Rams News Recap: July 1

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Finding the Fits: Rams hoping Jamon Brown provides ‘iron’ at RG
By Rob Rang | The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com
July 2, 2015 1:34 pm ET

http://www.cbssports.com

This is part of a series — Finding the Fits — in which NFLDraftScout.com will review the more intriguing picks made during the 2015 NFL Draft. The goal is to identify one relatively unheralded player per team who appears to be a good schematic fit and, therefore, more likely to be a surprise contributor early in his pro career.

St. Louis’ best fit: OG Jamon Brown, Louisville, No. 72 overall

Fans in St. Louis know better than most that it doesn’t matter how much talent a quarterback or running back possesses if he isn’t surrounded by equal ability (and durability) on the offensive line. Struggles up front contributed to Sam Bradford’s failure to live up to expectations as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2010 draft and frustration for former Rams’ star Steven Jackson, who rarely was provided clear rushing lanes to take full advantage of his talent.

As such, while optimism is high in St. Louis for new quarterback Nick Foles and potential star rookie running back Todd Gurley, there remain concerns about how quickly an offensive line expected to field three new starters in 2015 — including two rookies — can gel.

Unfamiliarity will be an issue, especially on the right side where the Rams hope to plug in second rounder Rob Havenstein at tackle and slide third rounder Jamon Brown inside to guard. Talent and schematic fit, however, won’t be.

While Havenstein is viewed as somewhat of a “plug and play” at right tackle due to his 42 career starts at run-heavy Wisconsin, Brown is more of a projection as only his very first start (of 40) came at guard and that was on the left side back in 2011. That didn’t stop the Rams from plugging the 6-foot-4, 323 pounder with the starters during OTAs.

Like Havenstein (and last year’s No. 2 overall pick Greg Robinson), Brown’s game is based on power. He’s athletic enough to get to the second level, boasting surprising initial quickness for a man of his size but isn’t light enough on his feet to handle today’s speed rushers, which is he ranked low among tackles on NFLDraftScout.com’s rankings.

Brown is at his best simply mauling defenders at the point of attack, utilizing his long arms (34 3/8″winking smiley and leg drive to generate movement – making him a better fit at guard in the NFL in a run-heavy, power-based scheme rather than the relatively finesse approach most teams expect from tackles in today’s pass-happy attacks.

Fortunately for St. Louis, Brown has a proven track record of handling challenges. He initially signed with Louisville as a defensive tackle but he capably handled the switch to the other side when injuries along the offensive line forced him to start at left guard after only a handful of practices there. Further, he stood out at the East-West Shrine Game after earning All-ACC recognition after the past two seasons.

Brown is certainly facing a challenge in St. Louis where he’s competing against veteran Brandon Washington for the spot vacated when the Rams elected not to re-sign Davin Joseph. Further, he’s receiving a baptism by fire by practicing against arguably the league’s most gifted defensive line.

“My motto has always been, ‘Iron sharpens iron,’ so you want to have a lot of good guys around you to be able to push you and kind of make you play to the best of your ability all the time,” Brown said. “When you do that, everyone gets better. So iron sharpens iron is the motto.”

Jamon Brown started out as a defensive end at Louisville. Jamon Brown started out as a defensive end at Louisville. (USATSI)

Other thoughts on the Rams’ 2015 draft class:

The Rams are expected to take things slow with Gurley, who, of course, was unable to work out for scouts prior to the draft due to his recovery from surgery to repair a torn ACL. Once he gets onto the field, however, it won’t take long for Gurley to prove why I’ve consistently compared him to Seattle’s All-Pro Marshawn Lynch. Gurley possesses even better straight-line speed than the Seahawks’ star and plays with a brand of physicality and power that could rightly be described as “Beast Mode.” Because the Rams are likely to ease Gurley onto the field and may initially struggle with cohesion along the offensive line, he may not enjoy the immediate impact in St. Louis that fellow first round running back Melvin Gordon could see playing with established quarterback Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers. Gurley has the look of a future All-Pro, however, and provides Fisher with the Eddie George-like battering “Ram” that helped him enjoy such success with the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans.

By investing the No. 10 overall pick in Gurley and half of the club’s other eight picks in big, brawling offensive linemen, Fisher and general manager Les Snead certainly made improving the running game a priority. Given that the Rams have finished just 19th in the league in yards per carry average since Fisher took over, that wasn’t a surprise. There is no question that Havenstein, Brown, Andrew Donnal and Cody Wichmann have the potential to improve the Rams’ rushing attack but each is relatively slow-footed in pass protection, which could make Foles a sitting duck against the athletic fronts he’ll face in the hyper-aggressive NFC West.

While Foles does not possess ideal mobility to escape the pocket, he does have the height, football intelligence and enough arm talent to be successful as a starter if complemented by a strong running game and defense. That also summarizes Sean Mannion, the Rams’ second pick of the third round, as well. Mannion certainly looks and acts the part of a pro quarterback and his success against quality competition speaks for itself. He holds the Pac-12 record for career passing yards (13,600) and came from a pro-style attack also built around a commitment to the run, frequent quick screens and deep passes to counter when opponents cheated up to stop either. These traits make Mannion a potential future starting candidate in Fisher and new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti’s scheme. If he’s to make that happen, however, Mannion must speed up his delivery and improve the velocity of passes to the perimeter.

St. Louis’ 2015 draft class:

1st Round, No. 10 overall: RB Todd Gurley, Georgia

2nd Round, No. 57 overall: OT Rob Havenstein, Wisconsin

3rd Round, No. 72 overall: OG Jamon Brown, Louisville

3rd Round, No. 89 overall: QB Sean Mannion, Oregon State

4th Round, No. 119 overall: OL Andrew Donnal, Iowa

6th Round, No. 201 overall: WR Bud Sasser, Missouri

6th Round, No. 215 overall: OL Cody Wichmann, Fresno State

7th Round, No. 224 overall: ILB Bryce Hager, Baylor

7th Round, No. 227 overall: DE Martin Ifedi, Memphis

— Key Undrafted Free Agents Signed:

RB Malcolm Brown, Texas

DB Imoan Claiborne, Northwestern

DT Louis Trinca-Pasat, Iowa