Sometimes that's all it takes. The Rams knew Jason Smith was a mistake after his first practice. I'm not saying Joyner is Smith but he sure isn't helping his cause. I don't think most are completely closing the book on him but he hasn't done anything to inspire faith that things will get better and his physical limitations don't help.
He play's both CB and Safety, Williams' is probably just trying to see how best to utilize him!
It's never going to be with 100% certainty but there are certain players you can just tell with a much higher degree of certainty that they aren't going to pan out. Smith was a prime example. Joyner isn't as clear cut as Smith but there are some serious flags going up to go alone with what many already saw from him when he was drafted.
I think with Smith, it was a combination of having poor scouts and not being able to run him through the paces. Private workouts, the combine, etc don't give people a clear picture of what a player can really do both physically and mentally. You don't fully know that until you can take the leash off in your own practice and that can only happen once you've drafted him and he's your own player. They can't do much with the players in private workouts, combine, etc. The Senior Bowl can be helpful but it's still too limited. There's also the fact that certain "deciders" get influenced by certain aspects like team needs and combine numbers which can really mess up a pick. That year, I think it was decided that the Rams HAD to take an OT and it was between Monroe and Smith and since Monroe has rumors about an injury it swayed the Rams to take Smith instead. They may have also seen good combine numbers to further justify the pick over Monroe.
I will always give players at least two to three years before making a final decision. I'll admit I haven't liked what I've seen from him and never liked the pick to begin with, but that doesn't mean I have totally written him off to get better to the point that I'd consider him a quality starter. I just have the odds of that happening lower than where I had them last year. I don't expect perfection from rookies but I do look for certain traits, abilities, improvements over the season, etc. I saw limited improvements from him as the season went on and limitations dues to his size, speed, quickness, etc. The good thing that I noticed from his was his very good tackling ability when he's moving forward, especially when he was sent towards the LOS. I think his biggest contribution to this team could be in blitzing or run D. IMO, that usually tends to be more for safeties, though, so I think he would be better suited playing at FS but I don't see that happening.
