How do YOU grade the Rams draft?

[FarNorth]

None of us really knows as much as we think about these guys, but what are your impressions of our draft picks?

I'm going to grade them by the following designations:
A) Will eventually start and be a good player AT LEAST
B) Will help the team - spot starter or situational player (nickel, rotational, etc)
C) Reserve player or special teams mainstay
D) Functional - may develop - maybe not...we'll see
F) What the heck were the Rams thinking?

Rapp - looks to be a good, tough player at a position we'll need need in a year or 2.
Grade: A

Henderson - looks electric, one cut and gone type of player.
Grade: B

Long - Really like this pick - looks like what you would want a CB to look and play like
Grade: A

Evans - limited a bit athletically, but seems to have good vision and positions himself well. We'll see if he can be coached up a bit.
Grade: C/D

Gaines - squatty-looking but tough DT - his conference foes seem to respect his game
Grade: B/C

Edwards - was injured a bit last season - needs help with pass protection skills. But he really looks good with most other aspects of his game.
Grade: A

Scott - Good special teams guy...not sure if he can handle any duties other than that, but perhaps ST's was why he was drafted?...not sure if you want to have a guy that only plays ST's taking up a space on the roster. But I consider ST's to be more important than the average person I think, so...
Grade: C/D

Allen - I like the pick. Not sure if he sticks with the team, but he plays ILB, a position "of need". Was rated fairly high from what I've read. He had an "off field" issue which I believe was resolved. I have a feeling he makes the team and becomes a factor.
Grade: B/C


My designations are pretty literal, so for example if I grade a guy as a "D", it doesn't mean he sucks.
It means I'm not sure...he shows some promise, but also has some obvious limitations - depends on if he learns, if he fits the system, etc.

Hit me!

 

[FarNorth]

I'm in no position to rate the players. That's up to Snead, the coaches, McVay and the scouts.

But what I like is that the Rams had a clear and long term strategy; knew what type of players they were looking for; identified needs and balanced them with available players; and got players they wanted. (Though there were no doubt players they wanted and couldn't get).

I also like all the players selected. They all seem to be smart, experienced, with excellent skill sets, undervalued in the draft, likely strong upsides. Not sure what more you could really ask for.

 

[nighttrain]

let ya know about this draft in a couple of years
train

 

[Mackeyser]

 

[Ants]

FYI - I was looking for your take on these guys from what you've seen of them at the collegiate level, and how much upside (or downside) you estimate they have.
Obviously, none of us can predict the future.

 

[Rams43]

Rapp - A+ (An absolute steal where we got him. He would've been a first round pick if not for his 40 time at his Pro Day. He and JJ3 will be our safety tandem of the future.)

Henderson - A- (I've warmed up to this pick, and I think he can make an impact on the field immediately, on kick and punt returns, as well as being a change-of-pace back.)

Long - A+ (A sticky pest of a cornerback, I get the feeling that he'll be an excellent replacement for Peters or Talib. I was shocked that he was still available.)

Evans - B- (Evans is probably not a left tackle in the pros, but he can play any other position other than center. He needs time to season, but he should be ready in 2020.)

Gaines - B+ (A solid nose tackle. He looks like he has more juice than I originally thought, and he should be a good fit in Wade's system, if only as a run-stuffer - which we desperately needed.)

Edwards - B- (Well, he struggled a ton in his junior year, but his shoulder was probably the reason why. I don't expect him to make an immediate impact, as he needs time in the weight room, but he is a definite candidate to start in 2020.)

Scott - F (Should've taken almost anyone over Scott, but my pick would've been Emmanuel Hall. We did not need another safety, and even if Bones needed pure special teams players, we already had three safeties in Countess, Christian and Rapp. I wouldn't be shocked if he didn't make the team.)

Allen - C+ (A linebacker with an interesting story. He should be an excellent special teams player, and he plays at a position we needed. Hopefully he can continue to stay clean off the field.)

Overall grade: B+ (Aside from the Scott pick, I think I've warmed up to this draft.)

I agree with your takes up and down the line, Memento.

With the sole exception of Scott. Scott was the highest rated ST player that Fassell ever saw. Damn! I think he’s gonna be a beast there for the Rams and well worth a very late 7th. I’m betting that you warm up to him real quick after you see him on teams.

 

[Riverumbbq]

This from YahooSports :

Los Angeles Rams

Picks: Washington S Taylor Rapp; Memphis RB Darrell Henderson; Michigan CB David Long; Oklahoma OG Bobby Evans; Washington DT Greg Gaines; Wisconsin OT David Edwards; Penn State S Nick Scott; Texas Tech LB Dakota Allen

Best pick: Rapp

It was a tossup here between Rapp and Long, but we’ll take a player – our No. 28 overall prospect – who fell surprisingly far following one bad 40-yard dash at his pro day. Running in the 4.7s took him out of first-round consideration, and he has a hip injury that is worth monitoring, but this is a Wade Phillips defender if we ever saw one. Lining up alongside Eric Weddle affords the Rams some tremendous versatility and playmaking with their safeties, so we consider this an inspired selection late in Round 2. It was a shock he tumbled that far.

Washington safety Taylor Rapp might turn out to be a steal for the Los Angeles Rams. (AP Photo)


Worst pick: Henderson

And by worst, we just mean it was one of the few picks we didn’t absolutely love. Henderson in the hands of Sean McVay does feel like a cheat code admittedly, as the big-play back can be schemed into success in this system. But perhaps the bigger story here is that the Rams now have invested quite a bit in the running back position with 2018 preseason standout John Kelly (a sixth-round pick), re-signing Malcolm Brown and giving Gurley a contract that still leaves the team with more than $25 million in dead money into the 2020 season. It’s perhaps more of an indication that Gurley’s long-term health remains a real worry.

Overall: What a haul for the Super Bowl runners-up. GM Les Snead continues to pull rabbits out of hats with his free-agent maneuverings and his draft work, especially with the foresight a year ago to add Day 3 talent on the offensive line. Those picks, along with this year’s selections of Evans and Edwards, should patch a lot of holes up front. And adding Rapp and Long to the secondary was just terrific. Long has the type of man-cover skills Phillips seeks and might be one of the better Day 2 sleepers. So much to like here, even without a full till of picks and no first-rounder.

Grade: A-


https://www.yahoo.com/sports/final-team-grades-for-the-2019-nfl-draft-190428303.html

 

[jrry32]

My thoughts are:
Rapp: A+ - I thought he was a first round caliber player. I knew when he ran a bad 40 that he'd fall, but he's a perfect scheme fit and should be an extremely valuable player in our scheme.

Henderson: B - This is one of those picks that McVay will likely scheme into an A+. He's an explosive, big-play HB who looks outstanding running outside-zone plays and is quite surehanded, but I had a couple HBs rated higher.

Long: A+ - He was one of my favorite CBs in the Draft before he blew up at the Combine. He's smothering in press-man coverage and can play any of the CB spots.

Evans: Inc. - Didn't evaluate him. His profile makes sense for a Kromer OG.

Gaines: B+ - He's a glue guy. I doubt he'll be a Pro Bowler or anything special, but he's quite good at clogging up the middle. I didn't think Wade would value him because of his lack of juice, but it seems Wade wants to stop the run. Gaines can do that.

Edwards: Inc. - Also didn't evaluate him. Wasn't impressed when I watched Wisconsin this year, and I quite liked Dennis Daley (who was still available). However, I understand why Kromer wants him as a project.

Scott: Inc. - I've heard of him but never watched him. I knew when we made the pick that he was Bones' guy.

Allen: Inc. - Never got around to evaluating him.

I don't believe in grading players I haven't personally evaluated.

 

[Rams43]

Okay, before I start, I want to put a couple of things on the table...

First, we all know the foolishness of grading a draft the day after. But it’s so much fun that who can resist?

Second, think of Rapp as a 3-Safety dime player on obvious passing downs. This is per Andy Benoit, btw. As such, Rapp will not only be a future replacement for Weddle, no small thing, but will be a major contributor on passing downs as a rookie. Wade’d’s D just got a whole lot better.

Third, I’m thinking of both Evans and Edwards as ‘20 starters at OG. This will likely be a redshirt year for them as ‘18 was a redshirt year for Boom and Allen. Incidentally, both are said to have some nastiness in them. Who doesn’t like nastiness in their OL players? Lol.

Fourth, I think Gaines will be a freaking steal in the late 4th. Plus his intangibles excite the hell outta me.

Fifth, Scott is gonna be a damned beast on teams. Probably on all 4 of them. Definitely worth a very late 7th.

I certainly don’t mean to ignore Henderson or Long because I love both players. It was just that the above players seemed to be the most controversial in this thread.

In short, given that we started with #31 and no second while trying to replenish a loaded roster, I give the Rams a damned A grade. Well done.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Rapp - A+ (An absolute steal where we got him. He would've been a first round pick if not for his 40 time at his Pro Day. He and JJ3 will be our safety tandem of the future.)

Henderson - A- (I've warmed up to this pick, and I think he can make an impact on the field immediately, on kick and punt returns, as well as being a change-of-pace back.)

Long - A+ (A sticky pest of a cornerback, I get the feeling that he'll be an excellent replacement for Peters or Talib. I was shocked that he was still available.)

Evans - B- (Evans is probably not a left tackle in the pros, but he can play any other position other than center. He needs time to season, but he should be ready in 2020.)

Gaines - B+ (A solid nose tackle. He looks like he has more juice than I originally thought, and he should be a good fit in Wade's system, if only as a run-stuffer - which we desperately needed.)

Edwards - B- (Well, he struggled a ton in his junior year, but his shoulder was probably the reason why. I don't expect him to make an immediate impact, as he needs time in the weight room, but he is a definite candidate to start in 2020.)

Scott - F (Should've taken almost anyone over Scott, but my pick would've been Emmanuel Hall. We did not need another safety, and even if Bones needed pure special teams players, we already had three safeties in Countess, Christian and Rapp. I wouldn't be shocked if he didn't make the team.)

Allen - C+ (A linebacker with an interesting story. He should be an excellent special teams player, and he plays at a position we needed. Hopefully he can continue to stay clean off the field.)

Overall grade: B+ (Aside from the Scott pick, I think I've warmed up to this draft.)

Ouch. You are very hard on Scott. I’ll bet he makes the roster over Allen. Allen will be a practice squad guy. Scott will be a special teams standout.

 

[Memento]

Ouch. You are very hard on Scott. I’ll bet he makes the roster over Allen. Allen will be a practice squad guy. Scott will be a special teams standout.

Dakota Allen was at least needed as a backup linebacker. Now, I wouldn't be surprised if Allen started on the practice squad. But I didn't like the pick of a safety that I believe we don't need. Rapp is going to play on teams. So are Countess and Christian - and they both have versatility as defensive players. Scott is purely special teams, and while he may be good at it, I don't like passing up on a need (like a wide receiver in Hall) to take him when there's literally three safeties blocking his route to playing, even on special teams.

Let me reiterate: I have nothing against Scott as a player or person. I have something against using a pick - even a late one - for something that isn't close to a need.

 

[jrry32]

Dakota Allen was at least needed as a backup linebacker. Now, I wouldn't be surprised if Allen started on the practice squad. But I didn't like the pick of a safety that I believe we don't need. Rapp is going to play on teams. So are Countess and Christian - and they both have versatility as defensive players. Scott is purely special teams, and while he may be good at it, I don't like passing up on a need (like a wide receiver in Hall) to take him when there's literally three safeties blocking his route to playing, even on special teams.

Let me reiterate: I have nothing against Scott as a player or person. I have something against using a pick - even a late one - for something that isn't close to a need.

If the dude is as good of a special teamer as they believe, nobody is blocking his route there, and he's more than worth a 7th. I also disagree that we had at need at WR. Our needs were all pretty well filled at that point. Hall would have been a nice luxury pick, but they gave our elite special teams coach the player he wanted. If Scott is a special teams standout, he'll have been worth the pick.

 

[FrantikRam]

A+

We can watch these guys but at the end of the day, as they said, they have plans for these guys. Scott seems to be the sticking point for most people - once we look at the locks to make the roster, the rest will be filled by special teams - so Scott isn't competing with Countess as much as he is competing with Countess, Mike Thomas, JoJo, Justin Davis, Troy Hill, Kevin Peterson, etc.

We needed OL depth, a NT, and ILB depth more than anything - not only did we get that, but we got an explosive RB and future starters at S and CB.

This draft was so good that it allows the Rams to go into next off-season with zero needs if we can re-sign a few guys, which is where we want to be so that we can draft future replacements

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I try to lay off all the draft picks once they are in the fold and the draft is a few days old. No sense in hating on Rams that we haven’t seen play in the NFL. Plus I admittedly didn’t do even 5 % of the prospect studying that I used to.

One rule of thumb for me over the years is to look at weaknesses and decide if they are coachable fixes or traits that won’t go away, like an inaccurate QB who played for a major college. Some things can’t be fixed. Some weaknesses make a player more situational and that is fine. For example Gaines is not a pass rusher. But he wasn’t drafted for that.

One drawback with Henderson is that he’s a bit upright, which works if holes are open, but not if they aren’t. Also he sees the holes that are there but doesn’t have great vision to see a hole developing. Those things are hard to coach, so Henderson will be reliant on space, which most third down backs are but the really good ones like Sproles don’t have those limitations.


Rapp’s biggest drawback is that he lacks sideline to sideline speed/range. That won’t change much but hopefully his instincts make up for it. He sounds a bit like Weddle coming out of college imo. That’s good.

Long’s drawback is size. It remains to be seen if it’s a negative in the NFL. There have been some very good short corners but in the last few years bigger receivers have pushed teams towards bigger corners. Time will tell. He reminds me a little of Joyner when he was in college.

Evans and Edwards are a toss up to me. Can they take coaching well? Will they learn? Again we have to wait to find out. Kromer was very high on a UDFA named Eldrenkamp and he didn’t make the roster. But he’s developed his share of mid rounders.

Scott is a team leader and is loved by everyone. He’s outstanding on special teams and would be a good fit on any team. I don’t expect him to ever start, barring injury. But Bones loves him for a reason and ST had been an integral part of this team for years. He’s a step in the right direction to get it back to excellence.

Allen - again, who knows. Is he better than Hager? I doubt it but time will tell.

I would have liked more instant impact on the Oline, even if it was just s back up; Risner, McCoy or Someone who is ready right away in case of an injury. A big Oline injury could be devastating without capable and ready to play back ups.


But as usual I’ll hope for the best. They are all Rams now. I’d love that they are of high character. They will all work hard and if they fail it won’t be for lack of desire or dedication.

 

[Memento]

If the dude is as good of a special teamer as they believe, nobody is blocking his route there, and he's more than worth a 7th. I also disagree that we had at need at WR. Our needs were all pretty well filled at that point. Hall would have been a nice luxury pick, but they gave our elite special teams coach the player he wanted. If Scott is a special teams standout, he'll have been worth the pick.

Disagree with the bolded. If one of Kupp, Woods, or Cooks goes down for an extended period of time, we likely don't win the Super Bowl. Two of them go down? We're screwed. And all of them have a prior injury list.

Natson's already being phased out by Henderson, and is utterly terrible at everything except returns with his size. I don't trust Hodge on anything other than teams. I trust Reynolds, but not as much as the big three. And I believe that Woods can opt out of his contract this year or the next. Do we let him go or not?

Hall, Penny Hart, Stanley Morgan, one of them could've helped as a sixth wide receiver - and on teams, no less.

Again, I do not hate Nick Scott. I want him to do well. I want him to prove me wrong. I just think that we could've spent the pick better.

 

[SWAdude]

I think almost all of us are about the same with grading the players and the draft.

Dakota Allen will be an interesting one to watch for obvious reasons. When I watched Last Chance U he is the one that stood out. Best player on the team. I think he is a solid 3rd round pick without his history of being kicked out of Texas Tech after his freshman year.

My bet he is going to be a baller on STs and could be developed into a hybrid LB/safety similar to Barron. You can't get more heart in a player.

This is the kind of draft Snead can do in the short term. Because of 7-9 we have Donald, Gurley, Brockers, Goff, etc.

Can't live in the middle rounds forever. But absolutely brilliant draft day maneuvering and choices by Snead.

Thank god Snisher is in the rear view mirror.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

If the dude is as good of a special teamer as they believe, nobody is blocking his route there, and he's more than worth a 7th. I also disagree that we had at need at WR. Our needs were all pretty well filled at that point. Hall would have been a nice luxury pick, but they gave our elite special teams coach the player he wanted. If Scott is a special teams standout, he'll have been worth the pick.

How would WR be a need? And how wouldHall see the field? Even with an injury he’d be the fourth receiver at best and it would be likely that McVay plays a TE instead of Henderson as a wide out. Allen fills a constant need. Special teasers come and go. Some get promoted. Some get more money elsewhere. Having a good core special team leader is important. Plus he was a runningback who accepted a move to safety once Barkley and Sanders were recruited. He’s athletic.

 

[A.J. Hicks]

Bones talking to Scott is all you need to see.

Bones is pumped and sounds like he talked quite in depth about things with Scott.

Bones is one 'Hekk' of a coach.

 

[jrry32]

Disagree with the bolded. If one of Kupp, Woods, or Cooks goes down for an extended period of time, we likely don't win the Super Bowl. Two of them go down? We're screwed. And all of them have a prior injury list.

Natson's already being phased out by Henderson, and is utterly terrible at everything except returns with his size. I don't trust Hodge on anything other than teams. I trust Reynolds, but not as much as the big three. And I believe that Woods can opt out of his contract this year or the next. Do we let him go or not?

Hall, Penny Hart, Stanley Morgan, one of them could've helped as a sixth wide receiver - and on teams, no less.

Again, I do not hate Nick Scott. I want him to do well. I want him to prove me wrong. I just think that we could've spent the pick better.

A guy Bones deems to be an elite special teamer is more valuable to this team than a contingency for at least two starting WRs going down.
(I say at least two because McVay can trot out Everett and go with 12 personnel.)

 

[Akrasian]

A guy Bones deems to be an elite special teamer is more valuable to this team than a contingency for at least two starting WRs going down.
(I say at least two because McVay can trot out Everett and go with 12 personnel.)

Especially since anybody drafted late in the 7th is unlikely to really be a good contingency for two starters going down. But they might be a key special teamer. It's not like he was a third rounder - he was drafted in what I like to think of as the "claiming priority UFDAs" segment of the draft.