Wagoner: what to watch for on day 3

Rams need to find pass-catchers for Jared Goff on Day 3

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/28862/rams-need-to-find-pass-catchers-for-jared-goff-on-day-three

LOS ANGELES — After sending their three Day 2 picks to the Tennessee Titans in the trade that allowed them to move from No. 15 to No. 1 in the NFL draft, the Los Angeles Rams sat out the festivities on Friday.

On Saturday morning, the Rams will be back in action with four picks on the draft’s third and final day, two in the fourth round and two more in the sixth round. Barring trades, that will bring the Rams draft to a close.

Here’s a look at four things to watch for the Rams on Saturday:

1. Where’s the weapons?: As the Rams sat out the second and third round, they watched as top receivers such as Ohio State’s Michael Thomas, Oklahoma’s Sterling Shepard and Pittsburgh’s Tyler Boyd and Arkansas tight end Hunter Henry went off the board. Although it was unlikely any of them would slip to Day 3, the Rams are still on the hunt for help for quarterback Jared Goff. As it stands, the Rams have just Kenny Britt and Tavon Austin among consistent contributors returning at wideout and Lance Kendricks as the most productive tight end on the roster. General manager Les Snead has said that pass-catchers will be a priority and that adding more weapons for Goff will be something on their mind with their final four picks. Of course, the value of the player has to align with the Rams’ pick but there does appear to be some good players left at receiver and tight end. Among the names to keep an eye on as the third day begins are Cincinnati receiver Chris Moore, Clemson wideout Charone Peake, Colorado State receiver Rashard Higgins, UCLA receiver Jordan Payton, South Carolina wideout Pharoh Cooper and tight end Jerell Adams and Western Kentucky tight end Tyler Higbee.

2. Searching for safeties: In a draft that was viewed as having an unusual amount of good safeties, most of the top of that group was picked pretty clean on Friday. The Rams lost starting free safety Rodney McLeod to the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency and while there are some in house options, they might have to get creative to make it work as none are proven playing the role that McLeod did. The Rams could still sign free agent Donte Whitner and are waiting for his price to come in at a place where they are more comfortable but they also wouldn’t mind landing a safety who could develop as McLeod once did. LSU’s Jalen Mills, Duke’s Jeremy Cash, Miami’s Deon Bush and Ohio State’s Tyvis Powell are among the safeties still available.

3. Finding kicking competition: The Rams are searching for a kicker to compete with Greg Zuerlein for the job and currently don’t have another one on the roster. Florida State’s Roberto Aguayo was clearly the best choice in this draft and went in the second round on Friday. There aren’t many others that are considered draftable though so the Rams will likely try to find their guy via undrafted free agency as they once did with punter Johnny Hekker.

4. Whither Foles: Quarterbacks didn’t really come off the board in bulk on Friday with Christian Hackenberg going in the second round and then a long wait until Jacoby Brissett and Cody Kessler went at the end of Round 3. That’s not exactly what the Rams had in mind when they hoped to find a taker for quarterback Nick Foles in trade. So the Rams will have to wait until Saturday to attempt to find a partner for a potential deal. With guys like Michigan State’s Connor Cook, Arkansas’ Brandon Allen, Ohio State’s Cardale Jones and Stanford’s Kevin Hogan still available, the Rams will have to wait to see if teams targeting quarterbacks miss on those guys before potentially trying to send a pick over in exchange. At best, the Rams are hoping to land a sixth-round pick but more likely are looking at a seventh-round choice. It’s also possible a pick they get won’t be in this year’s draft.