I'm sure nobody available in the 2nd round was McVay's first choice.
I wasnt aware the Everett wasnt our first choice! Interesting. I guess the only other one would be Engram? Suppose that makes sense.
Either way...I believe we are going to see more of Everett in his sophomore year and hope the plan is to use him as our TE play maker while supplementing him with blocking TE's. Higbee needs to be gifted a juggs.
To me, not a good time to reinvest in TE's. A decent argument has been made to the contrary but I saw a pretty stout offense last year even without elite TE performance. It makes me wonder why everyone is so convinced McVay values the TE so much if he did just fine without the extra production last year. Its plausible to me that McVay didnt create everyones TE opinions, and instead he just had great TE's in Washington. I mean, he didnt NEED them, they were just there so he used them well.
I'm not one drone on and on about lost or wasted draft picks, but I do know we traded into the Everett pick and as such we should focus on that investment. If we try to upgrade, then that kinda devalues the work in the draft last year. I dont think they are ready to do that yet.
Evan Engram was indeed the Rams' primary target in McVay's first draft. With regards to drafting another tight end devaluing the Rams' 2017 NFL draft a bit, I can see the argument for that but I don't think that necessarily applies. Like I said, I still think Gerald Everett can have a bright future for us, plus, the Rams' original pick in the second round was packaged along with their fifth-rounder for the Bills' picks in the second and third rounds, which were used to select Everett and John Johnson, respectively. That's not a bad consolation prize.
Even if we had drafted Engram, the team still would need another TE, particularly one that can block effectively. I agree with
jrry32 in that I can see Dallas Goedert from South Dakota State being a possible target in the upcoming draft and good fit for the team. I also share the same concerns about workout wonder Mike Gesicki from Penn State not having an inclination to block despite having the physical tools and athleticism to be an all-around talent. Another TE prospect I personally like for our team is Ian Thomas from Indiana for his rugged approach. However, all of these prospects are likely to be selected during the first 2 days of the draft. Tyler Conklin from Central Michigan would be an intriguing pick in the sixth round if he's available and his injury concerns taken care of.
The reason why people like myself believe McVay prioritizes tight ends in his offense is based on Jordan Reed's success when the two were together in Washington and the fact that he apparently asked Snead to prioritize Engram in their first draft together. Even missing out on Engram, they still drafted a TE after trading down. Offering an injury-prone Tyler Eifert a contract this off-season also lends further support to this line of thinking. Those four instances in such a short span of time seem to be more than mere coincidence to me.
View: https://twitter.com/SosaKre/status/857823990890582016
View: https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/857824146721525761
There were a couple options out there who could have potentially upgraded us at TE but they didn't happen. So at this point bringing in JAGs through FA is not any sort of answer.
TE is a need but it isn't a huge need. It was that position on offense where they could have upgraded things in FA without spending a pick. But now? Well, it's gonna have to get in line behind some other positions, like OL and multiple defensive positions.
They might very well snap one up if a fit presents itself with value for where they're picking. But I just hope it's not a first two days type deal.
I actually agree that we have more pressing needs than TE at the moment, which includes run defense as well as pass rushing along with our aging offensive line. Maybe the signing of Suh provides a big check mark on our checklist that will go a long way towards enabling the Rams to select best player available in the draft regardless of position, which would be more ideal.