Compared to the LBs we'll have, he would be an improvement against the pass.
Round 7, Pick 234:
Binjimen Victor, WR, Ohio St.
I remember the first time I saw him in the Spring game a few years ago - I was excited. He never lived up to that potential. He may not even make the team, but that goes of any 7th rounder, save for kicker - and I didn't want to spend a draft pick on a kicker. Victor wasn't redshirted his freshmen year, but barely played - then in his last three seasons, he had three different QBs: Barrett, Haskins and Fields. Ohio State has also had a rather crowded WR room, even though none are really blue chip talent. I think those two factors combined to limit his development, and I'm willing to take a chance on stashing him to see if he can develop being around an elite offense. Best play of his career:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EUMRH0yAJY
Even in this, you can see that his NFL future is probably a possession/physical WR, but he's too thin - a project for sure, but one I'm willing to take at this stage.
Roster:
QB - Goff, Wolford
RB - Dobbins, Henderson, Brown, Kelly
WR - Cooks, Woods, Kupp, Hamler, Webster, Victor
TE - Higbee, Mundt, Moss
OL - Whitworth/Corbett/Blythe/Edwards/Evans, Noteboom, Allen, Shelton, Brewer
DL - AD/Robinson/Brockers, SJD, Gaines, Smart
OLB - Ebukam/Floyd, Obo, Lawler vs. Polite vs. Holland
ILB - Kiser/Harrison, Reeder, Howard vs. Patrick
CB - Ramsey/Hill/Long, Williams, Deayon
S - JJ/Rapp, Scott, Gervase, Fuller
Something to note: while most have been on wanting to improve the Rams OL, it's worth noting that the five I have starting were the same five that started our last five games, which was a borderline elite offense - the lone exception was the game against Dallas. The other four games - all against our divisional opponents - the OL performed extremely well - with the improvement of Goff, the addition of Dobbins and another year of experience for these guys - yikes. And Noteboom and Allen - our first two backups - both have starting experience themselves.
Goff
Henderson
Higbee
Cooks
Woods
Kupp
Noteboom
Corbett
Allen
Edwards
Evans/Havenstein
Brockers
Robinson
Donald
Ramsey
Long
Rapp
JJ
Signing Brockers and A'Shawn have completely set our DL for at least the next two years, with solid depth in SJD and Gaines. Made me wonder who else we would have. The scariest proposition is at OLB and ILB, where we wouldn't have any starting caliber players after this upcoming season. CB is also not quite as deep as you'd think after next season, and I don't think JJ will get an extension, although I wouldn't be upset if he did.
So for draft priorities:
ILB - this is going in a category by itself because it's beyond dire
S - again, thinking JJ won't be re-signed
OLB - along with S, this player would hopefully be a starter after the 2020 season
CB - Williams and Hill are both FAs after this year
RB - this would depend on your opinion of Henderson and Brown
OL - ironic, isn't it? That our biggest weakness is this far down my list of draft priorities - for me personally, I'd rather let the guys we have develop
It looks like we will have $60 million in cap next year, before factoring in Ramsey and Kupp - assuming they'll take about $32 million, that leaves us with some money to spend to retain Ebukam, JJ, Floyd, Williams and/or Hill. Adding that into the equation, I'd say our three biggest needs are ILB and RB, with the caveat that if they fall in love with an OL, pull the trigger.
Without further ado..
TRADE: Rams trade Gerald Everett, Josh Reynolds, Rob Havenstein and pick 104 to the Bengals for pick 33.
This is a strange one, I'll admit. It'd probably be somewhat unprecedented in that there aren't a ton of player for pick draft day trades, particularly this high - why I think this could happen:
First let's get the obvious out of the way: yes, Everett and Reynolds are only under contract for one year - that's why the Rams would send pick 104 back to them. Second, AJ Green and John Ross have been extremely injury prone, and Everett immediately upgrades their TE room. All three have proven they can play and Zac Taylor has a history with them. Also from the Bengals perspective, this is assuming they take Burrow and want to give him some immediate help.
Second, from the Rams perspective, it feels likely that none of these guys are in the plans beyond 2020 (Hav could be since he'd still be under contract, but at this rate is more likely to be a cap casualty after next year). And I seriously question our current cap situation - it seems like after signing Brockers that we would be over and will need to make some type of move.
Finally, I could see something like this being contingent upon a certain player being there, and because of McVay and Taylor's relationship, they could keep this between them, and obviously because it's the first pick of Day 2, there would be ample time to discuss it.
Pick 33:
JK Dobbins, RB, Ohio St.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD6YTyg_sig
As an Ohio State fan, I've said before, I'm VERY tough on OSU players going into the NFL. I liked Michael Thomas at OSU and thought he would be good (can't stand him now obviously..), and I'm pretty decent at projecting OSU players in general. Dobbins will lead the NFL in rushing at some point - he has a vicious stiff arm, outstanding balance, great vision, breaks tackles, has some wiggle, and he's fast. He needs work in the passing game - while most OSU fans were up in arms about the officiating, I put the Clemson loss on Dobbins - two dropped TDs. And he's an average to below average blocker right now - but I see him and Henderson sharing the RB duties so I'm not concerned about that.
Round 2, Pick 52:
KJ Hamler, WR, Penn St.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1zqR1LzNKM
This one may give Rams fans some PTSD, but I'll say this about Tavon Austin - if we had taken him with the 52nd pick in the draft, he would have been worth it. And I trust McVay to cultivate this talent - it's also worth noting that Hamler is 20 - twenty - years old. In the short term, I see him as solving an immediate problem - or being an insurance policy, if you will - using him and Dobbins/Henderson similarly to how Fisher used Austin/Gurley during Gurley's rookie year - our OL was not good, but we were able to run the ball because of the horizontal threat of Tavon. In Hamler, most of his touches would come from behind the LOS while he works on route running and catching the ball. But you can't teach speed.
Round 3, Pick 84:
Malik Harrison, ILB, Ohio St.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e92pY0TqLwM
Happens to be another one of my favorites - may struggle against the pass, but with the additions/re-signings of Floyd, Brockers and Robinson, I'm continuing a theme here: improved run defense. I've seen him going earlier than this, but I don't see it for a LB with questions against the pass.
Round 4, Pick 126:
Thaddeus Moss, TE, LSU
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGyZOpqlsvQ
Hard to figure where he will be drafted, but his willingness as a run blocker is another theme I'm continuing here: improving the run game.
Round 6, Pick 199:
Jordan Fuller, S, Ohio St.
This is more about the person and what role he might be able to play rather than being a traditional "safety" - he's going to fall in the draft because he doesn't really stand out. Not rangy enough for what you want in NFL safeties these days, and not really a "box safety" either. But he's intelligent and if still on the board here, I think he can potentially chip in as a 3rd down LB/S role. Compared to the LBs we'll have, he would be an improvement against the pass.
Round 7, Pick 234:
Binjimen Victor, WR, Ohio St.
I remember the first time I saw him in the Spring game a few years ago - I was excited. He never lived up to that potential. He may not even make the team, but that goes of any 7th rounder, save for kicker - and I didn't want to spend a draft pick on a kicker. Victor wasn't redshirted his freshmen year, but barely played - then in his last three seasons, he had three different QBs: Barrett, Haskins and Fields. Ohio State has also had a rather crowded WR room, even though none are really blue chip talent. I think those two factors combined to limit his development, and I'm willing to take a chance on stashing him to see if he can develop being around an elite offense. Best play of his career:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EUMRH0yAJY
Even in this, you can see that his NFL future is probably a possession/physical WR, but he's too thin - a project for sure, but one I'm willing to take at this stage.
Roster:
QB - Goff, Wolford
RB - Dobbins, Henderson, Brown, Kelly
WR - Cooks, Woods, Kupp, Hamler, Webster, Victor
TE - Higbee, Mundt, Moss
OL - Whitworth/Corbett/Blythe/Edwards/Evans, Noteboom, Allen, Shelton, Brewer
DL - AD/Robinson/Brockers, SJD, Gaines, Smart
OLB - Ebukam/Floyd, Obo, Lawler vs. Polite vs. Holland
ILB - Kiser/Harrison, Reeder, Howard vs. Patrick
CB - Ramsey/Hill/Long, Williams, Deayon
S - JJ/Rapp, Scott, Gervase, Fuller
Something to note: while most have been on wanting to improve the Rams OL, it's worth noting that the five I have starting were the same five that started our last five games, which was a borderline elite offense - the lone exception was the game against Dallas. The other four games - all against our divisional opponents - the OL performed extremely well - with the improvement of Goff, the addition of Dobbins and another year of experience for these guys - yikes. And Noteboom and Allen - our first two backups - both have starting experience themselves.
