Rams have plenty of draft options for O-line

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Rams have plenty of draft options for O-line
5 hours ago • By Jim Thomas

Iowa’s Brandon Scherff is widely regarded as the best offensive lineman in the draft. He lifts weights in mass quantities, shrugs off knee injuries as if there were insect bites, and excels at run-blocking.

With all that in mind, he seems to be a logical choice for the Rams — if he’s still on the board — at No. 10 overall.

“A guy like Scherff is a lot like Zack Martin,” said an NFC scout, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “You plug him in, you put him at guard, and you’ve probably got yourself a hell of a rookie.”

Martin went from college tackle at Notre Dame to All-Pro status at guard as a rookie last season for the Dallas Cowboys. DeMarco Murray wouldn’t have gotten all of his league-leading 1,845 yards rushing without him.

But not everyone is aboard the Scherff train as we approach next week’s draft.

“I wouldn’t touch him early,” said an AFC scout. “Now he’s an NFL starter, but is he that much of a difference-maker? Hell no.”

This particular scout feels that Scherff isn’t that much better of a prospect than Missouri’s Mitch Morse, who played tackle last year in college and also projects as a guard in the NFL. (Some teams are also looking at Morse at center.)

Anyway, back to our AFC scout: “Unless it’s an elite left tackle, you can find good enough blockers later.”

Adding to the Scherff uncertainty is the fact that there have been 12 confirmed predraft visits by offensive linemen to Rams Park this month. But Scherff wasn’t one of them — though he could’ve come and gone without detection.

Or coach Jeff Fisher could be disguising his interest in Scherff by not inviting him to Earth City. But Scherff’s apparent absence is unusual since the vast majority of players taken in the first and second rounds by the Rams under Fisher and general manager Les Snead have been those who made predraft visits.

Whether it’s Scherff or not, with the help-wanted sign posted at three of five positions on the offensive line — center, right guard and right tackle — the Rams have plenty of options in a well-stocked pool of blockers.

One intriguing prospect, and probably the best left tackle prospect this year, is Stanford’s Andrus Peat, the son of former St. Louis football Cardinals offensive guard Todd Peat.

Peat has great size (6-7, 313) and athleticism. He looks the part. But …

“I don’t like him as well as the first three,” says Rick Venturi, former Rams assistant coach and current NFL radio analyst. “I don’t think he’s as tough. He’s got a lot of ability but doesn’t have that nasty temperament like (Ereck) Flowers or (La’el) Collins.

By “first three,” Venturi was referring to Scherff, Flowers of Miami (Fla.) and Collins of Louisiana State. He regards them as the three blue-chip offensive linemen in this year’s draft.

Flowers excels at run blocking and is strong, as evidenced by his 37 repetitions in the 225-pound bench press. “I love the weight room,” Flowers said.

Venturi calls both Scherff and Collins “vicious” blockers and smart players. As much as he likes Flowers, Venturi believes he could be better suited to right tackle in the NFL, as opposed to left tackle.

And that’s part of the O-line dilemma this year. Other than Peat, almost all of the top prospects don’t necessarily project as left tackles. Similar to Scherff, many scouts and draft analysts think Collins’ best position at the next level is guard.

As for Peat, well, he’s heard the finesse player/not mean enough rap for a while.

“I beg to differ on that,” Peat said at the NFL Scouting Combine two months ago. “I feel like I’m a tough player, so I don’t know what to say to that.”

Peat, Collins and Flowers all have made predraft stops at Rams Park. So have Florida tackle D.J. Humphries, Florida State center Cameron Erving and Pittsburgh tackle T.J. Clemmings, among others.

All are considered first-round talent, and mock drafts have most situated anywhere from No. 10 overall to the bottom of the round. Chalk that up to different teams, different schemes and obviously different opinions in the scouts’ eyes.

Clemmings is considered a terrific athlete, with more than enough ability to be a successful NFL left tackle. But he began his college career as a defensive lineman, and once he switched to offense played right tackle.

“When they put him on the left side in the Senior Bowl practices, he was just lost,” Venturi said. “He was completely lost.”

Humphries of Florida is the kind of player the Rams have leaned toward draft-wise during the Fisher-Snead regime: lots of potential, upside and athletic ability — but very raw.

He played between 280 and 295 pounds his last couple of seasons at Florida, too light by NFL standards to play offensive tackle. He has a hard time putting on and retaining weight, so it was a surprise when he checked in at 307 pounds at the Combine.

“I was really just trying to let the world see that I can be 300-plus because I haven’t been that in college,” Humphries said. “That’s very vital for the NFL. I can’t play in the NFL at 290-something.”

Venturi, for one, thinks Humphries looks and works out better than he plays.

“He has everything to be a left tackle,” Venturi said. “Terrific athlete in the workouts. Except I don’t see it on tape. I have not seen production out of that guy.”
Venturi likes Flowers. I don’t like him. Maybe he sees something?