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Will Rams jump back into WR pool?
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_ed86cfb2-fc97-5695-898f-7bb62a479c64.html
Since coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead set up shop at Rams Park, they have taken a wide receiver in the second and fourth rounds in the 2012 draft — Brian Quick and Chris Givens.
The following spring, they traded up to No. 8 overall for Tavon Austin and then doubled-up on West Virginia Mountaineers by adding Stedman Bailey in Round 3.
Last year they passed on the position, unfortunately for them, in what turned out to be one of the most impressive rookie classes at WR in recent NFL history.
“In the last five years, there’s been an average of 13 wide receivers that go in the first three rounds,” said NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock. “And an average of 3.8 in the first round.
“Now, more importantly, last year’s wideout group was historically tremendous. All five first-round picks were highly productive.”
Three of the first-rounders — Odell Beckham Jr., Mike Evans, and Kelvin Benjamin — topped 1,000 yards. A fourth, No. 4 overall pick Sammy Watkins, fell just short with 982 yards for the Buffalo Bills
By way of comparison, the Rams haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Torry Holt (1,189) in 2007 under Scott Linehan. In fact, the Rams haven’t even had an 800-yard receiver since then.
So with a perpetually lagging offense, a new offensive coordinator (Frank Cignetti), and new quarterbacks coach (Chris Weinke), is this the year the Rams dive back into the pool?
It’s pretty clear that Fisher isn’t a huge fan of taking wideouts high in the draft. Taking Austin at No. 8 two years ago was more exception than rule. The Rams have four of their top five at the position back in 2015 in Austin, Bailey, Givens, and Quick.
But Quick may not be ready until the start of training camp after suffering substantial shoulder injuries requiring surgery at Kansas City last October. Givens played sparingly. Austin and Bailey were OK, but have yet to approximate their gaudy numbers from college.
And the team’s most productive wide receiver from a year ago, Kenny Britt, is an unrestricted free agent. By all accounts, the team is working hard to re-sign Britt, but it’s not a done deal. If Britt should slip away in free agency, which starts Tuesday, there will be a greater sense of urgency to add a pass-catching playmaker to the mix.
Although there isn’t as much depth in this year’s draft at wide receiver, it still shapes up as a good class. Alabama’s Amari Cooper, West Virginia’s Kevin White and Louisville’s DeVante Parker all shape up as top 20 picks.
Even with all that in mind, we didn’t approach our first Post-Dispatch mock draft of 2015 intending to take a wide receiver. The objectives were quarterback or offensive line.
But in what now seems a no-brainer, Jameis Winston of Florida State went No. 1 overall to Tampa Bay. The New York Jets, who are wobbly at quarterback and love making big splashes under owner Woody Johnson, kept Marcus Mariota out of the Rams’ neighborhood by taking the Oregon quarterback at No. 6 overall.
At No. 9 overall, the New York Giants took Iowa’s Brandon Scherff off the board — he’s generally considered the best offensive lineman in the draft.
All of the top edge rushers were gone — Nebraska’s Randy Gregory, Florida’s Dante Fowler, and Missouri’s Shane Ray — so the Rams couldn’t even collect another pass rusher.
So our Rams pick at No. 10 overall turned out to be a wide receiver — White. (Cooper went to Oakland at No. 4 overall.)
Not many knew who White was last August, as West Virginia prepared for its 2014 season. He had spent his first two years of eligibility at Lackawanna College, a junior college in Scranton, Pa.
His was OK but nothing special his first season at West Virginia with 35 catches for 507 yards and five touchdowns in 2013. But 2014 was something else. White started the season by logging seven-consecutive 100-yard receiving games — a school record.
In an Oct. 8 game against Texas, he set a single-game school record with 16 catches. When all was said and done, White had 109 catches for 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns, and was a Biletnikoff Award finalist.
How did this happen?
“Motivation,” he said. “My junior year I put bad film out there. That’s not the kind of receiver, the kind of player I am. Going into my senior year I just put everything on the line and did what I had to do.”
Fast forward to the NFL Scouting Combine three weeks ago in Indianapolis.
“Kevin White’s my No. 1 wideout,” Mayock said on the eve of the Combine. “I think if he runs a 4.5 or better, he’s a top 10 pick.”
White did much better. His sizzling 4.35 in the 40 tied for third-best among wide receivers at the Combine. He was also among the position leaders in the bench press, broad jump, three-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle and 60-yard shuttle.
And at 6-3, 215 he has the size that everyone seems to be looking for at the position these days.
White feels the wide receiver Class of 2015 is more than capable of following in the footsteps of its heralded predecessor a year ago.
“We’re all confident,” White said. “We always talk about it. There’s not doubt in our minds that we can do the same thing as last year’s draft class.”
Some mocks have Oakland taking White at No. 4, making him the first wide receiver drafted — ahead of Cooper, which is how White thinks it should be.
“I don’t feel any receiver can do what I can do,” he said. “Whether it’s blocking, creating space, taking a screen to the house. I do it all. Not saying that to be cocky, just confident. I feel like I’m one of a kind.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_ed86cfb2-fc97-5695-898f-7bb62a479c64.html
Since coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead set up shop at Rams Park, they have taken a wide receiver in the second and fourth rounds in the 2012 draft — Brian Quick and Chris Givens.
The following spring, they traded up to No. 8 overall for Tavon Austin and then doubled-up on West Virginia Mountaineers by adding Stedman Bailey in Round 3.
Last year they passed on the position, unfortunately for them, in what turned out to be one of the most impressive rookie classes at WR in recent NFL history.
“In the last five years, there’s been an average of 13 wide receivers that go in the first three rounds,” said NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock. “And an average of 3.8 in the first round.
“Now, more importantly, last year’s wideout group was historically tremendous. All five first-round picks were highly productive.”
Three of the first-rounders — Odell Beckham Jr., Mike Evans, and Kelvin Benjamin — topped 1,000 yards. A fourth, No. 4 overall pick Sammy Watkins, fell just short with 982 yards for the Buffalo Bills
By way of comparison, the Rams haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Torry Holt (1,189) in 2007 under Scott Linehan. In fact, the Rams haven’t even had an 800-yard receiver since then.
So with a perpetually lagging offense, a new offensive coordinator (Frank Cignetti), and new quarterbacks coach (Chris Weinke), is this the year the Rams dive back into the pool?
It’s pretty clear that Fisher isn’t a huge fan of taking wideouts high in the draft. Taking Austin at No. 8 two years ago was more exception than rule. The Rams have four of their top five at the position back in 2015 in Austin, Bailey, Givens, and Quick.
But Quick may not be ready until the start of training camp after suffering substantial shoulder injuries requiring surgery at Kansas City last October. Givens played sparingly. Austin and Bailey were OK, but have yet to approximate their gaudy numbers from college.
And the team’s most productive wide receiver from a year ago, Kenny Britt, is an unrestricted free agent. By all accounts, the team is working hard to re-sign Britt, but it’s not a done deal. If Britt should slip away in free agency, which starts Tuesday, there will be a greater sense of urgency to add a pass-catching playmaker to the mix.
Although there isn’t as much depth in this year’s draft at wide receiver, it still shapes up as a good class. Alabama’s Amari Cooper, West Virginia’s Kevin White and Louisville’s DeVante Parker all shape up as top 20 picks.
Even with all that in mind, we didn’t approach our first Post-Dispatch mock draft of 2015 intending to take a wide receiver. The objectives were quarterback or offensive line.
But in what now seems a no-brainer, Jameis Winston of Florida State went No. 1 overall to Tampa Bay. The New York Jets, who are wobbly at quarterback and love making big splashes under owner Woody Johnson, kept Marcus Mariota out of the Rams’ neighborhood by taking the Oregon quarterback at No. 6 overall.
At No. 9 overall, the New York Giants took Iowa’s Brandon Scherff off the board — he’s generally considered the best offensive lineman in the draft.
All of the top edge rushers were gone — Nebraska’s Randy Gregory, Florida’s Dante Fowler, and Missouri’s Shane Ray — so the Rams couldn’t even collect another pass rusher.
So our Rams pick at No. 10 overall turned out to be a wide receiver — White. (Cooper went to Oakland at No. 4 overall.)
Not many knew who White was last August, as West Virginia prepared for its 2014 season. He had spent his first two years of eligibility at Lackawanna College, a junior college in Scranton, Pa.
His was OK but nothing special his first season at West Virginia with 35 catches for 507 yards and five touchdowns in 2013. But 2014 was something else. White started the season by logging seven-consecutive 100-yard receiving games — a school record.
In an Oct. 8 game against Texas, he set a single-game school record with 16 catches. When all was said and done, White had 109 catches for 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns, and was a Biletnikoff Award finalist.
How did this happen?
“Motivation,” he said. “My junior year I put bad film out there. That’s not the kind of receiver, the kind of player I am. Going into my senior year I just put everything on the line and did what I had to do.”
Fast forward to the NFL Scouting Combine three weeks ago in Indianapolis.
“Kevin White’s my No. 1 wideout,” Mayock said on the eve of the Combine. “I think if he runs a 4.5 or better, he’s a top 10 pick.”
White did much better. His sizzling 4.35 in the 40 tied for third-best among wide receivers at the Combine. He was also among the position leaders in the bench press, broad jump, three-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle and 60-yard shuttle.
And at 6-3, 215 he has the size that everyone seems to be looking for at the position these days.
White feels the wide receiver Class of 2015 is more than capable of following in the footsteps of its heralded predecessor a year ago.
“We’re all confident,” White said. “We always talk about it. There’s not doubt in our minds that we can do the same thing as last year’s draft class.”
Some mocks have Oakland taking White at No. 4, making him the first wide receiver drafted — ahead of Cooper, which is how White thinks it should be.
“I don’t feel any receiver can do what I can do,” he said. “Whether it’s blocking, creating space, taking a screen to the house. I do it all. Not saying that to be cocky, just confident. I feel like I’m one of a kind.”
