Well, it’s mercifully over...

[Elmgrovegnome]

I would point out a few counter points here:

First, that could have been Kromers input and possibly why he's no longer here

Second, and more importantly since McVay has the final say:

In 2017, we started two below average offensive linemen in Sullivan and Brown. Brown was so bad that we just cut him a year later.

In 2018 we started two bad offensive linemen - Sullivan and Blythe.

In 2019 we started what ended up being three bad offensive linemen - but we were 3-0 to start the season, and the last five games of the season they played well. The Allen experiment ended.

In 2020 we started one bad offensive lineman in Blythe. The OL performed well for most of the season.

For probably 75% of McVays games as HC, the offensive line has performed really well. I point out that there's always a bad player on the OL in tandem with that 75% number because there's a method to his madness - could be mental aptitude for example.

The thing about that 25% is that the other guys get paid too - and sometimes you run up against a Khalil Mack. In those instances, the OL needs an assist. Pretty clear from out off-season moves that McVay wants guys who can help with that 25%

But Kromer is gone and the main center backup appears to be Allen or Shelton still. Drafting a center even as a backup made a lot of sense. Maybe the UDFA center is a hidden gem. I hope so.

 

[FrantikRam]

But Kromer is gone and the main center backup appears to be Allen or Shelton still. Drafting a center even as a backup made a lot of sense. Maybe the UDFA center is a hidden gem. I hope so.

I would bet that Corbett will be the center and the OL will be better than last season.

 

[PhillyRam]

But Kromer is gone and the main center backup appears to be Allen or Shelton still. Drafting a center even as a backup made a lot of sense. Maybe the UDFA center is a hidden gem. I hope so.

I will trust their plan until there is reason not to. They went through the growing pains two yrs ago with a bunch of kids. They are now grown up, so you let them play. The least talented guy left and they must have a plan to move someone to C... Lets wait and see how it plays out.

Next yr they will likely have to fill a hole with a high pick, but why waste a high pick this yr if that player will sit?

Fans complained about Hopkins red shirt yr. So why now want more redshirts especially when they filled needs for now in those first 5 rounds...and even after when you consider the need to improve special teams.

They drafted guys that have a shot to contribute now.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I would bet that Corbett will be the center and the OL will be better than last season.

But the backup center appears to be the same. Its akin to having Demby as the main backup at Guard two years ago. Drafting a Center/Guard would have given them time to sit for a year or two and learn.

 

[Dodgersrf]

My biggest problem was not grabbing a solid C prospect.

Many of us here were concerned about the position during last draft.
So, we go into '20 with Blythe and call it good enough.
It wasn't good enough.

This draft, I'm thinking "we have to grab a solid C prospect, Right"?
Wrong again.

I just hope the plan this coaching staff has at the position, pans out better than last year.

Other than that, I was ok with the draft in general.
I don't see any of these guys making an impact on offense or defense, much at all this year.
Hopefully we did enough to shore up our flailing STs, though.

As far as Atwell. Man. His size is a serious concern.
I hope it works out.

 

[FarNorth]

The OL in my opinion was not very good and protected by the playcalling last year. Having said that, I think we could be selling the guys on the roster a little short. Two things are obvious. This regime is not a collection of idiots and they have extreme confidence in the OL on the roster. They had so many chances to get OL in the draft. Meinerz. Hainsey. Trey Hill. Dalman. Deonte Brown. Etc. They passed each and every time. They've been telling us they're happy with who they have in house and this draft certainly confirms that. They did address a ton of other needs....losing Brockers, Fox, Hill, Reynolds, Everett etc., solidifying the LB corp and building a solid special teams unit.

Yes... but Snead also stated that guys they wanted were taken off the board before they picked. The actual picks don’t represent their ultimate intentions but instead how they tracted to the specific opportunities presented.

 

[SWAdude]

Man, busy day and could not wait to get home and read this thread. And it did not disappoint!

I will get around later to give out the Trophies, laughies and Likes but in the mean time.......

This sport can be like three dimensional chess. Large part of why I like it. Who would have guessed Tampa Bay would be SB winners a year ago? Good lord.

This draft totally didn't go as I expected. Really, none of them do. If I am remotely close, we get Sam Bradford. Rough years.

Hats off to the arm chair GMs and HCs. I sincerely love your passion. Please, never stop. You don't have any of the intel as the ones we actually have but put yourself out there "anonymously" to later possibly eat pro bowl crow. Who doesn't like that level of bravery? You are D day warriors.......anonymously.

I come away with earned trust of the front office. Even if these guys royally screwed up this year, I would take the next twenty with them if they can do what they do.....most of the time.

I am insecure and could use some Trophies. Can you help a boy out?

GO RAMS!!!

 

[oldnotdead]

What happens if Rochell in 2023 is developing into Ramsey Jr? What happens if Harris begins to terrorize teams with his length and blazing speed? What happens if Tutu becomes Desean Jackson Jr? Everyone of these things can happen. This is another example of Snead and his scouts simply out prospect mining the other teams. Their roster gives them the ability to not be searching for starters with every pick. That said I absolutely see future starters in this draft. I remember when more than one said Kupp who when he was drafted.

I also see good future rotational guys in Garrett, Skowronek (as a TE who eventually replaces Mundt) and even Funk. I think Skowronek is faster than most think (4.4-4.5 wouldn't surprise me at all), a willing blocker and good hands. So yeah I think this draft is a lot better than most appear to think.

 

[OnceARam]

The thing about the draft that troubles me is that it seems like common sense left the building (to Detroit) which does not bode well for the future.

I think the coaching staff and the GM need the mitigating force of a veteran personnel guy to ground them in reality.

That said the NFL seems to be going the way of the NBA, with increased specialization and a premium placed on rawness ala players like Tray Lance and Tutu.

 

[Debacled]

This reminds me of 2010 when the Rams grabbed Fendi Onobun in the 6th round and people acted like the sky was falling for taking a flyer on a guy with high athletic upside in a late round. Did it work out? Nope, but man its the 6th round. The team was bad for plenty of reasons outside of that (and it hardly contributed actually).

Am I huge fan of the picks they made? Nope, but I still trust their process a lot more than my own keyboard analytics. People forget Whitworth came here as a FA, there are always options outside of the top dollar studs that shine like a bloody diamond in a coal mine. I can totally get deciding to not rely on rookies on the OL when the window with Stafford isn't a development plan. Chances are a lackluster vet is still going to be better than a green rookie who slid well past the 1st round because they may not be ready this year or next.

 

[Ram_Rally]

I feel your pain 43. This was by far & away McVay’s worst draft. The Rams had the opportunity to get better value for their picks and they blew it.

Might be best to let them play a game or two first before we decide how good a draft class is.

 

[Ram_Rally]

Not to pick on you but I hear this all the time. Value according to who?

Yes exactly right. A perfect example of this is the fact that many people are reporting that we were going to take Dwayne eskridge instead but Seattle took him first. I'm sure the board would have called him a reach at 56 but it seems like two teams would back-to-back picks thought the exact same thing about him.

 

[FrantikRam]

My biggest problem was not grabbing a solid C prospect.

Many of us here were concerned about the position during last draft.
So, we go into '20 with Blythe and call it good enough.
It wasn't good enough.

This draft, I'm thinking "we have to grab a solid C prospect, Right"?
Wrong again.

I just hope the plan this coaching staff has at the position, pans out better than last year.

Other than that, I was ok with the draft in general.
I don't see any of these guys making an impact on offense or defense, much at all this year.
Hopefully we did enough to shore up our flailing STs, though.

As far as Atwell. Man. His size is a serious concern.
I hope it works out.

In what way did Blythe not work out last year?

The OL probably performed better against GB than the DL did. The OL as a whole was solid last year.

If AD doesn't get hurt and our defense shows up that's a different game.

 

[Ram_Rally]

The Humphrey non-pick set the stage. It was right there and I’m willing to bet Tutu (or similar) would have been there at R3.88.

I'm pretty sure all of the centers we wanted in the draft last year we're average to below average. Feels like a big mistake to start fixating on players in the second round, especially linemen as they are so hard to evaluate in the first place

 

[Ram_Rally]

Don’t you do this every year?

I guess by your standards I should either be a GM or I just get lucky a lot because over the years I’ve made some pretty good picks and pointed out a lot of bad ones on draft day.

One thing that you seem to overlook is that GMs get picks wrong all of the time. What’s the success rate in round 2? Isn’t it like 50%? These scouts that so diligently examine the players they feel their team will want also get it wrong more often than not. And Snead who is regarded as a good GM has made his share of blunders.

Trying to be dismissive of draft fans opinions is lame in general but considering how many GMs and scouts don’t even last the length of their contracts and how so many picks are out of the league in three years, it’s especially lame.

All this says to me is that scouting and evaluating talent is extremely hard. Which kinda lends to his point in my opinion. If professional and scouts and gms can only get it right 50 percent of the time , why do all of us armchair GM's (myself included) think we have the answers? 90 percent of us only know these players based off of someone else's big board. Guarantee you almost none of us are scouring through hundreds of hours of game film or have any idea of what to even look for if we do watch the 4 or 5 video clips of a prospect on youtube.

Also, us fans tend to be far more scrutinous about GM misses than our own. The same people lambasting the Rams for not picking creed Humphrey are probably forgetting that Blythe outperformed most or all of the rookie centers from last year, for example.

 

[den-the-coach]

This from Deadpool off another board and Dead does so much research and is an amazing analyst when it comes to the NFL Draft. Overall a great read IMHO.

First I want to give a big thank you to everyone with the kind words and support. Too many to thank individually, but you know who you are.

I also want to apologize for just being off on what the Rams where looking for as far as my Rams Stacked Board. I've done well in the past, but I blew it this year. Call it a learning experience, or maybe I just avoid the Stacked Board going forward. I don't know. BearlyThere asked me in another post why I thought I was off on what I thought the Rams would do and what they actually did. I'll address that at the bottom of the post in my overall review.

This is not a draft grade post. Those are pointless.

57. Tutu Atwell - WR - Louisville - 5'-9" 165 lbs. - Extremely fast. Dangerous with the ball. Serious HR threat from the Slot. Hands are OK. Small catch radius. Slot WR
He was my 117th overall prospect, and my 16th overall WR. 73rd on my Rams Stacked Board

I had him listed at 5'-9" 165 lbs. He is actually 5'-7 3/4" 155 lbs at his Pro Day and later at his Indy Combine Med checkup, he weighed in at 149 lbs. Think about that. He is sub 150. I have a tough time with that weight, combined with his small frame. He is never going to be 180 lbs.. Im not sure he can get to 170. Which is fine, but he is a slot only. If he is on the outside, it will have to be against off man or zone coverage. I see him in motion alot or off the line in a bunch, like McVay likes to do in that 3 wr bunch set. Or in the slot. What I don't like is the fact that they had Atwell or Eskridge pegged at 57 seemingly with no regard for who was on the board. They hinted that if Atwell was there in the 2nd, he could very well be the pick...

Strengths:
Twitched up athlete
Ultra Fast - and he plays up to it
Angle breaker - or ankles, but he can destroy any angle you take at him with his speed and quick movement skills
He can house it from anywhere on the field
New to the position, so plenty of upside

Weaknesses:
Raw route runner
Saw a limited route tree at Louisville from what I saw
any physicality can disrupt his route
Small catch radius
Limited ST returner - I think I saw less than 10 punt returns
Not a bad pass catcher, but not exactly a natural pass catcher

103. Ernest Jones - LB - South Carolina - 6'-2" 230 lbs. - Good tackler, with decent range. A bit stiff. Looks stronger than he is. 43 WILL, maybe 34 ILB
He was my 172nd overall prospect. My 17th ranked LB and 98th on my Rams Stacked Board

Interesting pick. I had a bunch of LBers in front of him, this feels like a Kiser type pick, where I think they use him on the first 2 downs, then bring in more CBs or Safeties on 3rd down. His run defense is ahead of his pass defense and this will be a common theme going forward with the front 7 picks this year. He can survive dropping into zone coverage, which of the Rams do some cover 2, he'll be fine in. That D is Morris' specialty. I thought this was another reach though, but that is my personal opinion and obviously the Rams didn't think so.

Strengths:
Team Captain, team leader
Solid tackler
Solid against the run
Can handle dropping into zone coverage
Hot motor
Can get sideline to sideline
good in a pursuit roll

Negatives:
Not a physical Lber (not much pop)
avoids blockers, stack and shed is non-existant
at times hesitates, or even gets fooled on where he should be (questionable instincts?)
not a great athlete

117. Bobby Brown III - IDL - Texas A&M - 6'-4" 315 lbs. - Powerhouse run defender with strong hands and good leverage. NT

He was my 175th Overall prospect. My 14th ranked IDL. Not on my Rams Stacked Board

I was surprised by this pick. Not because I don't like him, but I did not think they were looking at a 1 Tech, I didn't include any 1 techs in my Rams Vertically Stacked Board. Other than that I like this pick, it may have been a tad high for my liking, but its not like I would call it a massive reach. Again, he is far more advanced in his run defense, shows flashes of a pass rush. Lots of upside in this kid, and I think learning and working next to AD will do him wonders.

Strengths:
All day strong
Almost immoveable in the run game
Flashes a pass rush

Weaknesses:
Will take plays off (as a 2 down IDL, he better not in the NFL)
Does not have a variety of pass rush moves or counters
Ok athlete, nothing more

130. Robert Rochell - CB - Central Arkansas - 6'-0" 193 lbs.

Not in my top 200 prospects. Not on my Rams Stacked Board

This one caught me a tad off guard. I have repeatedly said I watch any prospects I rank. And I did see 1 game of Rochell. This fall against NDSU in the one game NDSU played. It was the game where Lance threw his only INT of his college career. No Rochell didn't get it. He did have a couple of pass breakups and a handful of tackles. I liked him. Then when he got to the Senior Bowl, I was excited to see him step up a level. And he got big boyed. Alot. He got by on his athleticism alone in the FCS. THat didn't work against FBS WRs in the Senior Bowl and it won't work in the NFL. So he remained outside my 200, and due to his poor showing at the SB, I left him off he stacked board, thinking the Rams came away unimpressed. Wrong...

Strengths:
Super Athletic
Fluid, easy mover
Ball hawk
willing tackler
great size and speed for the position

Weakness:
Footwork (technique) is a mess
Tackling is sloppy
step up in competition will require a redshirt

141. Jacob Harris - WR - UCF - 6'-5" 211 lbs.

Not ranked on any of my lists.

Wow, this one really seemed like a reach to me. He is really raw. There is a steep learning curve ahead, and he may never reach what his athletic profile says he could be. And a 2nd WR picked with other holes? Or is he a TE? He is either TE 3 or 4, or WR 6. Seems like he gets a redshirt for sure. I understand he is a monster special teamer, thats where he can earn playing time early.

Strengths:
Size/speed/athletic trifeca
Can play inside/outside and from various TE spots
50/50 ball winner
new to football, so plenty of upside
Good blocker

Weaknesses:
Hands are OK
Route running needs work
Raw in all aspects

174. Earnest Brown IV - Edge - Northwestern - 6'-5" 270 lbs.

Not ranked on any of my lists

Obviously this one caught me off guard. He's a 43 DE. He has played inside on third downs. His best pass rush move is an inside swim move. He is good against the run (yep the 3rd prospect I've mentioned that about) and is more of a try hard against the pass. I thought this was a major reach.

Stengths:
Sets a great edge against the run.
Rarely gets pushed off his spot
Great motor
Has positional flexibility
Has a decently explosive first step
Strong

Weaknesses:
Not a great athlete
Stiff
lacks range
Not a variety of pass rush moves

233. Jake Funk - RB - Maryland - 5'-10" 205 lbs

Not ranked on any of my lists

This one is another special team pick. Which I am totally fine with in the 7th round. The Rams ST unit was a mess. He is RB 3 or 4 with ST value. This is a nice pick. He is a 1 cut and go back with good speed.

Strengths:
Tough runner, fights for yards
patient runner with good vision
good long speed
has a bit of wiggle

Weaknesses:
not the most dynamic athlete
Not much of a pass catcher
tore left ACL in back to back seasons

249. Ben Skowronek - WR- ND - 6'-3" 211 lbs.

Not Ranked on any of my lists

So WR 7? Its the 7th round, he looks to be PS bound. And that is fine, if the Rams have a WR injury, yes Jackson, I'm looking your way, or Cooper, you too, then he can be brought up. I like his size, probably more ST help. I would have went another direction, but I'm not them.

Stengths:
can go up and get it
excellent blocker
great size for the position
fantastic hands

Weaknesses:
not an athlete
separation may be tough at the NFL level
RAC is nonexistent

252. Chris Garrett - Edge - Concordia St Paul - 6'-4" 250 lbs. -

Never saw him play. So I won't BS any of you with made up crap. I see zero chance he makes the team. 36 sacks, 15 forced fumbles and 9 passes batted down. So he can fill a stat sheet.

From watching his highlight package:

Strengths:
Angular build
Fairly athletic
Explosive off the snap
can bend the edge and flatten to the QB
Hot motor
plays with excellent awareness, his stats reinforce that

Weaknesses:
Could use strength
Won't be an edge setter
level of competition

So why was I not on the same page as the Rams this year? I think multiple things.
1. Lack of knowledge about who the Rams visited with really made it hard to get a feel for what the Rams were thinking.
2. I neglected the Special Teams aspect quite a bit. And I'll be honest, when I watch games, I don't focus on ST units unless they are returners
3. I had no idea what Raheem Morris was looking for. A few of these guys (The Earnest Brown 34s in particular) are suited for a 43. We might see some 43 cover 2 this year
4. When I looked at what I thought the Rams needed, I saw a need for more pass rush, they went run stop heavy.
5. Medicals really messed with me. And it was hard to find anything on these guys. Cox slipped due to whatever injuries, same with Terrance Marshall, Moses I knew was slipping to day 3 but went undrafted. I'm assuming Hamilcar Rashed slid out of the draft for the same reason. No idea.

My overall thoughts on the Rams draft:

Atwell is a major risk, purely on size alone. 149 lbs. Thats small. I havent been 149 since 8th grade. LOL There are more ways than 4.28 speed to create explosives. Terrance Marshall is a vertical threat and can win over the top. Great size/speed combo. That pick I would have gotten. Smith-Marsette at the end of the 4th makes a ton of sense. Darden in the 4th even. So the Rams basically value the, what? 8th to 20th ranked WR over the 1st or 2nd ranked OC in Humphrey? I don't get it. On top of that, they went and added 2 more WRs. Or is it a TE and a WR or a TE and a FB/WR. I have no idea. But I thought this was McVay forcing this explosives idea on the draft. Instead of letting it come to them.

As far as the OL. This was an exceptionally deep OL class, and they didn't take advantage of it. I don't get it. Half the OL are FAs, some restricted. Havs could very well be a cap cut next year and Whit is older than Yoda. This was a great year to reload. And to there point that they wouldn't have gotten playing time? As opposed to all the playing time Harris and Skowronek and Brown IV and Garrett will get? Or Hopkins and Jefferson got last year? They redshirt everyone. Anchrum was a redshirt. I'm not buying it.

They did add ST talent. And it was needed. Badly. But was it at the cost of the core 22 depth? Maybe, but STs better be good next year or this was a complete boondoggle

They boosted their run defense with their front 7 picks. They could be tough to run on next year.

They did zero to boost their pass rush. I hope Lewis stays healthy.

They added some explosives in Atwell, I pray he doesn't get broken in half.

I like Rochell if he can get coached up. He gets a redshirt. Love Brown 3. Just didn't expect it.

What would I have done with hindsight being what it is:

57. Creed Humphrey - the consensus #1 or #2 OC, and no injury concerns like Dickerson and scheme versatile? How is he not the pick. Leave Corbett at OG and move forward. If you are hellbent on a WR in the 3nd Terrance Marshall, is a size speed kid the Rams have never had and my top WR available.

103. Jabril Cox - he is twice the athlete Jones is, can cover anybody in the middle and fits the NFLs new style of LB. Both struggle taking on blocks, but Both are 230 lbs, both are good in pursuit. Cox is just so much more dynamic against the pass.

117. Bobby Brown - Im good with this pick

130. Robert Rochell - again, maybe early, but if you can coach him, I'm good with this pick

141. Imhir Smith-Marsette - He is plenty fast, does all the gadget stuff Atwell can, is a better returner and has the size to survive inside, outside, wherever.

174. Quincy Roche or Stone Forsythe - an all around balanced edge or a developmental OT trumps a 2nd DL IMO. Roche at least adds some pass rush juice.

233. Jake Funk or Kylin Hill - Hill is the better RB, Funk probably better ST. Take your pick.

249. Malik Herring - he replaces Brown IV as an inside outside DL. More pass rush juice, and can play the run

252. Dylan Moses - med redshirt him and maybe a year from now you have a steal. If not, you are not out anything.

And if the Rams took a RB with 2 left ACL tears, then a guys like Cox, Moses and even Hamilcar Rashed Jr should have been on the table. Overall I think this draft hinges on if Atwell becomes something more than a gadget. I think they reached on some, but again, I said earlier last week that draft boards would be all over the place and it seems they were.

Anyhow, thanks for a great draft season everyone. Hope you all enjoyed the posts this year.

 

[Giles]

In what way did Blythe not work out last year?

The OL probably performed better against GB than the DL did. The OL as a whole was solid last year.

If AD doesn't get hurt and our defense shows up that's a different game.

Other than being by far the worst starter on the offense last year and single handedly destroying plays/drives almost every game. I guess Blythe worked out.....

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

All this says to me is that scouting and evaluating talent is extremely hard. Which kinda lends to his point in my opinion. If professional and scouts and gms can only get it right 50 percent of the time , why do all of us armchair GM's (myself included) think we have the answers? 90 percent of us only know these players based off of someone else's big board. Guarantee you almost none of us are scouring through hundreds of hours of game film or have any idea of what to even look for if we do watch the 4 or 5 video clips of a prospect on youtube.

Also, us fans tend to be far more scrutinous about GM misses than our own. The same people lambasting the Rams for not picking creed Humphrey are probably forgetting that Blythe outperformed most or all of the rookie centers from last year, for example.

I guess by yours and Philly’s take we shouldn’t have an opinion or get excited about the NFL draft because none of us are actual NFL GMs.

Maybe the league should keep it private and the picks shouldn’t be announced until training camp and the order should be hidden because ppl like Philly will get upset if someone doesn’t like the picks or has the audacity to think that they could actually make good picks or even better picks than the GM did in some rounds.

This entire topic is freaking inane. This is a fan forum where people express their opinions. If someone cannot tolerate or is offended by other people’s opinions then this is not the place for them to be, especially during the draft.

 

[Dodgersrf]

In what way did Blythe not work out last year?

The OL probably performed better against GB than the DL did. The OL as a whole was solid last year.

If AD doesn't get hurt and our defense shows up that's a different game.

If you found Blythe’s play acceptable, that's fine.
I, on the other hand, didn't.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

If you found Blythe’s play acceptable, that's fine.
I, on the other hand, didn't

The Rams signed Blythe to a one year deal in 2020 and only wanted him on the cheap this year. That tells us all we need to know to confirm what we all saw. Blythe wasn’t very good.