Rams Almost spent a 7th rounder on La'El Collins

[dieterbrock]

I still say the NFL should have allowed him to go in the supplemental....

The whole league didnt draft him, in any round. Looking at it now vs when the cloudiness of the situation was evident is totally ridiculous.

 

[RamBill]

St. Louis reportedly had thoughts if making La’el Collins a Ram in the seventh round, but then decided against it and Mike Florio breaks down the guards deal with the Cowboys that did go down.

Watch Florio Talk Collins/Rams

 

[Angry Ram]

LOL "embarrassment"

Hyperbole FTW!

Life goes on.

 

[RamBill]

Were the St. Louis Rams set to draft La'el Collins?

By Gregg Rosenthal
Around The NFL Editor
Published: May 15, 2015 at 03:12 p.m.
Updated: May 15, 2015 at 03:29 p.m.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...e-the-st-louis-rams-set-to-draft-lael-collins

La'el Collins' journey to the Dallas Cowboys was anything but simple. Once projected as a first-round pick, Collins' stock endured a free fall after police wanted to speak to him in connection with the murder of a one-time romantic partner, Brittany Mills.

Police first called Collins in connection to the case on Monday, April 27. That was just three days before the NFL Draft, and a new piece from The MMQB's Robert Klemko tells the story of Collins' unprecedented week.

Collins began to cry on the day before the draft while delivering the news to his friends and family that he would have to leave Chicago, the site of the draft.

"This is on me," one person in the hotel room told Klemko. "I own this. I had nothing to do with this, but it's affecting y'all. I just feel bad that we're not going to be able to live our dream at the draft."

The full story is worth checking out, and includes two interesting nuggets about where Collins might have ended up if not with the Cowboys. It sounds like the St. Louis Rams were ready to draft Collins in the seventh round.

"There was a team that had drafted four offensive linemen, and they said, 'We're taking him,'" Collins' agent Rick Smith said. "And I texted back, 'You're going to embarrass yourself. You're going to waste this pick.'"

The Rams are the only team in the NFL that drafted four offensive linemen. If Smith was bluffing, they fell for it. St. Louis' final pick was Memphis defensive end Martin Ifedi.

Collins wound up choosing the Cowboys, but he had a backup plan in place. Klemko writes that Collins had a trip set up to visit Miami if he didn't feel comfortable in Dallas. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made sure he closed the deal, and now Collins has a chance to be part of the best offensive line in the league.

 

[RaminExile]

I'd have taken the gamble on him over Bud Sasser to be honest. I like the Hager pick though in the 7th.

 

[Boston Ram]

Shoot I would of "wasted" my 5th round pick on him

 

[LazyWinker]

Shoot I would of "wasted" my 5th round pick on him

Too bad that pick was wasted on Foles

 

[Boston Ram]

Too bad that pick was wasted on Foles

6th Mr Stickler lol. Its Friday afternoon you know, brain is fried

 

[-X-]

Fuck that guy. First he didn't want to go past the first day of the draft, then didn't want to be drafted, then wanted to choose which team would sign him, then wanted to decide if that team was a fit or he'd go to his backup plan. I don't care how good he is as a player. He most certainly comes across as someone who only gives a shit about himself, and that's not something that meshes with the philosophy of TEAM first.

 

[SanAnRam]

“When we got to the last 10 picks I don’t think I’ve ever been so anxious in a draft,” McCartney says. “We were praying he didn’t get picked.”
Before making its seventh-round selection, one team sends Smith one last text message.
“There was a team that had drafted four offensive linemen,” Smith says, “and they said, ‘We’re taking him.’ And I texted back, ‘You’re going to embarrass yourself. You’re going to waste this pick.’
“And they passed. And now he’s a UDFA.”

Klemko's (MMQB) story on L. Collins (LSU) and their draft experience.

Sorry I didn't link story.

 

[JackDRams]

“When we got to the last 10 picks I don’t think I’ve ever been so anxious in a draft,” McCartney says. “We were praying he didn’t get picked.”
Before making its seventh-round selection, one team sends Smith one last text message.
“There was a team that had drafted four offensive linemen,” Smith says, “and they said, ‘We’re taking him.’ And I texted back, ‘You’re going to embarrass yourself. You’re going to waste this pick.’
“And they passed. And now he’s a UDFA.”

Klemko's (MMQB) story on L. Collins (LSU) and their draft experience.

Sorry I didn't link story.

It was Us. And there is a thread about it already. About Collins almost going in the seventh round.

 

[TheDYVKX]

Yeah. We're the only team who drafted 4 OL.

 

[LosAngelesRams]

Yea, remind me not to play poker with who ever was in charge of that call. I would have taken a 1st round talent in a heartbeat in the 7th. especially a lineman.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

I don't understand the backlash against the guy. He was gonna get picked in the upper half of the 1st round and through no fault of his own his draft stock plummets.

He sees his salary over 4 years dwindle from $15m down to $2m. Why wouldn't he try to make best of a bad situation?

.

 

[rdlkgliders]

No Worries he is going to bust

 

[Ramrasta]

A 7th rounder almost never makes a big impact so why not take a chance? At the very least, you take away a great O-lineman from an opponent.

 

[Mojo Ram]

No championship for you! You didn't draft La'el Collins...

Why would you want a kid here that we spent a pick on, who doesn't want to be here? It's not like Collins is some elite top 10 prospect either. Seems like alot of energy and focus is being directed toward this. I understand the mentality of the doom & doom crowd who look for smoke to start a fire about anything they perceive to be incompetence by the team...but there were zero guarantees of anything on draft day relating to Collins and many teams' interest, and as it turns out, he doesn't want to be here anyway. Fuck 'em.

 

[RaminExile]

A 7th rounder almost never makes a big impact so why not take a chance? At the very least, you take away a great O-lineman from an opponent.

That's what I didn't get about it. Just pull the trigger on the guy - its a 7th rounder anyway.

 

[CGI_Ram]

The Rams probably just decided the douchebaggery threatening to sit out and the sketchy aspects of this player wasn't worth it. Apparently other teams agreed.

Then again, Fisher claims they were in the running to land him as an UDFA. So, what the hell do I know?

 

[Alan]

CGI_Ram with this observation:
The Rams probably just decided the douchebaggery threatening to sit out and the sketchy aspects of this player wasn't worth it. Apparently other teams agreed.

Then again, Fisher claims they were in the running to land him as an UDFA.

To not pick one of the highest rated OTs in the draft, someone I'd have been OK with taking at #10 is a head scratcher for sure. The fact that all the other teams passed on him too leads me to believe that there's something we don't know about this situation. I read somewhere that the league put out an advisoryrequest to all the teams not to draft him and while I usually ignore stuff like that....