River's 1'st Mock of 2020 ...

[Riverumbbq]

I'll dedicate this one to Les Snead as the trades will be plentiful, ... there's a fun madness to it as the team shifts gears under a new DC while McVay also hears another voice in his head from a new OC. As the Rams move into their brand spankingly new multi-billion dollar 9'th wonder of the world stadium, and Kroenke's legacy to Los Angeles, ... Snead/Demoff & McVay will deliver the goods by shaking up the roster for a decade of dominance.
Please accept this as just another in a long list of wishful thinking mocks ...

Re-Sign :

Greg Zuerlein
RFA's Donte Deayon & Morgan Fox
ERFA's John Kelly, John Carraway, Johnnie Mundt, Coleman Shelton, Jake Gervase
and all current Practice Squad members.

Free Agent acquisitions :

NT - Danny Shelton ($20.mil over 4 years)
ILB - Patrick Onwausor ($20.mil over 4 years)
RG - Brandon Scherff ($50.mil over 4 years)

Departing Free Agents :

Andrew Whitworth
Cory Littleton
Donte Fowler
Michael Brockers
Austin Blythe
Mike Thomas
Blake Bortles
Bryce Hager
Marqui Christian


Cuts :

S - Eric Weddle (4.25mil savings)
DT - Tanzel Smart
RB - Malcolm Brown (1.mil savings)


Trades :

Trade NRC - Save $4.5mil (To Texans for pick #153 in the 5'th)
Trade Everett - Save $1.mil (To NE for pick #87 in the 3'rd) Saves big on 2021 CAP
Tag & Trade Fowler to NYG for pick #36
Trade Down with Pittsburgh from #36 for #49, #101 (4'th) & #136 (5'th)


2020 NFL Draft * :

1) N/A
2a) #49 From Pitt - DE Kinney Willekes, Mi.St.
2b) #52 - OT Lucas Niang, TCU
3a) #84 - S Ashtyn Davis, Cal
3b) #87 From NE Trade - CB Jaylon Johnson, Ut
3c) Compensation Pick - ILB Malik Harrison, Oh.St.
4a) #101 From Pitt - C/OG Cesar Ruiz, Mi.
4b) #116 - RB AJ Dillon, B.C.
5a) #136 From Pitt - TE Colby Parkinson, Stan
5b) #153 From Texans - WR Denzel Mims, Baylor
6) #179 - WR Kadarius Toney, Fl
7) #211 - K Dominik Eberle, Ut.St.

Draft Class - $5.5mil.

Rams 2020 53 Roster :

OFFENSE (23)

QB :
Goff
Wolford

OL :
Scherff **
Noteboom
Niang *
Ruiz *
Edwards
Evans
Brewer
Corbett
Trewyn


RB's :
Gurley
Henderson
Dillon *

TE's :
Higbee
Mundt
Parkinson *


WR's :
Cooks
Woods
Kupp
Reynolds
Webster
Mims *


DEFENCE (27)

DL :
Donald
Danny Shelton**
Willekes *
Gaines
Joseph
Fox
Copeland

ILB's :
Patrick Onwausor **
Malik Harrison *
Patrick
Howard

OLB's :
Ebukam
Okoronkwo
Polite
Durham
Carraway
Matthews


CB's :
Ramsey
Long
Williams
Johnson *
Hill
Alexander or Deayon

Safeties :
Johnson
Rapp
Davis *
Gervase


Special Teams (3) :

Hekker
Zuerlein
McQuaide

Practice Squad :

RB - Kelly
ILB - Kiser or Reeder
C - B. Allen
S - Scott
TE - Blanton
DE - Lawler
CB/S - Alexander or Deayon
K - Dominik Eberle, Ut.St. *
QB - Kellen Mond, Tx A&M (UDFA)
WR - Kadarius Toney, Fl (UDFA) *



* Denotes drafted rookie
** Denotes newly acquired Free Agent

 

[Riverumbbq]

Demby probably makes the Practice Squad, just wasn't sure who else to eliminate.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Damn I hate how quickly we lose our ability to edit !

Havenstein was inadvertently left off the 9 listed on the OL depth chart. Please replace Trewyn's name with Havenstein's, allowing for Trewyn to be placed on the Practice Squad. My apologies for the confusion.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Projected Starters :

QB: Jared Goff
HB: Todd Gurley
WR: Brandin Cooks
WR: Robert Woods
WR: Cooper Kupp
TE: Tyler Higbee
LT: Chandler Brewer (Noteboom)
LG: David Edwards
C: Austin Corbett
RG: Brandon Scherff
RT: Rob Havenstein

DE: Kinney Willekes
NT: Danny Shelton
UT: Aaron Donald
OLB: Samson Ebukam
ILB: Patrick Onwausor
ILB: Malik Harrison
OLB: Ogbonnia Okoronkwo
LCB: Jalen Ramsey
RCB: Troy Hill
SLCB: David Long Jr.
FS: John Johnson III
SS: Taylor Rapp

K: Greg Zuerlein
P: Johnny Hekker
LS: Jake McQuaide


Offensive Line Depth :

LT) Brewer, Niang, (Noteboom)
LG) Edwards, Evans, Corbett
C) Corbett, Ruiz
RG) Scherff, Brewer
RT) Havenstein, Evans, (Noteboom)

 

[FaulkSF]

I know a lot of you have fun with these trades and I enjoy reading these posts. I think the only trade that honestly happens is Fowler. And I agree he goes for a high to mid 2nd and maybe a 6th or 7th (we should get interest from multiple bottom dwellers).

What I'm saying is Snead in consultation with our coaches ask is can we win now or are we better off betting on uncertain prospects? I'm guessing that answer is no. Getting a slot corner like NRC and TE with skills like Everett are not replaceable in two to three years down the road when we can grab a few extra wins now with better coaching. Looking at the trends, that is the direction we're going.

I don't mind y'all disagreeing. As I said, I enjoy reading these off-season posts.

 

[Riverumbbq]

What I'm saying is Snead in consultation with our coaches ask is can we win now or are we better off betting on uncertain prospects? I'm guessing that answer is no.

Getting a slot corner like NRC and TE with skills like Everett are not replaceable in two to three years down the road when we can grab a few extra wins now with better coaching.

I'm confused by your first question. Are you asking if we can win now and your answer is no ? Or are you saying that our drafts bet on uncertain prospects and we shouldn't be doing that ?

I think that we've already proven that we can't win now based off our 2019 results, and that indeed changes need to be made. Unless you are saying this all lies with poor coaching, and our changes at OC & DC are enough ? I suppose you can argue that every draft is betting on uncertain prospects, and while our track record is a bit uneven, we've come away with some brilliant picks at times.

NRC & Everett are both good players, and both are entering their 'contract' years in 2020. The Rams are also dealing with limited CAP space and have some excellent players we'd like to extend in 2021. In the case of NRC, his replacement is likely already on the roster, for Everett, it may be a bit more complicated, his CAP in 2021 will probably take a big upscale hike. After 3 years he still hasn't improved all that much as a blocker, and he's only started 4 games in that timespan. His catch percentage in 2019 was 61.7% compared to Higbee's 77.5%. We keep waiting on his breakthrough year, and one of two things are going to happen in 2020, he'll either have another season like this one, or he'll magically break out and be so expensive we'll never be able to re-sign him anyway.

I've already gone on record saying I believe 2020 will be a developmental year, not a Super Bowl year, so trading a couple of players who have some market value that we may not need all that badly for two players who could boost future longer-term opportunities at other important positions works for me. I understand that if you believe we are in a mode that takes us to the Super Bowl right now, and you think these two players are necessary for your plans, then more power to you.
jmo.

 

[Robert]

Left side is not gonna cut it. Bring back Big Whit for one more year.

 

[FaulkSF]

@Riverumbbq What I'm trying to say is we have enough pieces on this team currently to go deep into the playoffs next season. Some better coaching would definitely help and we should see immediate improvements:

1) no more defensive lapses as in the bucs, @Seattle, @SF, and @Dallas games.

2) no more offensive lapses as in the Pittsburgh game and home v SF.

3) no more releasing players like Parker, Hodge, D Allen, and Peterson due to an over zealous ST coach who only produces middling results.

4) a run game coordinator who can adapt to the defense and teach our rbs patience for a hole to open and use a one cut approach.

The Rams aren't far away from a dynasty run, but can't get there by giving away solid team contributors. There should be a mix of talent from the draft, free agency and yes, trades.

 

[Riverumbbq]

@Riverumbbq What I'm trying to say is we have enough pieces on this team currently to go deep into the playoffs next season. Some better coaching would definitely help and we should see immediate improvements:

1) no more defensive lapses as in the bucs, @Seattle, @SF, and @Dallas games.

2) no more offensive lapses as in the Pittsburgh game and home v SF.

3) no more releasing players like Parker, Hodge, D Allen, and Peterson due to an over zealous ST coach who only produces middling results.

4) a run game coordinator who can adapt to the defense and teach our rbs patience for a hole to open and use a one cut approach.

The Rams aren't far away from a dynasty run, but can't get there by giving away solid team contributors. There should be a mix of talent from the draft, free agency and yes, trades.

While I may disagree at our current ability to go deep into the play-offs, your post is right-on, and I couldn't agree more.
I do see this as more of a developmental year due to the changeover in coaching, and even more-so as a result of probably losing Whitworth, Fowler, Littleton, Brockers, Blythe to free agency, as well as some potential losses thru trade or CAP Casualties. It's possible we make it back to the play-offs in 2020, but i'm not going to hold my breath for much more. If we handle the off-season right, I believe 2021 will be our year. jmo.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Left side is not gonna cut it. Bring back Big Whit for one more year.

Perhaps. As previous Mocks had us bringing Whit back, I wanted to examine what we might look like if management decided he wasn't best suited for moving the team forward, whether he wants more money than we want to spend, or whether they feel his abilities have fallen too far off the mark.
Noteboom is presumably to be the future at LT if earlier reports are meant to be believed, and in the event he can't start immediately, then the next guys up are likely to be one of Brewer, Edwards or Evans. Brewer has been receiving those snaps this season when Whitworth is out, Evans played well filling in for Havenstein, and Edwards may have better feet than all of them. If we are only talking about a couple games that Noteboom is expected to miss, then I suspect the Rams will just go with a temp, although should Noteboom be expected to miss a big portion of the season, then i'll imagine they will re-sign Whitworth.
jmo.

 

[Robert]

Perhaps. As previous Mocks had us bringing Whit back, I wanted to examine what we might look like if management decided he wasn't best suited for moving the team forward, whether he wants more money than we want to spend, or whether they feel his abilities have fallen too far off the mark.
Noteboom is presumably to be the future at LT if earlier reports are meant to be believed, and in the event he can't start immediately, then the next guys up are likely to be one of Brewer, Edwards or Evans. Brewer has been receiving those snaps this season when Whitworth is out, Evans played well filling in for Havenstein, and Edwards may have better feet than all of them. If we are only talking about a couple games that Noteboom is expected to miss, then I suspect the Rams will just go with a temp, although should Noteboom be expected to miss a big portion of the season, then i'll imagine they will re-sign Whitworth.
jmo.

Whitworth isn’t the same guy he was when he first got to la but he is our best option at LT, if he wants to play I think the rams bring him back.

 

[Ram65]

RG - Brandon Scherff ($50.mil over 4 years)

He has some injury history but, I think he gets more than $12.5M a year deal. Saffold got $11M per year a year ealier and is 4 years old than Sherff. It could cost $14M a year or more.

Trade NRC - Save $4.5mil (To Texans for pick #153 in the 5'th)
Trade Everett - Save $1.mil (To NE for pick #87 in the 3'rd) Saves big on 2021 CAP
Tag & Trade Fowler to NYG for pick #36
Trade Down with Pittsburgh from #36 for #49, #101 (4'th) & #136 (5'th)

I'm not sure about trading NRC, especially for a 5th rounder. Teams can never have too many CBs including the Rams. Too many injuries at CB.

I thought Everett has some good trade value. Not really big savings but, if they aren't going to resign him it could be a good move if they can get that high a draft pick.

If they can get the Giants pick for Fowler that would be a big help. Wait and see I guess.

4a) #101 From Pitt - C/OG Cesar Ruiz, Mi.

Betting on a rookie at OC? If he is that good he might go earlier.

I don't know enough about the other picks. I appreciate the effort in this and other mocks you do.

 

[Riverumbbq]

When calculating Scherff's probable CAP, I use the following estimate :

Brandon Scherff

Brandon Scherff contract and salary cap details, full contract breakdowns, salaries, signing bonus, roster bonus, dead money, and valuations.

www.spotrac.com

NRC's value lies more in the CAP savings than his likely day 3 draft pick we trade him for, so should we only garner a 6'th, I'll be happy moving him. The Rams have good depth at the position and we still draft another CB in the 3'rd round.

Not really betting on a rookie Center for anything other than as a back-up, I have Corbett starting. Allen would still be around as another 4'th rounder to compete with Trewyn and Ruiz, but for now I have Allen beginning on the Practice Squad, and once Noteboom returns to the line-up, 9'th man Trewyn may be waived and eventually found back on our Practice Squad.
jmo.

 

[jrry32]

I think you have higher hopes for Chandler Brewer than I do. I'd hate to see Whit go. Personally, I'm not super keen on dishing out a ton of money for Scherff with his recent injury history, but it's defensible. On the Draft, I like Ashtyn Davis a lot. Ruiz is a very good player, but I think he's gone on Day 2. And speaking very bluntly, I think Kenny Willekes is a JAG. I'm not at all a fan of his.

 

[Riverumbbq]

I think you have higher hopes for Chandler Brewer than I do. I'd hate to see Whit go. Personally, I'm not super keen on dishing out a ton of money for Scherff with his recent injury history, but it's defensible. On the Draft, I like Ashtyn Davis a lot. Ruiz is a very good player, but I think he's gone on Day 2. And speaking very bluntly, I think Kenny Willekes is a JAG. I'm not at all a fan of his.

Well, my future hopes for Brewer are based more on him as an OG, ... my mentioning him here at LT is because he has been the first man up after Whitworth and not who we might have earlier predicted in Evans or Edwards. This is no permanent move, just a temporary fill-in until Noteboom or another drafted OT is up to speed.
I could see Ruiz moving into the 3'rd round pretty easily, he's definitely been a riser, same might also be said of TE Colby Parkinson & WR Denzel Mims.
As for Willekes, the quality DE's available where we pick is likely to have thinned out a good deal, thats why I traded down for this pick. We'll get a better idea on him now that he's heading for the Senior Bowl, but he's also been on the rise recently. Gross-Matos is who I want, just don't believe he'll be around when we pick.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Kenny Willekes Shines in Senior Bowl, Records Two Sacks

Kenny Willekes Shines in Senior Bowl, Records Two Sacks - Michigan State University Athletics

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State All-American defensive end Kenny Willekes capped his week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, with two sacks and four tackles during Saturday's 71st annual all-star game to help lead the North to a 34-17 victory over the South.

msuspartans.com