What Grade Do The Rams Get For This Draft?

[jrry32]

In other words everybody makes mistakes but Jrry

My point is that nobody is infallible. I'm not. NFL teams aren't. I take the time to watch these players, so I'm going to stick to my opinions. Telling me that NFL teams disagree doesn't make any difference to me. We'll see whether I'm right or wrong in the long run.

 

[André]

If you had told me before the draft we would get Oko and Kiser I would have been happy.

I'll take it.

 

[DR RAM]

Incomplete, until I see how they play, but we ended up with pretty good value on a lot of those picks.

 

[PhillyRam]

Joseph Noteboom gets a B+

Brian Allen gets a C+

John Franklin-Myers gets a C-

Micah Kiser gets a B-

Ogbonnia Okoronkwo gets an A+

John Kelly gets an A

Jamil Demby gets an A+

Sebastian Joseph gets a C

Trevon Young gets a C

Travin Howard gets a C+

Justin Lawler gets a C+

Overall? I'd give them a B-. They really missed on some picks, in my honest opinion; not getting Shaquem Griffin, Duke Ejiofor, or Jeff Holland hurts. Overall, though, they made some good picks (I've raved about Demby, Kelly. and Obo, and Kiser and Noteboom are growing on me), and my grades are not the end-be-all.

Nobody took Holland so maybe there was a reason they passed 11 times...

And tough to grade the selections past roubd 5 because those guys are long shots.... anyone they would take there would be long shots. So those picks have a ceiling if you are grading the player himself as a C

 

[OldSchool]

My point is that nobody is infallible. I'm not. NFL teams aren't. I take the time to watch these players, so I'm going to stick to my opinions. Telling me that NFL teams disagree doesn't make any difference to me. We'll see whether I'm right or wrong in the long run.

I knew what you mean and was having fun. The teams though have teams of guys watching thed tape and then guys like Kroner and Wade making decisions on which lineman or linebacker etc. Time will indeed tell so no point in getting upset. My only thing after the draft is addressing needs and while we might not like the individual picks it hard to deny that the Rams addressed needs.

 

[Ramit]

I don’t grade drafts anymore but if I had to guess I’d say in 5 years we will look back and see this as a D.

Lots of role players and maybe no starters let alone pro bowlers. More help is with depth now players.

But we will see.

I would ask you to take into consideration the fact that the horns got Cooks for the 1st and Peters for the 2nd. Remember that when you say that we didn't get any pro-bowlers lol

 

[bubbaramfan]

Most in this draft class were not drafted to start immediately, but to compete with current bench players and make the bottom of the roster better.
Noteboom, Allen and Demby will compete with DWilliams, Neary and Dunn. LB will be very competitive also. More bodies to compete on the edge. Kelly will beat out JDavis?

Whoever ends up on the 53, this draft class will make the Rams better at the bottom of the roster.

 

[ReekofRams]

The Rams drafted Tony Banks in the 2nd round. Nobody drafted Kurt Warner.

But who of us thought the Rams should take Warner instead?

 

[jrry32]

But who of us thought the Rams should take Warner instead?

A very smart person.

 

[Rainram]

Not too shabby, especially when you consider 86 players went before they had a shot at one.

Draft: B
FA: A

Entire Offseason: A

...Now I’m interested to see Demoff work some magic.

 

[bubbaramfan]

I get another "ouch" rammit?

Yer like a baby's diaper, full of shyt and always on my azz.:eek:

 

[Akrasian]

Not sure if this goes here but I love it. Anyway, I give it a B. Some reaches, some great values. Overall, should fill all the needs we had.

Hammond's math is wrong. They got Talib and Okoronkwo for a fifth and two 6ths, not just the two 6ths.

 

[DaveFan'51]

I'll give them a A-. Because the missed getting RB Rashaad Penny, who I really wanted! and the Hag's Drafted him!! But they did get Kiser who I also wanted and Obo!

 

[8to12]

Always cracks me up the complaints on Kiser and guys like him being a 2 down LB. What do people think happens when we go nickle or dime packages? They take pass rushers off the field? A run defending ILB is naturally the guy going to be taken off the field when it's obvious passing downs. We already have an ILB that can cover we needed a guy who could defend the run.

I like your point. And to add, most don't realize he had many sacks playing MLB at Virginia. He has more value the just a straight run defender. It's a bit naive to think that teams regularly run the ball on first and second down. Whatever LB is in there is going to have to defend the pass on any down unless you are getting the opponent into obvious pass situations like 2nd and 8, or 3rd and 10 on a regular basis.

 

[Steve808]

ROD brothers, when you factor in that our missing picks turned into Brandin Cooks, Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, I believe this was an "A" off season. I like that we addressed O line and edge players. Would have loved Shaquim Griffin instead of him getting drafted by the sea hags but overall I think Snead and McVay did a great job and I can't wait until the season begins.

Just curious, how many of our draftees do you all think will stick to the 53 man roster?

 

[den-the-coach]

Evan Silva's Rams Draft Grade: B+

[www.rotoworld.com]

Los Angeles Rams

3. (89) TCU OT Joseph Noteboom
4. (111) Michigan State C Brian Allen
4. (135) Stephen F. Austin DE John Franklin-Myers
5. (147) Virginia ILB Micah Kiser
5. (160) Oklahoma OLB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo
6. (176) Tennessee RB John Kelly
6. (192) Maine OG Jamil Demby
6. (195) Rutgers DT Sebastian Joseph
6. (205) Louisville OLB Trevon Young
7. (231) TCU LB/S Travin Howard
7. (244) SMU OLB Justin Lawler

Overview: Brandin Cooks, Marcus Peters, and Aqib Talib should be included in this class after the Rams acquired them for 2018 picks. Noteboom, Allen, and Demby look like long-term backups on the line. GM Les Snead took four day-three shots on pass rushers in Franklin-Myers, Okoronkwo, Young, and Lawler. Kiser was a consistent playmaker in college and is a well-above-par athlete. He will push for snaps right away following Alec Ogletree’s departure. Kelly is better than in-place backup RB Malcolm Brown, Joseph will compete for a rotational role, and Howard has the skill set to play nickel/dime linebacker, an increasingly valued position. I don’t think the Rams will get a ton of year-one impact from their rookies, but proven high-impact veterans Cooks, Peters, and Talib make this haul a strong one.

Grade: B+

 

[Mackeyser]

I like that all these guys have the potential to learn and step up.

We’re not relying on raw rookies to win or lose.

We have vets and can rely on next man up as every successful team does.

 

[Ramit]

ROD brothers, when you factor in that our missing picks turned into Brandin Cooks, Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, I believe this was an "A" off season. I like that we addressed O line and edge players....overall I think Snead and McVay did a great job and I can't wait until the season begins.

I think that this most accurately describes my view on this year's draft! Especially considering that we added 3 probowl/all pro caliber players in Suh, Peters, and Talib along with another on the cusp of those honors in Cooks during free agency. Adding those names to Donald, Brockers, Johnson, Joyner, Gurly, Goff, Woods, and Cupp helped to propel their respective units from very good to elite. McSnead, in my opinion, did a spectacular job addressing the remaining roster needs. Obviously, the offense will live or die with the o-line which is why I loved the o-line picks. Those youngsters hopefully can get an entire season or two of learning and competition under their belts before having to start, but, even if that doesn't end up being the case due to injury or free agency, at least now we have options. Adding to the lb corps was a must and I really think that the horns got great value with a couple of picks and great project potential with the others. My hope is that Kiser learns fast and can help fortify the unit against the run this year and add some rush potential from the Mike position. Also, hopefully Okoronkwo can give the horns what Quinn and Barwin couldnt. Specifically, consistency in rush and contain. I have little doubt that Wade Phillips would give his stamp of approval unless it was warranted.
Optimistic? Probably, but that's my forte. Realistically i understand that those two becoming elite may be a long shot but anything is possible especially given the phenomenal coaching staff. Getting another set of legs to keep Gurly fresh was a smooth move as well. I love the idea of Gurly running hard deep into the post season and it's icing on the cake to know that this new guy isnt a one trick pony either. Adding another rb with the capability to catch and run routes was sublime. If he pans out as serviceable at least defenses will still have to play honest no matter the down and distance or personnel. I am truly stoked and can't wait for the first camp reports to start trickling in here at ROD.

 

[Ranma]

C+ B-

No team goes into a draft trying to do poorly, so I'm not going to give it credit for doing its job to address needs and get talent. I've defended Snead when others wanted him gone in the aftermath of the firing of Fisher and I generally give him the benefit of the doubt, but he was off the reservation today with his trades. I'm grading solely on what the Rams did with the draft picks available to them today and was considering a B- C+ grade as well. Their grade for the off-season is a separate matter and would arguably garner an A or maybe even A+ rating.

As much as I like Snead, he's far from perfect. He traded this year's second-round pick for the privilege of renting Sammy Watkins for a single season and getting a compensatory pick in Round 3, which to be fair, is like a late second-round selection. While I also like having Brandin Cooks on the team, acquiring him for a our first-round selection without having a contract extension in place repeats the same mistake of putting the team in a position to overpay or again risk renting another WR for a single season before losing him but this time at a greater cost of draft capital. Cooks is better than Calvin Ridley, but the team might have been better off just selecting Ridley and be assured of paying him on a rookie-scale contract over the next few years, especially since we only really need his speed and polished route-running to maintain the same level of success we had this past season. This would also have bought us time until a star WR becomes available in free agency and McVay's offense is attractive enough to lure such big-ticket commodities, especially if the Rams have to pay a premium price monetarily.

This was a deep draft and, to me, the cut-off for trading down was the 6th round. Trading 2 sixth-round selections for what ended up being the lowest sixth-round selection of the bunch and a seventh-round pick was a waste of assets. In fact, Snead would have been better off just acquiring the last pick in the draft by trading next year's pick in the 7th round to trade a sixth-round pick and that "Mr. Irrelevant" pick to acquire the same haul without having to sacrifice the 20th pick in Round 6 for 2 picks in the last round including the very last pick in the whole draft.


View: https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/990309101484703746


The Rams ended up with a decent haul and things would be viewed in a different light had we shuffled the order of selection of our top 4 picks, but my primary criticism is about bypassing opportunity to maximize value. Overall, I like the character and intelligence of this year's draft class for the Rams and I like that they addressed areas of need while also looking towards the future with their developmental picks, but again, these are things that should be taken for granted for a competent front office.

Joseph Noteboom was not on my radar, but after reading up about him and based on the team's comments about him, I think he's a solid selection as a developmental player who shouldn't be that far away from contributing on an offensive line that is in need of an injection of youth.

I actually like having Brian Allen on the team but taking him so high in the 4th round was a reach given his lack of measurables and the fact that another C prospect wasn't taken until a full round later and that prospect (Scott Quessenberry) was generally rated higher by draft gurus. Yeah, I get that each team has their own draft board, but there is something to be said for consensus opinion in determining value. After Frank Ragnow, Billy Price and James Daniel were selected with top-40 picks, it feels like we had to settle especially with Martinas Rankin taken before the Rams had a chance to be on the clock.

I'm personally not a big fan of either Ogbonnia Okoronkwo or Micah Kiser, but they each represent good value in the 5th round while addressing our primary area of need. I'm also not that high on John Kelly, myself, but I like the fit and he represents good value in the 6th round as an understudy for Todd Gurley, so I can't really complain about that particular selection.

I really like Jamil Demby and was relieved and happy to get him as a sixth-rounder as well. He could conceivably be better than Jamon Brown and, if both of them worked out, maybe they each occupy a G spot on the O-line with Rodger Saffold moving to RT to replace eventual FA Rob Havenstein.

Sebastian Joseph represents an intriguing developmental project on the D-line but names like Jack Cichy, Jordan Thomas and Ade Aruna seem like more attractive options as more known quantities. Trevon Young is a high-upside proposition but his injury issues seem more risky than Cichy's by a significant margin Yeah, Cichy was not available by the time Young was selected but that goes back to Snead being trade-happy with picks that would have been high enough.

Travin Howard sounds like a possible find at least for the specials teams unit, but I question whether it was worth trading down from a sixth-round pick for him when a future seventh-round pick or two might have done the job.

Justin Lawler sounds like a good guy to have try out for the team but he's not someone who would be terribly missed at all had we not drafted him.


Edit: Upon further reflection, I went with the more favorable grade because of Snead's performance in both trading up and down into the 5th round to secure 2 selections when we didn't have any in that round beforehand, which were arguably his best picks from a value perspective and addressing needs.

The whole haul itself is maybe middle-of-the-road compared to other teams', but that maneuvering allowed us to elevate into such a position with our limited assets to start off with. Snead still went overboard with his wheeling and dealing afterward but securing good value in the higher round gets more credit than squandering opportunities in the 6th and 7th rounds detracts. Although, his reach in the 4th round would argue otherwise.

 

[Merlin]

I actually like having Brian Allen on the team but taking him so high in the 4th round was a reach given his lack of measurables and the fact that another C prospect wasn't taken until a full round later and that prospect (Scott Quessenberry) was generally rated higher by draft gurus. Yeah, I get that each team has their own draft board, but there is something to be said for consensus opinion in determining value. After Frank Ragnow, Billy Price and James Daniel were selected with top-40 picks, it feels like we had to settle especially with Martinas Rankin taken before the Rams had a chance to be on the clock.

Centers are a weird bunch man. They don't need to have huge measurables, length, size, speed, etc. Lot of guys end up there for that reason, but the one thing they can't do is get pushed around or back into their QB's face which is why I like Allen.

Of all these picks Center has a nice road ahead in terms of opportunity. Allen is physical, he's a phone booth mauler which can work just fine in the middle. Oh and here's a treat for you dudes, some film of him vs Rutgers and I'll give you one guess who he's linin up on?


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHX_owr4e3w