Just got back from Jamaica . Ya mon! :banana:
Did not like this draft at all and I believe the draft went south from the very start when we drafted Gurley. I say this not having done any research (as in looking at tape) on any of the players we chose. I'm basing my opinion on what the majority of the prospect rankings and profiles I've read from the usual suspects, CBS (Prisco & Brugler), NFL.com and Walter Football (mainly for their projected rounds) to name three of them.
So as to keep my own thoughts to be unenfluenced by any of I haven't read any of my fellow RODites thoughts on this so keep that in mind.
FWIW, here are some of my thoughts:
AVERAGE READING TIME 3 DAYS.
Gurley
Key facts:
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/todd-gurley?id=2552475
WEAKNESSES
"Missed three games in 2013 due to ankle injury and tore his ACL in 2014. Questions about whether he'll return back to his play speed are a big concern."
"
He played less than 40 percent of his team's offensive snaps over the last three years, so there is plenty of tread still on the tires. Has the talent to be a top-five NFL running back, but ACL tear clouds the short-term picture."
Who did we draft? The Gurley/Marshawn Lynch 2.0 pre ACL injury Gurly or the post ACL injury Gurley? As we all know, all too well, once you have suffered an ACL injury your are morelikey to suffer another one. I didn't like the pick of Stacy because I felt he was always getting dinged up and he's continued that trend in the NFL. Will Gurley? How can you read the above without coming away thinking 'injury prone'?
Having said that, what with the legal cloud hanging over Collins head and Scherff off the boards, I didn't like many of the alternatives at #10. Based on my research and what I read in our own mock draft I didn't like Peat or Flowers at #10 but they went at #11 and #13 some professionals who know much more than I desagree with my take on that.
IMO we should have traded down but did we have a dance partner? I'll break that down a little further by asking did we want too much? More on this later.
The Gurley pick negatively effected this draft above and beyond just the uncertainty about the player himself, I think think it had a huge negative effect on the rest of the draft.
Havenstein
Key facts:
http://walterfootball.com/draft2015OT.php
Projected Round (2015):
4-6.
"At the Senior Bowl, Havenstein struggled in the pass-blocking one-on-ones. He was beaten by speed rushers consistently. Havenstein was decent at the Combine, but he looks like a limited athlete for the NFL."
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/2015/OT
Overall Ranking #
114. Positional ranking #
12. Projected round
3-4.
"
WEAKNESSES: Limited to right guard in the NFL with ordinary athleticism for the position and
will be vulnerable against NFL speed rushers."
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/rob-havenstein?id=2552363
WEAKNESSES
Stiffness in knees causes him to come out of stance way too tall. Is almost never under the pads of opponent. Too often has to sumo wrestle at impact to get defender centered. Initial lateral quickness not good enough to count on him with back-side cut-offs. Keeps hands too low pre-punch. Unathletic build with zero bubble. Some scouts worry about stiffness becoming an even greater problem after first few years in the league.
DRAFT PROJECTION: Round 3 or 4
BOTTOM LINE
Three-year starter who doesn't look the part in his uniform, but teams should worry more about how the dish tastes rather than how it is plated. With surprising feet to pair with good length and balance, Havenstein has the tools to be a starting right tackle in the league. He will be adequate when asked to
zone block, but he can fire out and use his hips to leverage defenders out of run lanes.
So we draft a player with our second round pick (a fairly low second round pick after the trade (#25th)?
How is this guy not a lightly cheaper version of JB? With a 2nd round pick?:eek: Was there a better OT available when we picked him? I'd say no but that brings us back to that first round pick and the trade down, both of which of which I'll say more about later.
His best position is at RG? A posotion at which our best, so far, O-line Saffold is ideally suited for? Saffold is good at LG be has played great at RG so right off the bat we've weakened ourselves.
Mind boggling pick were it not for the fact the cupboard was already bare.
Jamon Brown
Key facts:
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/jamon-brown?id=2552340
DRAFT PROJECTION: Round 4 or 5
SOURCES TELL US
"He could go much higher than anyone thinks because he'll be on boards as a tackle or as a guard. He can move and he has some power so he will hit more teams draft boards than some of the other guys in the draft." - NFC Executive
http://walterfootball.com/draft2015OT.php
Projected Round (2015): 4-6.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/2015/OT
Overall Ranking #
264. Positional ranking #
22. Projected round
7-FA.
Some possible upside but he screams backup. Which we needed but with the 8th pick in the 3rd round? :eek:
Sean Mannion
One of the three second tier QBs anf I liked Grayson better but I won't complain.
Donnal
Key facts:
Not even on Walter's radar.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/andrew-donnal?id=2552352
WEAKNESSES
Doesn't have much power in his legs and won't generate very much push in run game. Gets driven off the line of scrimmage at times. Shuffles and gets base too narrow when sliding to a high pass rush attack point. Lacks physical composure when bull rushed. Upper body and hands don't carry much power. Leaner when finding targets on second level.
DRAFT PROJECTION; Round 5 or 6
BOTTOM LINE
Donnal is limited from an athletic and strength standpoint but understands the nuances of the position and how to play with technique. With an ability to pass protect and experience at both guard and tackle, he should be drafted and
has a legitimate shot at making a roster.
What can I say about Donnal that isn't obvious?
As usual, I won't talk about players below the 4th round but at first glance it seems to be the worst 4-6 round haul in Snisher's tenure at the Rams.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000490234/article/winners-and-losers-from-day-2-of-nfl-draft
NFC West run defenses: After grabbing the draft's best bruising runner in
Todd Gurley, they picked up a road-grading right tackle Rob Havenstein in the second round and athletic guard Jamon Brown in the third. It doesn't hurt that last year's first round pick, left tackle
Greg Robinson, flat-out blows defenders off the ball in the running game. The
Rams are set up to challenge
Marshawn Lynch and the
Seahawks as the division's dominant ground attack.
Gurley effect, trade effect and final thoughts:
Reach after reach after reach.
By not picking up one of the top picks and trading down in the 2nd round we were forced to take marginal players that SCREAM perennial backups to me. Were it not for our complete lack of alternatives on the O'line I could easily see none of these guys amking the team except for Gurley and he's a huge question mark in my mind.
Why did I decry not trading down in the 1st round and bad mouth them for trading down in the 2nd round? If we had traded down in the 1st round we would still have been able to get a high quality player in this very shallow draft. When we moved down in the second round we moved out of the small pool a good players and into the the marginal/backup players pool. Especially at the key O-line positions we had holes at. On the plus side, had we not traded own and still picked Brown we would have, again, not seriously addressed the QB position. But again, had we not fallen in love with Gurley traded down in the 1st round we could have probably picked Grayson in the 3rd with the extra pick/s we would have received in the trade down.
Here's what I think is part of the problem and one of the reasons I don't like Fisher:
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_27062850-9236-5086-8f21-f40c851e32d2.html
"Asked how many potential starters he had found within the pile, Fisher said, “I don’t want to say they’re options, but they’re real players. These guys have played a lot of football in college.
You look at the number of games played and starts with respect to all four of the offensive linemen that we drafted. It’s solid. They’re durable. They’re smart. They’re durable and they’re going to fit in.”
No real difference in what he said here and his attitude about vets on our team. The only real difference is that these are college vets versus pro vets. IMO he puts way too much weight on experience and far too little weight on ability. That's a huge part of the reason we start guys like Joseph, Wells and Lankford over our backups and Donald despite the fact that our back up O-line players must have at least as much talent as washed up players like Wells and Joseph and in Donalds case, far far more talent (a fact that was obvious immediately to all the rest of us).
I give that draft a D+ if the Gurley pick doesn't pan out and a C+ if it does. With the choices available I chose WTF.
Sorry to start out on such a negative note my first day posting after my vacation.
