The Rams Need to Get A "Go To" WR More Than Any Other Position

[mr.stlouis]

We can succeed with the WRs we have right now if our O-line can give Bradford enough time.

No we cannot. None of our WO's are tough enough to fully handle the pressure Seattle and SF can put on them. Remember both SF games? Our WR's were deer standing in the headlights. They were completely overwhelmed.

No matter how good our OL CAN be, we will never over power SF's DL or LB's. We HAVE to have somebody on the outside they have to worry about. Givens can't handle it, Bailey is good but undersized, Quick may never fully live up to expectations.

We may have the most explosive slot guys in the game in Cook and Austin. It means very little if teams can still crowd the middle and smother them.

We need Watkins, period. He's a big body with great hands and really solid break away speed. He is the edge player that will are missing. He's the kind of player who will force the defense to stretch and open up the interior's zone coverages and running lanes. If we don't get this fixed then we'll have a very similiar result from last season.

 

[laramsoriginal]

Im starting to come around...almost convinced the rams need sammy. I would not take him at #2 though. If the rams can trade down to 4or5 and get a 2nd rounder for it then I would pull the trigger on sammy.
Rams need to acquire more picks to fill the holes at cb, fs, og, dt, lb, ot.

 

[iced]

Yea, we need a WR pretty bad... it's pretty bad where we're sitting right now

 

[Ram Quixote]

Who says Bradford won't have a Go-To receiver if we don't select a WR in the first? With Cook, Austin, Quick, Givens, Pettis and Bailey, we could have all of them as primary targets on any given day, on any given play.

And that 700 yard number doesn't mean anything, not when Clemens is your QB for more than half of your games. The 3 games we lost in our last seven were against division rivals who could stop our run game. They forced us to pass, and when teams know that Clemens is passing ... well, you know.

 

[laramsoriginal]

Agree.

Bradford staying healthy is critical to the offense

Stacy, Bradford, wr's group would benefit by having a great OL.

 

[bluecollarram]

Who says Bradford won't have a Go-To receiver if we don't select a WR in the first? With Cook, Austin, Quick, Givens, Pettis and Bailey, we could have all of them as primary targets on any given day, on any given play.

And that 700 yard number doesn't mean anything, not when Clemens is your QB for more than half of your games. The 3 games we lost in our last seven were against division rivals who could stop our run game. They forced us to pass, and when teams know that Clemens is passing ... well, you know.

The Rams haven't had a 700 yard receiver since 2008. That is a long time.

 

[jjab360]

No we cannot. None of our WO's are tough enough to fully handle the pressure Seattle and SF can put on them. Remember both SF games? Our WR's were deer standing in the headlights. They were completely overwhelmed.

No matter how good our OL CAN be, we will never over power SF's DL or LB's. We HAVE to have somebody on the outside they have to worry about. Givens can't handle it, Bailey is good but undersized, Quick may never fully live up to expectations.

We may have the most explosive slot guys in the game in Cook and Austin. It means very little if teams can still crowd the middle and smother them.

We need Watkins, period. He's a big body with great hands and really solid break away speed. He is the edge player that will are missing. He's the kind of player who will force the defense to stretch and open up the interior's zone coverages and running lanes. If we don't get this fixed then we'll have a very similiar result from last season.

You're overrating San Francisco, you're overrating Watkins, and you're underrating our WRs. How can you say we'll never overpower their front 7 with the way we dominated Sea's front on MNF when everyone on the O-line was healthy? When our O-line was together this season, they were pretty damn good, we just need to retain that talent and add a few new faces and that unit could be borderline dominant.

Watkins is a big body? He's around the same size as Givens, neither one is going to physically overpower many corners in this league. I will say that he has much better hands and ball skills, but he doesn't have better hands than Bailey, and he isn't tougher than Bailey either. As for speed, he's about as fast as Givens and a notch below Tavon.

As you can see we already have talent on this team. The problem is that they were all in their first or second year, and as you said were overwhelmed at times especially in the bright lights on TNF, though Bailey didn't even play in that game. Don't be fooled, Watkins will have growing pains too, just as they did, he's not some otherworldly player that will immediately set the world on fire. Even Megatron failed to reach 800 yards his rookie year, and Watkins isn't near that kind of prospect.

 

[RamFan503]

But it's not either/or as far as a #1 receiver or superior line.

Since we already have a starting LT, there's no sense in picking OL early in the first round.

We can get an RT and a G or 2 later.

This^

We have some good picks if we stand pat. Obviously more if we can find a trading partner at the top of the draft... ahem.... Cleveland.... I want us to give real attention to the O-line but that doesn't mean we have to pass on a potential elite WR or for that matter one of the better DBs. If you have a chance to take a guy who is a real difference maker, you take him.

The real question I have right now is what is the GW effect. How bad was our secondary in reality? I firmly believe we have better safeties than we've had in the past three years. But much like TJ's last year at USC, lack of production and perceived coverage problems can often be due to a defensive strategy that goes away from your players' strengths.

I don't pretend to know where players will actually go in the draft but I would guess we could get a pretty good O-lineman or two with one or two of our first four picks.

 

[Ram Quixote]

The Rams haven't had a 700 yard receiver since 2008. That is a long time.

All I'm saying is that in 2013, it was no surprise. Bradford stays healthy, you'll see that 700 yard season.

 

[MTRamsFan]

I still don't understand why people think a "#1" WR is so important in the NFL, and PARTICULARLY for a Jeff Fisher coached team. When has he ever deployed a high octane, vertical offense? It seems to me that he values tough, possession WRs that can make catches in traffic and move the chains. He has made no secret that he wants to establish dominance at the LOS (on both sides) and win in the trenches, beginning with the ground game. Not saying I agree, just saying that it is how his teams typically roll. I love Watkins, but I think we have a very good, young WR nucleus already and they are going to be sufficient for this offense. Just my opinion. I would like to see us build a young, deep DOMINANT OL. I think that is how we win in this division.

Nailed it!

 

[Ram_of_Old]

I feel the old adage, "its what's up front that counts" says a lot about our position. If we have a solid O line, the wide outs that we have now will be more than adequate. JMHO

 

[Rams and Gators]

What happens if we trade down with Minnesota and Watkins is still there at 8, he has a decent season, maybe struggles early but finds his stride later on, whoever Minnesota drafts ends up sucking, we're drafting top 10 again, do we draft another WR or do we give the current group time?

 

[bluecollarram]

You're overrating San Francisco, you're overrating Watkins, and you're underrating our WRs. How can you say we'll never overpower their front 7 with the way we dominated Sea's front on MNF when everyone on the O-line was healthy? When our O-line was together this season, they were pretty damn good, we just need to retain that talent and add a few new faces and that unit could be borderline dominant.

Watkins is a big body? He's around the same size as Givens, neither one is going to physically overpower many corners in this league. I will say that he has much better hands and ball skills, but he doesn't have better hands than Bailey, and he isn't tougher than Bailey either. As for speed, he's about as fast as Givens and a notch below Tavon.

As you can see we already have talent on this team. The problem is that they were all in their first or second year, and as you said were overwhelmed at times especially in the bright lights on TNF, though Bailey didn't even play in that game. Don't be fooled, Watkins will have growing pains too, just as they did, he's not some otherworldly player that will immediately set the world on fire. Even Megatron failed to reach 800 yards his rookie year, and Watkins isn't near that kind of prospect.

For me it's about impact players at the top of the draft. We are talking about top 5 picks like they happen every year. They don't unless you are a Raider fan. This pick could be the piece that gets the Rams winning again. Every body is looking to improve in the draft some long term, some this year. I think the Rams are thisclose to having a nightmare offense, they are about to see ROI for these past drafts. OL was solid last year WR corps almost there, time to nail that down.

 

[jjab360]

For me it's about impact players at the top of the draft. We are talking about top 5 picks like they happen every year. They don't unless you are a Raider fan. This pick could be the piece that gets the Rams winning again. Every body is looking to improve in the draft some long term, some this year. I think the Rams are thisclose to having a nightmare offense, they are about to see ROI for these past drafts. OL was solid last year WR corps almost there, time to nail that down.

I'm about impact players, too, and there's a couple of players at the top of the draft who I think would have more of an impact than Watkins would.

 

[bluecollarram]

I'm about impact players, too, and there's a couple of players at the top of the draft who I think would have more of an impact than Watkins would.

I agree about more than one impact player at the top. I'm suggesting Watkins impacts the Rams more than the other available top choices.

Does a LT stay on the field for this team? Does Clowney have an impact on this stud DL?

A case can be made for all these top picks for the Rams I just prefer the Watkins case.

 

[jjab360]

I agree about more than one impact player at the top. I'm suggesting Watkins impacts the Rams more than the other available top choices.

Does a LT stay on the field for this team? Does Clowney have an impact on this stud DL?

A case can be made for all these top picks for the Rams I just prefer the Watkins case.

Fair enough, the only viewpoint I don't understand is those who think we need a receiver or OL at the top of the draft no matter what, because it's such a huge need. I think we'd be fine not going OL at the top of the draft as long as we address it later on in the draft or in FA, and I think we'd be fine not going WR as long as our young receivers continue to progress. I just want the most talented player, whoever our FO believes that is. Right now, I think it's Clowney then Robinson then Matthews then Watkins, but that's just my personal opinion.

 

[Boffo97]

Here's the thing, I'm not worried about what positions we get where, I'm just worried about getting the best players possible. I'm not saying we need to pass up a superior WR just to get an O-lineman, I'm saying that we don't need to go out of our way to get a WR, because as long as Sam has enough time in the pocket, the receivers we have right now are talented enough to get the job done. Otoh, If he doesn't have enough time in the pocket, the discussion is moot either way because we're going to fail no matter what WRs we have out there. If there's a better prospect than Watkins wherever we end up drafting (at this point I have Clowney, Robinson, and Matthews higher on my big board), then we need to draft that player.

I, like you apparently, am a firm believer in 1st round picks being BPA informed by Need. If Matthews or Robinson is the next Pace, then the Rams should pick him. If they're just "solid starter" level guys, then there's neither a BPA or a Need argument there, and thus "We need to keep Sam upright" argument is not relevant here.

But the fact that we're set at LT (and possibly other positions) should move the tackles down the Rams board unless they're world beaters.

 

[bluecollarram]

I'm also going off the assumption that the Rams won't be picking at 2, I actually wouldn't value Watkins the same at 2.

My "dream" scenario is trade back to 4, then trade back to 6 with 3 QB's going top 5.

 

[CGI_Ram]

I'm also going off the assumption that the Rams won't be picking at 2, I actually wouldn't value Watkins the same at 2.

My "dream" scenario is trade back to 4, then trade back to 6 with 3 QB's going top 5.

Ditto!

 

[jjab360]

I, like you apparently, am a firm believer in 1st round picks being BPA informed by Need. If Matthews or Robinson is the next Pace, then the Rams should pick him. If they're just "solid starter" level guys, then there's neither a BPA or a Need argument there, and thus "We need to keep Sam upright" argument is not relevant here.

But the fact that we're set at LT (and possibly other positions) should move the tackles down the Rams board unless they're world beaters.

I don't actually believe that LT is so much more important than other O-line positions anymore. I think we've seen more and more lately where OGs have actually had an almost equal impact with OTs due to giving the QB a pocket to step up into, and giving RBs room to run between the tackles. Blindside protectors will probably always hold a premium over the rest of the OL, but with how teams are willing to move their best pass rushers all around lately, I think their value has been diminished compared to an era where pretty much the only important position on the OL was the LT.

I think Robinson could be an unbelievably dominant guard with the versatility to play four O-line positions and that would be invaluable to our offense right now. Matthews would probably be better on the edge due to his flawless technique and quick feet, but like Robinson I think he could be an elite player anywhere across the O-line.