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Well, with the pain of seeing Seattle win a Super Bowl, I felt I needed to cheer myself up. I know I just put out a mock a few days ago but here's a drastically different take...and a new one. This is one take on what I, JRRY32, would do as Rams GM.
Re-sign
Tim Barnes C - ERFA Tender($570,000)
Rodger Saffold OG - 5 years 35 million($4 million first year cap hit)
Release
Cortland Finnegan CB - $7 million in cap relief
Harvey Dahl OG - $4 million in cap relief
Scott Wells C - $4.5 million in cap relief
Mike Person OG - $645,000 in cap relief
Jermelle Cudjo DT - $900,000 in cap relief
Analysis: The cuts are pretty typical and expected at this point. We end up not re-signing Dunbar but we do bring back Saffold because of how well he played at OG and how important his versatility is to our team. Plus, he has chemistry with the rest of the OL and knows the scheme.
Free Agency Cap Room - $15.3 million
Free Agency
Alex Mack C - $40 million over 5 years($5 million first year cap hit)
Chris Clemons FS - $12 million over 3 years($3 million first year cap hit)
Analysis: The Rams want to give our offense a studly OL and Mack is one of the crowned jewels in this class. He's very arguably the best Center in the NFL, he's still relatively young(28 ) and he's durable. The Rams also make another decent sized splash by adding Chris Clemons to start at FS. While Clemons isn't a dominant player, he's an above average player against both the run and pass with the range to play center-field when needed.
Trade
Rams trade:
Pick #2
Falcons trade:
Pick #6
Falcons 3rd
2015 1st
Rams trade:
Pick #6
Falcons 3rd
Bills trade:
Pick #9
Bills 2nd
Rams trade:
Pick #13
Packers trade:
Pick #21
Packers 3rd
Packers 5th
Analysis: Falcons are a team that are wanting to win now. They believe they have a playoff caliber team so they are willing to deal their future 1st like they did in the Julio Jones trade for another freakishly rare athlete in Clowney. Les Snead is happy to facilitate the trade with his former colleague. The Bills want to nab EJ Manuel a major weapon so after the first 5 picks are Bridgewater, Clowney, Bortles, Manziel and Matthews(Oakland trades with Pittsburgh), the Bills trade up for Sammy Watkins. Green Bay, after B.J. Raji leaves, decides to trade up for Louis Nix who they see as a top tier NT and an absolute necessity for their 3-4 defense.
NFL Draft
Round 1 Pick #9 - Khalil Mack OLB Buffalo
Analysis: Some are going to wonder why an OLB here because he'll only be a 2 down player with how often we play nickel. Mack is a bit special. Gregg Williams loves to blitz and he loves to throw in exotic looks. Mack offers that while also offering the ability to slide down to DE in pass rush situations like Von Miller does for the Broncos. He's basically a Gregg Williams wet dream. An athletic SLB that is stout against the run and capable of rushing the passer as a blitzer or an end. Mack also has shown a real knack for forcing fumbles breaking the NCAA career record. At 6'3" 250, Mack is extremely strong(strong enough to put OGs and OTs on skates with his bull rush) while also possessing the athleticism to cover TEs and HBs.
Round 1 Pick #21 - Aaron Donald DT Pittsburgh
Analysis: Donald is undersized at 6'1" 288 but don't judge the book by its cover. He is extremely developed physically due to a strong work ethic and commitment to the weight room. He is deceptively powerful with an explosive first step, elite balance and a great understanding of how to attack the OL in front of him. Wreaked absolute havoc this year when he wasn't double and triple teamed.
Round 2 Pick #9 - David Yankey OG Stanford
Analysis: Yankey is a dominating run blocker that not only generates movement in the power running game but also sustains his blocks. He's an effective blocker on the move, uses angles well and has impressive lateral agility. As a pass blocker, he has a wide base and a strong anchor but will hurt himself at times with his hand placement.
Round 2 Pick #12 - LaMarcus Joyner CB/S Florida State
Analysis: Another Gregg Williams wet dream here with Joyner. Joyner is an excellent blitzer out of the slot as a CB while also possessing the cover skills, athleticism and quickness to handle slot WRs. He's a lot like the Honey Badger in his skill-set. Joyner also played at FS during his time at FSU and was known as a head-hunter there. He gives the Rams a player that could slide back to FS in certain looks while covering the slot, blitzing and being useful in run support in other looks. He's a swiss army knife of a DB with natural cover skills and a real mean streak despite being undersized at 5'8" 190.
Round 3 Pick #11 - Victor Hampton CB South Carolina
Analysis: After all the issues we had in the secondary this year with injuries and inconsistent play, we double dip with another DB. Victor Hampton is an extremely twitchy athlete with the speed, agility and natural cover skills to stick in a WR's hip pocket. South Carolina has a lot of success putting out DBs recently and Hampton is another one of those DBs. He needs to improve his situational awareness but he has all the talent there to be a good NFL CB. Hampton is also a good tackler in run support and unafraid to lay some big hits on opposing players.
Round 3 Pick #21 - Ja'Wuan James RT/OG Tennessee
Analysis: James is an experienced player that has started at RT at Tennessee from day 1 of his career. While his feet are not good enough to play LT, he possesses enough foot speed to stick at RT. He also has the bend and power to play OG. He's a versatile player who will provide depth behind Saffold, Yankey and Barksdale. He might even challenge Barksdale for the starting job.
Round 4 Pick #10 - Eric Thomas WR Troy
Analysis: Some might say "who" if they haven't seen my WR rankings. If you look around for Thomas on draft sites, you'll have trouble finding him. He received a late invite to the Senior Bowl and I was able to watch some of his games recently and he stood out to be. I graded him out as a 2nd round prospect at WR and the 5th best WR in this strong class. Thomas is 6'1" 215 with a HUGE lower body(I'm talking power HB big) and nearly 11 inch hands. He high-points the ball as well as anyone in this class and has elite hand strength. He also is an excellent runner after the catch due to his size, strength and surprising elusiveness. He lacks vertical speed but he really reminds me of Hakeem Nicks and Anquan Boldin in terms of skill-set and play style. I know some won't like the idea of taking a WR in the 4th round because it's 1st round or bust with them but you can find WRs outside the first round and I think this kid is going to be a find.
Round 5 Pick #13 - James White HB Wisconsin
Analysis: White is a patient runner with good vision and the ability to squeeze through small gaps. He possesses good initial burst, an excellent jump cut and a lot of wiggle. He uses each cut and step he takes to setup his blocks and will get what is blocked for him. He also is a willing blocker in pass protection with good hands out of the back-field. He's a good complement to Stacy as more of an elusive slasher type HB that can contribute in the passing game.
Round 5 Pick #21 - Christian Kirksey ILB/OLB Iowa
Analysis: Kirksey had a strong senior bowl week showing a well rounded skill-set and good instincts. He is technically polished and just a sound overall football player. However, his stock will likely drop a tad due to him not possessing stand out traits athletically that will earn him combine hype. Regardless, the Rams need some reliable depth behind Laurinaitis, Mack and Ogletree.
Round 6 Pick #12 - Tom Savage QB Pittsburgh
Analysis: We grab a developmental QB to play behind Sam. Savage has had an interesting career. He was a Freshman All-American as a true freshman at Rutgers after leading them to 9 wins and posting 14 TDs to 7 Ints. The next year, he struggled a bit and lost his starting job after injuring his hand. He then transferred to Arizona, sat out a year and then transferred again when Rich Rodriguez was hired. After sitting out two years due to his two transfers, he ended up as Pittsburgh's starting QB in 2013 and had a strong year. Savage is 6'5" 230 with a strong arm and flashes the ability to put the ball where he wants to. He also has decent mobility. However, he needs to develop better field vision, decision making and be more consistent with his accuracy.
Round 7 Pick #11 - Trey Millard FB Oklahoma
Analysis: Millard is a hyper athletic FB from Oklahoma. He can lead block, catch the ball out of the back-field and run with it effectively. He appeared to be well on his way to being a 4th round pick due to his freakish athleticism for a 6'2" 255 pound FB but he tore his ACL during the 2013 season. Still, he has a lot of potential as a weapon and lead blocker in the NFL.
Projected Starters
QB: Sam Bradford
HB: Zac Stacy
FB: Trey Millard
XWR: Stedman Bailey
ZWR: Tavon Austin
SLWR: Austin Pettis
TE: Jared Cook
LT: Jake Long
LG: David Yankey
C: Alex Mack
RG: Rodger Saffold
RT: Joe Barksdale
LDE: Chris Long
LDT: Kendall Langford
RDT: Michael Brockers
RDE: Robert Quinn
WLB: Alec Ogletree
MLB: James Laurinaitis
SLB: Khalil Mack
RCB: Janoris Jenkins
LCB: Trumaine Johnson
SLCB: LaMarcus Joyner
FS: Chris Clemons
SS: T.J. McDonald
K: Greg Zuerlein
P: Johnny Hekker
What do you guys think? I wanted to really fix the OL and put some pieces in place on defense to allow us to dominate. I tried to grab guys that would fit Williams's scheme well and really offer him the type of "toys" that he wants to play with.
Re-sign
Tim Barnes C - ERFA Tender($570,000)
Rodger Saffold OG - 5 years 35 million($4 million first year cap hit)
Release
Cortland Finnegan CB - $7 million in cap relief
Harvey Dahl OG - $4 million in cap relief
Scott Wells C - $4.5 million in cap relief
Mike Person OG - $645,000 in cap relief
Jermelle Cudjo DT - $900,000 in cap relief
Analysis: The cuts are pretty typical and expected at this point. We end up not re-signing Dunbar but we do bring back Saffold because of how well he played at OG and how important his versatility is to our team. Plus, he has chemistry with the rest of the OL and knows the scheme.
Free Agency Cap Room - $15.3 million
Free Agency
Alex Mack C - $40 million over 5 years($5 million first year cap hit)
Chris Clemons FS - $12 million over 3 years($3 million first year cap hit)
Analysis: The Rams want to give our offense a studly OL and Mack is one of the crowned jewels in this class. He's very arguably the best Center in the NFL, he's still relatively young(28 ) and he's durable. The Rams also make another decent sized splash by adding Chris Clemons to start at FS. While Clemons isn't a dominant player, he's an above average player against both the run and pass with the range to play center-field when needed.
Trade
Rams trade:
Pick #2
Falcons trade:
Pick #6
Falcons 3rd
2015 1st
Rams trade:
Pick #6
Falcons 3rd
Bills trade:
Pick #9
Bills 2nd
Rams trade:
Pick #13
Packers trade:
Pick #21
Packers 3rd
Packers 5th
Analysis: Falcons are a team that are wanting to win now. They believe they have a playoff caliber team so they are willing to deal their future 1st like they did in the Julio Jones trade for another freakishly rare athlete in Clowney. Les Snead is happy to facilitate the trade with his former colleague. The Bills want to nab EJ Manuel a major weapon so after the first 5 picks are Bridgewater, Clowney, Bortles, Manziel and Matthews(Oakland trades with Pittsburgh), the Bills trade up for Sammy Watkins. Green Bay, after B.J. Raji leaves, decides to trade up for Louis Nix who they see as a top tier NT and an absolute necessity for their 3-4 defense.
NFL Draft
Round 1 Pick #9 - Khalil Mack OLB Buffalo
Analysis: Some are going to wonder why an OLB here because he'll only be a 2 down player with how often we play nickel. Mack is a bit special. Gregg Williams loves to blitz and he loves to throw in exotic looks. Mack offers that while also offering the ability to slide down to DE in pass rush situations like Von Miller does for the Broncos. He's basically a Gregg Williams wet dream. An athletic SLB that is stout against the run and capable of rushing the passer as a blitzer or an end. Mack also has shown a real knack for forcing fumbles breaking the NCAA career record. At 6'3" 250, Mack is extremely strong(strong enough to put OGs and OTs on skates with his bull rush) while also possessing the athleticism to cover TEs and HBs.
Round 1 Pick #21 - Aaron Donald DT Pittsburgh
Analysis: Donald is undersized at 6'1" 288 but don't judge the book by its cover. He is extremely developed physically due to a strong work ethic and commitment to the weight room. He is deceptively powerful with an explosive first step, elite balance and a great understanding of how to attack the OL in front of him. Wreaked absolute havoc this year when he wasn't double and triple teamed.
Round 2 Pick #9 - David Yankey OG Stanford
Analysis: Yankey is a dominating run blocker that not only generates movement in the power running game but also sustains his blocks. He's an effective blocker on the move, uses angles well and has impressive lateral agility. As a pass blocker, he has a wide base and a strong anchor but will hurt himself at times with his hand placement.
Round 2 Pick #12 - LaMarcus Joyner CB/S Florida State
Analysis: Another Gregg Williams wet dream here with Joyner. Joyner is an excellent blitzer out of the slot as a CB while also possessing the cover skills, athleticism and quickness to handle slot WRs. He's a lot like the Honey Badger in his skill-set. Joyner also played at FS during his time at FSU and was known as a head-hunter there. He gives the Rams a player that could slide back to FS in certain looks while covering the slot, blitzing and being useful in run support in other looks. He's a swiss army knife of a DB with natural cover skills and a real mean streak despite being undersized at 5'8" 190.
Round 3 Pick #11 - Victor Hampton CB South Carolina
Analysis: After all the issues we had in the secondary this year with injuries and inconsistent play, we double dip with another DB. Victor Hampton is an extremely twitchy athlete with the speed, agility and natural cover skills to stick in a WR's hip pocket. South Carolina has a lot of success putting out DBs recently and Hampton is another one of those DBs. He needs to improve his situational awareness but he has all the talent there to be a good NFL CB. Hampton is also a good tackler in run support and unafraid to lay some big hits on opposing players.
Round 3 Pick #21 - Ja'Wuan James RT/OG Tennessee
Analysis: James is an experienced player that has started at RT at Tennessee from day 1 of his career. While his feet are not good enough to play LT, he possesses enough foot speed to stick at RT. He also has the bend and power to play OG. He's a versatile player who will provide depth behind Saffold, Yankey and Barksdale. He might even challenge Barksdale for the starting job.
Round 4 Pick #10 - Eric Thomas WR Troy
Analysis: Some might say "who" if they haven't seen my WR rankings. If you look around for Thomas on draft sites, you'll have trouble finding him. He received a late invite to the Senior Bowl and I was able to watch some of his games recently and he stood out to be. I graded him out as a 2nd round prospect at WR and the 5th best WR in this strong class. Thomas is 6'1" 215 with a HUGE lower body(I'm talking power HB big) and nearly 11 inch hands. He high-points the ball as well as anyone in this class and has elite hand strength. He also is an excellent runner after the catch due to his size, strength and surprising elusiveness. He lacks vertical speed but he really reminds me of Hakeem Nicks and Anquan Boldin in terms of skill-set and play style. I know some won't like the idea of taking a WR in the 4th round because it's 1st round or bust with them but you can find WRs outside the first round and I think this kid is going to be a find.
Round 5 Pick #13 - James White HB Wisconsin
Analysis: White is a patient runner with good vision and the ability to squeeze through small gaps. He possesses good initial burst, an excellent jump cut and a lot of wiggle. He uses each cut and step he takes to setup his blocks and will get what is blocked for him. He also is a willing blocker in pass protection with good hands out of the back-field. He's a good complement to Stacy as more of an elusive slasher type HB that can contribute in the passing game.
Round 5 Pick #21 - Christian Kirksey ILB/OLB Iowa
Analysis: Kirksey had a strong senior bowl week showing a well rounded skill-set and good instincts. He is technically polished and just a sound overall football player. However, his stock will likely drop a tad due to him not possessing stand out traits athletically that will earn him combine hype. Regardless, the Rams need some reliable depth behind Laurinaitis, Mack and Ogletree.
Round 6 Pick #12 - Tom Savage QB Pittsburgh
Analysis: We grab a developmental QB to play behind Sam. Savage has had an interesting career. He was a Freshman All-American as a true freshman at Rutgers after leading them to 9 wins and posting 14 TDs to 7 Ints. The next year, he struggled a bit and lost his starting job after injuring his hand. He then transferred to Arizona, sat out a year and then transferred again when Rich Rodriguez was hired. After sitting out two years due to his two transfers, he ended up as Pittsburgh's starting QB in 2013 and had a strong year. Savage is 6'5" 230 with a strong arm and flashes the ability to put the ball where he wants to. He also has decent mobility. However, he needs to develop better field vision, decision making and be more consistent with his accuracy.
Round 7 Pick #11 - Trey Millard FB Oklahoma
Analysis: Millard is a hyper athletic FB from Oklahoma. He can lead block, catch the ball out of the back-field and run with it effectively. He appeared to be well on his way to being a 4th round pick due to his freakish athleticism for a 6'2" 255 pound FB but he tore his ACL during the 2013 season. Still, he has a lot of potential as a weapon and lead blocker in the NFL.
Projected Starters
QB: Sam Bradford
HB: Zac Stacy
FB: Trey Millard
XWR: Stedman Bailey
ZWR: Tavon Austin
SLWR: Austin Pettis
TE: Jared Cook
LT: Jake Long
LG: David Yankey
C: Alex Mack
RG: Rodger Saffold
RT: Joe Barksdale
LDE: Chris Long
LDT: Kendall Langford
RDT: Michael Brockers
RDE: Robert Quinn
WLB: Alec Ogletree
MLB: James Laurinaitis
SLB: Khalil Mack
RCB: Janoris Jenkins
LCB: Trumaine Johnson
SLCB: LaMarcus Joyner
FS: Chris Clemons
SS: T.J. McDonald
K: Greg Zuerlein
P: Johnny Hekker
What do you guys think? I wanted to really fix the OL and put some pieces in place on defense to allow us to dominate. I tried to grab guys that would fit Williams's scheme well and really offer him the type of "toys" that he wants to play with.
