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Chomsky: COVID-19 Has Exposed the US Under Trump as a “Failed State”
The label “failed state” has started to fit the U.S. like a glove as the COVID-19 national health crisis continues to reveal the structural flaws and weaknesses of the United States, argues world–renowned public intellectual Noam Chomsky in this exclusive interview for Truthout. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to exact a high price in human lives due to its caricaturish but highly dangerous response to the crisis. In the interview that follows, Chomsky also analyzes what’s behind Trump’s encouragement of the “anti-lockdown” protests, discusses the right-wing determination to destroy the U.S. Postal Service, and lays out his views on the electoral “lesser of two evils” principle.
C.J. Polychroniou: Noam, it is widely accepted by now that the U.S. coronavirus response not only was delayed, but remains mired in contradictions as Trump battles with scientists over policy. Moreover, the country as a whole was shown to be completely unprepared for a major health crisis. Are we talking here not simply of an incompetent administration but also of a failed state?
Noam Chomsky: Fifteen years ago, I wrote a book called Failed States, a common locution in the day, referring to states that are incapable of meeting the needs of citizens, in the most important case because of deep policy choices, and are a danger not only to their own citizens but the world. The prime example was the United States. Extensive evidence was reviewed. That’s not of course the intended use of the phrase in the doctrinal system, just as “rogue state” means some enemy, not ourselves, the prime example.
I still stand by that judgment, which was not mine alone. A few years later, a Gallup/WIN international poll found that the U.S. is regarded as the greatest threat to world peace, no one else even close. And the severe threats of government policy to the domestic population, already quite apparent when the book appeared, became much clearer a year later when the housing bubble burst and the financial crisis ensued — along with Obama’s response: bail out the perpetrators, who became richer and more powerful than before, and forget about the congressional legislation that called for some help to the many who had lost their homes in corporate scams facilitated by the Clinton-Rubin-Summers deregulation extravaganza, extending the neoliberal assault on the population that took off under Reagan.
That’s a large part of the background for what finally brought us the Trump malignancy — which may, quite literally, doom human society on Earth. We’ve discussed elsewhere why this is no exaggeration. I hope that the basic facts and their dread import are well understood, and won’t review them here.
Trump has indeed hit America with a hammer blow — and much of the world as well, a matter we should not overlook. Just keeping to the current COVID-19 crisis, it is remarkable to see how little attention has been given to his sadistic assault against poor and suffering people around the world in pursuit of his goal of enhancing his electoral prospects.
There has been some attention to his extending his vicious attacks against refugees fleeing from misery and oppression, appealing to a deluded voter base that has been led to believe that refugees are the source of their suffering under the programs to which Trump is passionately committed.
“Incompetent” is not the right word for Trump’s malevolence, which turned serious problems in the U.S. into a devastating crisis.
But there is hardly a word about his attack against poor people in Africa, where unknown numbers will die thanks to his defunding of the World Health Organization (WHO), which has been protecting them from a wide range of diseases, now this new plague. Or about Palestinians in the occupied territories, victims of Israel’s racist contempt for their health and other basic needs, amplified by Trump’s defunding of their meager health, educational and support systems generally because — as he explained — they weren’t treating him with enough respect while he’s smashing them in the face.Trump’s withholding funds from the WHO was just the first step in his campaign to destroy the organization. The campaign provides real insight into the deeply rooted malevolence not only of Trump but of the gang he has collected around him, most of whom cower in silence (though some speak out), sometimes even outdoing the boss. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been in the forefront of demonizing the WHO in support of Trump’s increasingly desperate efforts to find a scapegoat for his terrible crimes against Americans. It doesn’t matter how many miserable people are slaughtered in Africa and elsewhere in the Global South as crucial WHO services are undermined. Just “shithole countries” anyway, as the Dear Leader has explained.
It is by now common understanding that the U.S. under Trump is a failed state that is a serious danger to the world. Diplomats speak in muted tones, not wanting to offend the raging beast in Washington who has unlimited power to destroy. But the meaning is clear when a “senior European official” says that “The U.S. administration is very fixated on the reelection campaign and on who can get blamed for this catastrophic covid-19 situation in the U.S. They are blaming WHO and China for it. Therefore it is very difficult to agree on a common language about the WHO.”
The “common language” in question has to do with a UN Security Council resolution that the Trump administration is blocking. The resolution calls for “a global ceasefire pertaining to armed conflict in response to the pandemic [and urges] member states to ‘share timely and transparent information regarding the outbreak of COVID-19.’” But the resolution is unacceptable to the White House, because it calls on countries to “support the full implementation of the WHO International Health Regulations.” As the senior European official said, asking countries to implement procedures to contain the crisis is harmful to Trump’s reelection campaign.
In brief, the dedication to slaughter poor and suffering people in pursuit of personal gain is so profound that even reference to WHO health regulations cannot be mentioned. The WHO is reaching the status of climate change, a phrase that has to be excised from official documents dealing with the environment. Across the board, Trump and his acolytes are echoing the words of Francisco Franco’s fascist Gen. Millán Astray: “Down with intelligence! Long live death!”
Turning directly to your question, I think “incompetent” is not the right word for Trump’s malevolence, which turned serious problems in the U.S. into a devastating crisis. But we should not overlook the serious problems inherited by the cruel gang in today’s White House. It’s crucial to understand the background for the crisis if we hope to contain the next pandemic, likely to be worse than this one because of the impact of the global warming that is a far more severe threat.
At the root, there are three factors: general capitalist logic, the more brutal neoliberal variant, and reactions by individual governments.
In 2003, after the SARS epidemic, scientists were well aware that a pandemic is likely, probably a related coronavirus. They also understood how to prepare for it — just as scientists today have a good idea as to how to prepare for the coming one.
But it’s not enough to know. Someone has to pick up the ball and run with it. The obvious candidate is Big Pharma, with huge resources, bloated with profits thanks to the exorbitant patent rights granted them under the highly protectionist “free trade” agreements. They’re ruled out, however, by normal capitalist logic. There’s no profit in preparing for a catastrophe down the road. And in fact it can be in their interest to impede a constructive response.
Next, the government could step in, but that’s blocked by the neoliberal intensification of capitalism’s inherent inhumanity. As Reagan declaimed in his inauguration speech, government is the problem, not the solution. Translation: Take decision-making away from government, which is at least partially responsive to public influence, and hand it over to private tyrannies that are unaccountable to the public. An essential component of neoliberalism, overt since its origins in interwar Vienna, is that democracy is a threat that must be contained, even destroyed by state violence if necessary, principles advocated in word and action by the gurus of the movement: Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek and others. Furthermore, as Milton Friedman counselled in the Reagan years, the unaccountable tyrannies who control decision-making must be guided by sheer greed. Any concern for others would shake the foundations of civilization.
The creed was not strictly observed. Obama tried to evade it slightly, but the efforts were quickly smashed by capitalist logic (the ventilator-Covidien affair that we’ve discussed elsewhere is an example). But government intervention was largely blocked.
The third factor is the reactions of individual governments. They varied. China very quickly provided the WHO and the world with all relevant information. By early January, Chinese scientists had identified the virus and sequenced the genome. Some countries at once reacted: Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, a few others, which now seem to have the crisis largely under control. Europe dithered but finally acted, with varying degrees of success.
An essential component of neoliberalism is that democracy is a threat that must be contained, even destroyed by state violence if necessary.
At the bottom of the barrel is Trump, reflecting his dedication to his primary constituency, private wealth and corporate power, lightly hidden under a farcical display of “populism.” Throughout his term in office, Trump has systematically pursued policies that enrich his primary constituency while harming others, including his adoring crowds. One part of this program was steadily defunding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and dismantling programs that could have provided advance warning of what was likely to happen. As a result, the U.S. was singularly unprepared.Though the U.S. and a few other failed states had all the information that led functioning societies to react appropriately, of course not all was entirely clear. That could hardly have been possible in such tumultuous circumstances. Like others, high U.S. health officials had some uncertainty about what exactly was happening and how best to handle it. Nevertheless, it was possible to take effective action, as shown by the record of governments that have some concern for their citizens. U.S. intelligence and health officials understood more than enough. Through January and February, they were trying to get through to the White House, but Trump was too busy watching his TV ratings. In the style of petty dictators, he has surrounded himself with sycophants or comical figures. So, nothing from them. Or from the Republican Party, now trembling in fear of the crowds that can be mobilized by Trump and his corporate sponsors.
When some dare to inject a little rationality into administration discussions, they quickly learn their lessons, like the physician in charge of developing vaccines who was dismissed in April for warning against one of the quack medicines that Trump was advertising.
“Down with intelligence! Long live death!”
Trump should be given credit for his considerable achievements. It’s not easy to get away with holding up a banner with one hand saying “I love you, I’m our savior, I’m chosen by heaven to protect you,” while the other hand is stabbing you in the back. But Trump is doing it, brilliantly. He’s the supreme con man, who makes P.T. Barnum look like an amateur. He’s in a long tradition, back to trading tales for fun in the old West, to the self-declared King of France in Huckleberry Finn, to the guy who’ll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge. Moving to a different sphere, we might also include the president who won the “marketer of the year” award from the Association of National Advertisers for his political campaign, easily defeating Apple and other amateurs, and went on to win a Nobel Peace Prize for some pleasant rhetoric.
But Trump is in a class by himself. Not just as a con man, but much more significantly as a dedicated enemy of the human race. That much is demonstrated by his policies on accelerating environmental catastrophe and dismantling the arms control regime that has provided some protection from terminal nuclear war, quite aside from a stream of peccadilloes of the kind already mentioned.
While praising Trump for his considerable achievements, we must also bear in mind that the health system that he has been wrecking was already in terrible shape. The privatized profit-driven health system in the U.S. was an international scandal long before Trump, with costs about twice as high as comparable countries and some of the worst outcomes. On the eve of the pandemic, the costs of this dysfunctional system were estimated at $450 billion in wasted expense and 68,000 deaths annually by The Lancet, one of the world’s leading medical journals.
Beyond that, the neoliberal business model dictates that hospital care must be “efficient”: the minimum number of nurses and hospital beds to just get by in normal times — not much fun for patients even in normal times even at the world’s best hospitals, as many can attest (myself included). And if anything goes wrong, tough luck.
It should be added that contrary to common belief, the U.S. does have universal health care. It’s called “emergency rooms.” If you can drag yourself to one, they’ll take care of you, often with superb care — and often a hefty bill. It’s the most cruel and expensive form of universal care known, but at least it’s there.
Bad as the situation was that Trump inherited, he has been committed to making it worse. One illustration of the commitments (and moral level) of the White House is the budget it submitted for the coming year on February 10, while the pandemic was raging. It called for still further cuts for the CDC along with increased subsidies to the fossil fuel industries that are driving us to final catastrophe. And, of course, more funding for the bloated military and for the famous wall that will protect us from the rapists and murderers surging across the border.
That barely skims the surface. Failed state? Four more years?
Are the anti-lockdown protests, which Trump is openly encouraging, merely about the shutting down of the economy and quarantines?
We have enough experience to see that virtually everything Trump does is about himself — the country and the world be damned. In this case, one can detect a strategy behind the ongoing circus. Trump has been casting about to find someone to blame for his crimes. After evoking the Yellow Peril and laboring to destroy the WHO, with grim effects, he’s pretty much run out of targets. A rational next step is to tell governors that it’s your business: the federal government, which has all the resources, can’t do anything for you. If anything goes wrong, it’s your fault, not mine. And if something happens to go right somewhere, it demonstrates what a stable genius I am, and will be trumpeted by Sean Hannity as the most brilliant decision in human history.
Trump is in a class by himself. Not just as a con man, but much more significantly as a dedicated enemy of the human race.
This is similar to the strategy of saying one thing today and the opposite tomorrow, each echoed rapturously by Fox News while the liberal press dutifully tots up the lies (20,000?). If you shoot arrows at random, some may hit the target. And if one does? I’m vindicated and the scam goes on. You can’t lose.The governors’ ploy is about the same: enforce lockdown, open up the economy (and protect our “Second Amendment rights,” which has nothing to do with anything but pushes the right buttons). If it makes life harder for the governors and leads to many deaths, that’s OK too. It’s all the fault of the urban centers where diseases and other maladies fester among those who are poisoning our lily–white society.
Malevolent, but not stupid.
It’s tempting to add the injunction to the states by Mitch McConnell, the real evil genius of the Republican organization. Go bankrupt. The Republican Senate is not going to compensate you for your foolish decision to give pensions to firefighters, teachers, policemen and other undeserving takers. We have to save the money for the makers, like the airline industries that need $50 billion because in the glory days of high profits, instead of improving services and building the enterprises, they spent close to $50 billion in buybacks to inflate stock prices and compensation for management. After all, first things first. There’s no need to elaborate. His vileness has been so egregious that there’s been plenty of commentary in the mainstream press.
In defense of Trump, McConnell and rest of the merry gang, they are carrying to an extreme the only way of dealing with the dilemma that the Republicans have faced since they turned to pure service to the business world. It’s hard to go to voters and say, “Look, we’re the more extreme of the two business parties. We’re designing policies to benefit our primary constituency of great wealth and corporate power, and to throw you into the waste bin. So vote for us.”
Somehow, that doesn’t work well. So it’s important to divert attention to “cultural issues,” to pretend to be adamantly opposed to abortion rights and love assault rifles, to be terrified of them, to dismiss global warming as a Commie plot, and all the rest. The word “pretend” is quite appropriate, but I won’t go into that here.
The Democratic establishment has its own sins to answer for, but it is nothing like this; more like the moderate Republicans of the days before the Gingrich-Hastert-McConnell era. And it is subject to popular pressures, which have moved the party considerably to the left in recent years. That’s not insignificant.
World leaders’ approval rating has soared as a result of their handling of the coronavirus crisis, with the exception of Donald Trump. Could coronavirus be the determinant element that will put an end to four years of a nightmarish scenario written, directed, produced and carried out by the most dangerous buffoon this country has had for president? Trump’s Waterloo, so to speak?
Trump benefited from the usual leadership bump when he finally acknowledged that the crisis was real, two months late, and assumed the proper presidential pose. His approval ratings have since receded to the norm from the beginning of his presidency. That’s a pretty impressive performance considering what he’s done to the country. I can’t guess where it will go from here. It’s really hard to say. He’s damned resilient, and his voting base and media echo chamber stay loyal. Current statistics show that he seems to be back to his norm of approval, which hasn’t varied a great deal through his term. And if it looks bad, they might pull something before November. Like concocting an incident and bombing Iran.
Why is Trump bent on destroying the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)?
What does the postal service contribute to private wealth and corporate power (Trump’s primary constituency)? Essentially nothing. Just means that they have to pay taxes for rural mail service and other services for ordinary people — insofar as they pay taxes, another interesting topic that I’ll put aside. If the USPS is privatized, it can contribute to private wealth and corporate power, and they can run it “efficiently,” like the health care system.
A good deal more is involved. It’s important to them to drive out of people’s heads the idea that democracy might work, that a public system can serve the needs of the general public. In much of the country, the local post office not only serves people’s needs efficiently but is even a place where you can stop by and chat with a human being and meet your friends.
And — horror of horrors — activists might be able to help people realize why the postal service was set up by the founders. Its prime function in early years was to deliver journals and magazines cheaply, a subsidy to an independent press, what the founders seem to have had in mind in framing the First Amendment. These matters are explored in depth in scholarly work by Robert McChesney and Victor Pickard, who carry the discussion right to the 20th century struggles to join the world in having vibrant public media, a critical matter for media activists today.
That’s dangerous turf. Better to destroy the virus of democracy before it infects too many people.
Joe Biden expressed the fear last week that Trump might attempt to delay the November 2020 election. Is this a likely scenario? Does the sitting president have the authority to do so on account of a national crisis?
No constitutional authority, but Trump is quite capable of imitating his ludicrous friend Jair Bolsonaro and declaring “I am the Constitution.” Unlike the Brazilian judiciary, the Roberts Supreme Court might back such a statement up. And if granted another four years of court-packing up and down the line with young ultra-right figures, virtually anything will be possible. Anything, that is, but mildly progressive measures. Their fate will be dim for a generation or more.
It’s also not beyond imagination that if Trump loses the electoral college (not just the popular vote), he’ll declare the election illegitimate, claiming that the Democrats brought in undocumented immigrants, and insist on staying in office, surrounded by armed militias.
I can’t verify it, but it’s been credibly reported that if he has to leave the White House, Trump may be facing serious charges brought by states’ attorneys. That aside, given his mental state, Trump might not be able to handle defeat and walk away like a normal human being.
Many on the left feel, naturally, and with much justification, extremely uncomfortable about Joe Biden. In fact, we hear now from some quarters the same arguments we heard in 2016 about Hillary Clinton, which is to say that it would be unconscionable for progressives to accept the “lesser of two evils” principle. How can we understand the political and conceptual context of electoral choices made by progressives and the left in November 2020?
These questions are plainly important. They are a matter of intense discussion and often impassioned debate on the left, and plenty of invective. That makes them worth discussing. To be quite frank, I don’t see much other reason for discussing them. I’ve tried to explain in recent interviews, and judging by the reactions, have failed. So, I will repeat in more detail.
I’ve been around for a long time and can’t think of a candidate about whom I was not “extremely uncomfortable,” at least since FDR (and I was too young to have considered opinions then).
In Biden’s case it’s easy to think of reasons to be extremely uncomfortable. We can begin with his participation in the destruction of Libya and Honduras, in Obama’s global assassination campaign, in breaking all records in deportation — and on from there. But while continuing with constant efforts to change that world, we have to take off a few minutes to each make our own choices on election day.
In the moral domain, what matters is the predictable consequences of your actions, those you are well aware of but choose to ignore. No one cares if you feel your conscience is clear.
Let’s think through the two concepts that lie behind the question: “unconscionable” and “lesser of two evils principle.”Let’s start with “unconscionable.” There are those — including close personal friends and long-time activists whom I greatly respect — who take the position that some actions are simply “unconscionable,” whatever the consequences. I will ignore this position. To me, frankly, it seems not worth discussing. In the moral domain, what matters is the predictable consequences of your actions, those you are well aware of but choose to ignore. No one cares if you feel your conscience is clear.
Let’s turn to the lesser of two evils principle.
Throughout my lifetime of activism (almost 80 years), I’ve been familiar with two doctrines about voting. One is the official doctrine.
Official doctrine holds that politics consists of showing up every few years, pushing a lever, then going back to one’s private pursuits. Citizens are “spectators,” not “participants in action,” according to official doctrine. They can choose one or another member of the leadership class (“the responsible men”) but that’s the limit of popular participation. I happen to be quoting Walter Lippmann, a respected public intellectual of the 20th century (a Wilson-FDR-JFK liberal), in his “progressive essays in democracy,” but the ideas are representative of prevailing liberal opinion. They trace back to the framers of the Constitution. That’s why the “gold standard” in constitutional scholarship, a fine and illuminating study by Michael Klarman, is called “The Framers’ Coup” — a coup against the popular demand for democracy.
On the right, views are much harsher.
A second doctrine is the one that has always prevailed on the left, call it “left doctrine.” Politics consists in constant direct popular engagement in public affairs, including a wide variety of activism on many fronts. Occasionally an event comes up in the formal political arena called an “election.” For left activists, that requires spending a brief period assessing the options (a very brief period for legitimate activists, who’ve been following everything relevant closely). Then comes a decision as to whether it’s worthwhile to take a few minutes away from ongoing political work to push a lever in the quadrennial extravaganza. It’s at most a brief departure from political engagement.
That’s the doctrine that I’ve followed all my life, sometimes abstaining because the show didn’t seem to matter and there’s no point legitimizing the charade by participating, sometimes voting for a third party, sometimes voting for Jones if it’s important to block Smith. I’ve sometimes voted for a Republican, in years when the Republicans were still a bone fide political party and had a better candidate.
There are, of course, myriad other cases, but the general point of left doctrine seems clear.
In recent years, a third doctrine has made an appearance and is now consuming much debate on the left: the lesser of two evils principle. I’d never heard of it before, in a lifetime of intensive political engagement (in the left doctrine sense). And it seems quite strange to me. It obviously is quite different from left doctrine, the prevailing doctrine on the left. The intensive debate about it falls within official doctrine, with its laser-like focus on the elections.
My own feeling about the lesser of two evils principle, of course, is that we should reject it in favor of left doctrine. It has no merits that I can see, so I think we can put it aside, along with the often–fevered debate about it.
Let’s now consider the immediate case in hand. If the traditional left doctrine were applied to the current situation, it would require comparing Trump and his entourage with Biden and his, and asking whether there is a difference between them.
I personally think the difference is colossal. First and decisive, another four years of Trump and we’ll have approached or possibly passed tipping points on the path toward environmental catastrophe toward which Trump is racing, his “party” in tow, virtually isolated in the world, certainly in the political system here. Just as important, the arms control regime will be dismantled, sharply increasing the threat of terminal war. The severe threats that Trump has incited in the Middle East will have increased, if not exploded. The Doomsday Clock, already reduced to seconds under Trump, will probably be close to abandoned. The reactionary international led by the White House that Trump is establishing will be well solidified. At home, the judiciary will be so packed by ultra-right young judges that no progressive initiatives will be able to be implemented for a generation. By the wayside we’ll be observing other horrors, like children sent to concentration camps on the border, Black people murdered on a whim, etc.
An advocate of left doctrine will spend a few minutes reviewing the familiar facts, then take off another few minutes to push a lever, then go back to work.
I know of only one proposed counterargument. We have to put pressure on the Democratic establishment. To begin with, it’s not a counterargument. It simply reiterates the main thesis of left doctrine: constant pressure. The only remaining question is how to impose pressure. There are, basically, two proposals on the table. The first is left doctrine. The second is refusing to vote for Biden.
Let’s take a look at these.
Left doctrine efforts can work, as they often have before. We all know that that has been the main source of progress over the years.
First, left doctrine. We continue with what has been done, and has been very effective. One illustration is the Sanders campaign, which has been a remarkable success in shifting debate and policy choices to the left. The activism of the Sunrise Movement — aided by young congresswomen brought to office in the Sanders wave, notably Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — has brought to the legislative agenda a Green New Deal, with the cooperation of liberal Democrat Ed Markey, senator from Massachusetts. Some version of a Green New Deal is essential for survival. There have also been significant shifts in other areas (health care, minimum wage, harsh repression in vulnerable communities, women’s rights, on and on). We can, in fact, see this in Biden’s program, which is well to the left of previous Democratic front-runners. That’s why Biden is supported against Trump by Sanders (who had a large role in bringing the shift about) and also by longtime labor activists like Lawrence Mishel and Jared Bernstein. It’s not my program, or yours, but we can hardly doubt that it is an improvement over what preceded.Left doctrine efforts can work, as they often have before. We all know that that has been the main source of progress over the years, particularly when there were administrations susceptible to activist pressure.
It could be argued that political programs are just words. True, but irrelevant. Left doctrine efforts can keep Biden’s feet to the fire, as has often happened in the past. And there will be opportunities to go far beyond, an urgent necessity.
In contrast, we can be sure that a Trump administration will be rock solid in opposition.
The second approach is to refuse to vote for Biden in the hope that withholding the vote will convince the Democratic establishment to take us seriously down the road. I can’t honestly construct a plausible version of this view, and it would be unfair to try.
Turning finally to your question, “How can we understand the political and conceptual context of electoral choices made by progressives and the left in November 2020?”
To me the answer seems clear. We should assess whether there is meaningful difference between the candidates, and also recognize that, for most of us, voting takes a few minutes. Then we go back to our real activist work.
LA Rams 2019 mid-season additions act like 2020 NFL Draft picks
LA Rams 2019 mid-season additions act like 2020 NFL Draft picks
by Bret Stuter 1 day ago Follow @milroyigglesfanThe LA Rams added 3 players in the midst of the 2019 NFL season. Here’s why they should be considered to be 2020 NFL Draft picks
The LA Rams ended the 2019 NFL season with just five draft picks. The team faced multiple scenarios through the course of the year which required roster adjustments, whether to shed players, add players, or exchange players. In the end, each transaction affected the roster at a point midway through the year.
Unlike player injuries or coming back from injury, or even being called up or demoted to the practice squad, these three circumstances placed a jersey on football players who had no foreknowledge of the LA Rams’ playbook, coaching staff, players, or even community. And one of the greatest assets for the LA Rams is offensive line coach Aaron Kromer. Two offensive linemen, one of whom a starter at multiple positions in 2019, never had the chance to benefit from his training camp.
Rams building that OL is probably the most underrated part of what they've done. Not many guys that were considered big deals when they were acquired, outside of Whit
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) September 28, 2018
The shortage of 2020 NFL Draft picks stems from the Rams desperate attempt to go all-in on the chance to make the 2019 NFL Playoffs. While that effort fell short, the team finished at a very respectable 9-7 record. That is despite all the horror stories of multiple injuries that haunted the offensive line all season, a defensive backfield which was blown up and restocked in mid-season, and three of the most highly paid players on offense all having sub-standard seasons.
Addition 3: Center
The LA Rams added center Coleman Shelton by signing him from the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. At the time, the team had lost rookie center Brian Allen for the season and had lost veteran interior offensive lineman Austin Blythe for several games due to injury. To compensate, the LA Rams had to trade for an interior offensive lineman in midseason and then needed a center to be the team’s backup.
Fortunately for the LA Rams, they chose very wisely.
Coleman Shelton has not had the benefit of LA Rams offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, and as a result, has waited patiently for his opportunity to take offensive snaps on the starting line for several years. At 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds, he is a huge center who becomes the offense’s own worst enemy to shorter quarterbacks trying to peer over him to find receivers downfield. Thankfully, LA Rams quarterback Jared Goff stands in a 6-foot-4, giving him plenty of height see over Shelton and find his targets in their downfield routes.
Shelton is extremely athletic, a muscular center whose role on an offensive line requires plenty of snaps to understand his own assignment, and that of other players at the line of scrimmage. While he has yet to play significant snaps for any NFL team, he has yet to benefit from an offseason training program under Coach Kromer. At worst, he is the equivalent of a seventh-round pick. But compared to the talent level of the 2020 NFL Draft, Shelton is more like the equivalent of a fourth-round pick.
Addition 2: Interior offensive lineman
After a series of injuries exhausted the LA Rams reserve offensive lineman, general manager Les Snead acted quickly by trading the team’s 2020 fifth-round draft pick to the Cleveland Browns for their reserve interior offensive lineman Austin Corbett. Originally drafted by the Browns in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Corbett soon found himself buried on the depth chart. That is where he was when the LA Rams traded a 2020 NFL Draft fifth-round pick for him.
From the moment he arrived at the Rams, he was placed into service. First at the center, then at the left guard, he was the Rams version of duct tape. Despite the hurried manner of onboarding, he was a solid player and he held his own on the team’s badly besieged offensive line.
#LARams Austin Corbett and David Edwards were able to provide some impressive production in 2019 during a period of OL uncertainty
Among all Guards (min 500 snaps):
– Corbett allowed 11 pressures (4th) and 1 sack (T-7th)
– Edwards allowed 14 pressures (T-6th) and 1 sack (T-7th) pic.twitter.com/TzRsAHbG6Y— PFF LA Rams (@PFF_Rams) January 30, 2020
After a better than expected debut in 2019, Corbett now has the opportunity to train, practice, be coached, and earn his 2020 starting role once more. Not only should he be able to do so, but he should be able to perform as one of the better NFL offensive linemen this season. His original draft spot of pick 33 is the equivalent 2020 NFL Draft pick value he has for the Rams this season.
Addition 1: Cornerback
When the LA Rams decided to trade for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, the team had to overcome a number of hurdles in order to do so. The team had to clear a roster spot. In addition, the team had to clear sufficient salary cap space to do so. And then ultimately, the LA Rams needed to exchange sufficient assets to make the trade complete.
Despite the lack of a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the LA Rams can equate that value in obtaining one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL today, Jalen Ramsey. The Rams traded their 2020 first-round pick plus their 2021 first and fourth-round picks to the Jacksonville Jaguars for cornerback Ramsey, whose contract expires in 2020.
The ultimate cost to the Rams for Ramsey is more than the picks required to pry him from the Jacksonville Jaguars. He also cost the Rams the play of both Aquib Talib, Marcus Peters, and a fifth-round pick. Ultimately, was he worth it? Yes.
In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected edge rusher, K’Lavon Chaisson with the 20th pick. Four cornerbacks had already been selected off the board and the players remaining on the board did not have the same value as that of Rams CB Ramsey. In essence, Ramsey is the equivalent of the Rams 2020 first-round draft pick.
While the LA Rams added nine rookie players in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Rams have the equivalent of a fourth-round pick for Coleman Shelton, a second-round pick for Austin Corbett, and a first-round pick for Jalen Ramsey. That translates into 12 pick-equivalents from the 2020 NFL Draft and includes two interior offensive linemen who will be capable of starting in 2020, plus an elite cornerback. In the end, the LA Rams 2020 NFL Draft was fairly comprehensive after all.
AgamemnonOurlands on Tremayne Anchrum
Three-year starter, Powder Springs, GA. Earned first-team All ACC honours in 2019 after being named second-team in 2018. A college right tackle who will make the move to guard in the NFL. Has a lot of power potential if he can simply get more aggressive with his hands at the start. He too often trusted his ability to anchor in college, which did work most of the time. He will be a project, as he is changing positions and has plenty to clean up, but there is still a chance he can evolve into a starter. Very stout and strong from top to bottom. Has a powerful anchor and heavy hands. Gets out of his stance assertively but under control. Usually stays in phase and won’t abandon his lower body techniques. Maintains a wide base. Can play with a low centre of gravity, creating good balance against power. Effective against linebackers in space, stays patient. Will struggle to re-establish good hand position if a defender swipes them away. Loses against speed and quickness too often. Will wait too long to attack a defender at times, needs to be more aggressive with his hands. Gets top heavy during engagement. OSR: 30/41. Fifth/sixth round. (A-33 5/8, H-9 5/8, BP-26, 10-1.83).
My 2020 250 player Big Board
50. Donovan Peoples-Jones – WR – Michigan – 6′-2″ 212 lbs. – Good hands and an excellent athlete. Underused in that woeful Mich. offense. He is more of a projection due to lack of production.
65. Troy Pride – CB – Notre Dame – 5′-11″ 193 lbs. – Under-rated athletically, has good speed and can work in man and zone coverages. A perfect #2 CB.
67. Bryce Hall – CB – Virginia – 6′-1″ 202 lbs. – Long, physical and smart. Always taking good angles and is in the proper position. Not the world’s best athlete. he will outwork you. Zone CB.
68. Brycen Hopkins – TE – Purdue – 6′-4″ 245 lbs. – Your prototypical new age TE. A mismatch problem in the middle of the field that is a smooth, easy mover. Not an inline blocker, I worry a bit about his hands.
69. Jacob Eason – QB – Washington – 6′-6″ 231 lbs. – Biggest arm in the class, but is a statue and panics a little too easily for my taste.
71. Leki Fotu – IDL – Utah – 6′-4″ 330 lbs. – A monster NT with a little pass rush juice to him. Good motor and is almost impossible to move. Not the athletic freak Lawrence was last year.
72. Ben Bartch – OT – St. Johns (MN) – 6′-6″ 309 lbs. – Small School prospect that held his own at Senior Bowl. TE turned OT. Athletic with a nice anchor, he needs seasoning. Arm length probably moves him inside.
74. Eno Benjamin – RB – Arizona State – 5′-9″ 207 lbs. – Physical for his size, smooth lower half and can be slippery to tackle. Change of pace back only.
77. Jake Fromm – QB – Georgia – 6′-2″ 219 lbs. – Smartest QB in the draft, has a noodle for an arm and is a little on the small side.
80. Alohi Gilman – S – Notre Dame – 5′-10″ 201 lbs. – A zone safety that is an absolute hammer coming forward. Another versatile player that can do a little of everything.
81. Prince Tega Wanogho – OT – Auburn – 6′-5″ 308 lbs. – Surprise, an athletic, raw skilled LT from Auburn. He has elite tools, but needs a year learning and gaining strength.
82. Curtis Weaver – Edge – Boise St. – 6′-3″ 265 lbs. – He could either be a 43 or 34. Lacks an ideal athletic profile, but has a hot motor, a good first step, active hands and handles his own against the run. Another high floor, lower ceiling type.
84. Akeem Davis-Gaither – LB – Appalachian St. – 6′-2″ 224 lbs. – Highly productive WILL that plays fast, can cover and rush the QB. I like him outside in a 43, but maybe a MO in a 34…
86. Albert Okwuegbunam – TE – Missouri – 6′-5″ 258 lbs. – Big target with enough athletic ability to create issues in the seam. A decent and willing blocker inline. Offense and QB really slowed down his progression.
87. Darnay Holmes – CB – UCLA – 5′-10″ 195 lbs.- Smooth and quick are his calling cards. I wish he was more aggressive. off man or zone scheme fit.
88. K’Von Wallace – S – Clemson – 5′-11″ 206 lbs. – Physical, will stick his face in the fan and has some nice ball production. Not overly athletic or fast, but versatile.
90. Thaddeus Moss – TE – LSU – 6′-2″ 250 lbs. – Not the freakish athlete his dad was, but is a monster in the blocking game, is a nuanced route runner and knows how to get open. Competes hard.
91. Troy Dye – LB – Oregon – 6′-4″ 231 lbs. – Another see ball, chase ball LBer that needs to add strength. But he makes plays all over the field.
92. Antoine Brooks Jr. – S – Maryland – 5′-11″ 220 lbs. – Here is that big nickel LBer or third safety I have been talking about for the last year or so. best working around the box in sub packages. Physical, emotional and not extremely rangy.
94. Saahdiq Charles – OT – LSU – 6′-4″ 321 lbs. – A smooth mover with good athleticism, but lacks power. A move inside might be in his future. zone scheme prospect.
98. Steven Montez – QB – Colorado – 6′-4″ 231 lbs. – Big arm, all the tools, has just never put it all together.
99. Logan Stenberg – IOL – Kentucky – 6′-6″ 317 lbs. – Meanest, nastiest OG in the draft. Won’t win on style points and will talk your ear off. Not a great athlete.
100. Tyler Biadasz – IOL – Wisconsin – 6′-4″ 314 lbs. – OC for any scheme. Excellent mover with a great anchor and good strength. Off season hip surgery slowed him down last season. Followed by shoulder surgery this off season. Could be a heck of a steal.
101. Khalid Kareem – Edge – Notre Dame – 6′-4″ 268 lbs. – Long and strong, excellent against the run, not much juice as a pass rusher. A bit stiff. 43 end only.
103. Rashard Lawrence – IDL – LSU – 6′-2″ – 308 lbs. – What you would expect in an LSU DL, tough, strong and excellent against the run. Doesn’t offer much in the way of a pass rush.
106. Bradlee Anae – Edge – Utah – 6′-3″ 257 lbs. – Can rush the passer and hold his own against the run, excellent hand fighter, with a top-notch motor. Not the greatest athlete. 43 or 34 compatable.
107. Hunter Bryant – TE – Washington – 6′-2″ 248 lbs. – Smooth moving, explosive pass catcher. Offers nothing in the way of blocking and his size won’t scare anyone.
108. Larrell Murchison – IDL – NC State – 6′-2″ 297 lbs. – A nose for the ball with a great motor. Not the rangiest 3 tech, but he will apply constant pressure.
110. Quartney Davis – WR – Texas A&M – 6′-1″ 201 lbs. – A skilled route runner with excellent footwork. Not slow, but not exactly a deep threat. hands are spotty. .
113. Amik Robertson – CB – Louisiana Tech – 5′-8″ 187 lbs. – slot corner due to his size. But he is a mean, physical little dude that will bring the fight to you.
114. Lamical Perine – RB – Florida – 5′-11″ 216 lbs. – A patient power back with just enough juice to get to the house. Enough wiggle to get outside, but is at his best working north to south.
115. Collin Johnson – WR – Texas – 6′-6″ 222 lbs. – Touted as the next Randy Moss, it didn’t happen, but he has good speed, wins with his size and is a contested catch, 50-50 ball machine. Size mismatch.
118. Kenny Willekes – Edge – Michigan State – 6′-4″ 264 lbs. – Relentless, tough, strong, try hard with average athletic ability for the position. I think due to that he is a 43 DE.
119. Anthony McFarland – RB – Maryland – 5′-8″ 208 lbs. – An undersized, raw talented HR threat from anywhere on the field. Not a 3 down guy.
120. Ben Bredeson – IOL – Michigan – 6′-5″ 315 lbs. – A LG prospect I love that has played in Gap/man/OSZ at Mich so he is versatile. Decent mover with good balance and very good power that looks to finish blocks.
121. Shaquille Quarterman – LB – Miami – 6′-1″ 234 lbs. – A real old school MLBer that reads, reacts and then thumps. I think he moves well enough to help in some coverage.
124. Evan Weaver – LB – California – 6′-2″ 237 lbs. – Not the world’s greatest athlete, but he is so instinctual he’s always around the ball. Super productive. Not a hammer and not great in coverage.
125. Tyler Johnson – WR – Minnesota – 6′-1″ 206 lbs. – A nuanced route runner that knows how to get open. Plays with some physicality. I question his speed and he didn’t run so…
126. Netane Muti – IOL – Fresno St. – 6′-3″ 315 lbs. – Skill set, power and movement ability should have him as the top IOL in the draft. he can flat out dominate. And looks to dominate you. Cannot stay healthy. Serious medical red flags.
130. David Woodward – LB – Utah State – 6′-2″ 230 lbs. -Not fast or super athletic, but he is smart, instinctual and has a big motor. He is everywhere. ILB
131. Nick Harris – IOL – Washington – 6′-1″ 302 lbs. – Smaller, smooth moving OC that lacks the power to go heads up against any kind of power. Good technique. Zone scheme only.
132. Shane Lemieux – IOL – Oregon – 6′-4″ 310 lbs. – mauler, not an athlete. Choppy footwork. Works well in a man scheme.
133. Nick Coe – Edge – Auburn – 6′-5″ 280 lbs. – Big, long and strong. Played from 2 and 3 point at Auburn. He is going to end up being a 34 End in the NFL. I question his passion for football.
134. Jared Pinkney – Vanderbilt – 6′-4″ 257 lbs. – Great hands, good athlete, good enough blocker to play inline. Needs to cleanup route running. Not a monster after the catch.
136. Quintez Cephus – WR – 6′-1″ 202 lbs. – Wisconsin – Big strong physical. Good route runner that can get himself open. Lacks deep speed. Faced 2 counts of sexual assault, case was dismissed.
137. Jason Strowbridge – IDL – North Carolina – 6′-4″ 275 lbs. – A gap jumper that lacks the size to hold his ground against double teams. Once he is into gaps, causes issues for the offense. A 34 DE or 43 DE is his future.
138. Alton Robinson – Edge – Syracuse – 6′-3″ 264 lbs. – A toolbox full of length, athletic ability, bend and explosiveness. Decent against the run. Just needs to put it all together. 34 Edge with a high ceiling.
139. Joe Bachie Jr. – LB – Michigan State – 6′-2″ 230 lbs. – a ILB with good instincts and decent range. Will pop you in the mouth when given the chance. Probably a 2 down ILBer in the NFL. Steroid suspension…
141. Solomon Kindley – IOL – Georgia – 6′-3″ 337 lbs. – Another mammoth Georgia lineman. A OG with beastly power that loves to use it. Again, needs a lot of technique work. His hand usage is a mess.
142. Joshua Kelley – RB – UCLA – 5′-11″ 212 lbs. – Strong, tough with good balance and hard to bring down, but lacks wiggle and HR speed. A one cut and go type of back.
145. K.J. Hill – WR – Ohio State – 6′-0″ 196 lbs. – A good route runner with decent ability in the open field. Not a burner, but not a slug either.
146. Colby Parkinson – TE – Stanford – 6′-7 252 lbs. – Big with a big wingspan, he will torture defenders in the middle of the field and the endzone. Not a great blocker and needs to get stronger.
147. Jack Driscoll – OT – Auburn – 6′-5″ 306 lbs. – A smaller RT with a good athletic profile. In other words. Perfect for a zone scheme only. Needs to add power and some technique work.
148. Antonio Gandy-Golden – WR – Liberty – 6′-4″ 223 lbs. – Crazy catches are littered throughout his highlights. Outstanding catch radius combined with flypaper hands make him a bigtime contested and 50-50 ball receiver. Not a great athlete or burner.
150. J.R. Reed – S – Georgia – 6′-1″ 202 lbs. – An old school SS that works best moving forward as he doesn’t have the foot speed to be ultra rangy.
151. Harrison Bryant – TE -Florida Atlantic – 6′-5″ 243 lbs. – Athletic with good hands and is a good route runner. He isn’t a blocker. His calling card is in the middle of the field.
153. Javelin Guidry – CB – Utah – 5′-9″ 191 lbs. – Quick, oily and super fast. Size is going to limit him to slot/nickel/dime work.
154. Hakeem Adeniji – OT – Kansas – 6′-4″ 302 lbs. – Another smaller LT that moves well and could slide into a zone scheme easily. needs to add power.
155. Jacob Breeland – TE – Oregon – 6′-5″ 252 lbs. – An average at best athlete, but plays with an edge and isn’t afraid of contact. Good hands and can get deep. Decent inline blocker.
156. Isaiah Hodgins – WR – Oregon State – 6′-4″ 210 lbs. – A good route runner for a man his size, good catch radius. Good hands. Not a deep threat.
157. Geno Stone – S – Iowa – 5′-10″ 207 lbs. – Another kid from Iowa with smarts, instincts and lacks a big athletic profile. Works best in the box or zone coverage.
158. Markus Bailey – LB – Purdue – 6′-1″ 235 lbs. – A Kiser clone in the fact that he is a smart. between the tackles, run stopping machine. Not enough athletic ability or speed to cover against the pass. 2019 knee injury muddies his water. 2 down ILB.
159. Anthony Gordan – QB – Washington State – 6′-2″ 205 lbs. – Tough leader with an OK arm. Air Raid muddies the water, but he can manage a football team.
162. Gabriel Davis – WR – UCF – 6′-2″ 216 lbs. – Exciting athlete with decent speed and plays with a bit of an edge. hands are meh, and he didn’t run a ton of different routes.
163. D.J. Wonnum – Edge – South Carolina – 6′-5″ 258 lbs. – An above average athlete that can do a little of everything, but isn’t great at any one thing. Perfect size for 34 Edge with a great motor.
164. Justin Strnad – LB – Wake Forest – 6′-3″ 238 lbs. – Smooth moving forward and backward, can run and cover and go sideline to sideline. Would rather run around blockers then stack and shed. Still learning the nuances so his arrow is pointing up. ILBer in an odd front or WILL in an even front.
165. Raequan Williams – IDL – Michigan State – 6′-4″ 308 lbs. – Not a great athlete, but is strong, can stack and hold his ground and when he does get in the backfield, he finishes well. Needs to get more consistent on effort.
166. Terence Steele – OT – Texas Tech – 6′-6″ 312 lbs. – Great hands and a powerful upper body, needs some sand in his pants. More of a man blocking guy, as he lacks movement skills for zone.
167. Myles Bryant – CB – Washington – 5′-8″ 183 lbs. – another slot CB, plays faster than he ran, explosive movement skills.
168. Lamar Jackson – CB – Nebraska – 6′-2″ 208 lbs. – Big, long and physical. Speed will give him issues. Press man CB.
171. Essang Bassey – CB – Wake Forest – 5′-9″ 191 lbs. – a nickel/slot CB that gets after it and is a smooth enough athlete to mirror really well.
172. Charlie Heck – OT – North Carolina – 6′-8″ 311 lbs. – As Alyo has stated, the son of a coach. Smart, good technique and excellent length. Needs to add some weight and power. Great developmental type of L/RT.
173. James Lynch – IDL – Baylor – 6′-4″ 289 lbs. – Monster sack production from a guy with not a ton of athletic ability. Not twitchy and not explosive. Just average strength. Really just wins on an all-day motor and a give ’em hell attitude.
174. Trevis Gipson – Edge – Tulsa – 6′-4″ 261 lbs. – an easy mover with decent burst and good flexibility. Can get bullied against the run. Developmental 34 Edge.
175. James Morgan – QB – FIU – 6′-4″ 229 lbs. – A toolsy gunslinger with no fear. Not sure he has the tools above the neck to be a pro QB.
176. John Simpson – IOL – Clemson – 6′-4″ 321 lbs. – A power blocker that can get over-extended at times, but will run you over. Lacks horizontal movement ability. Man power scheme fit.
177. A.J. Green – CB – Oklahoma State – 6′-1″ 202 lbs. – Physical CB, sometimes too physical. Decent speed and a decent athletic profile.
178. Harrison Hand – CB – Temple – 5′-11″ 197 lbs. – Smart, tough and has some ballhawk to him. Not the quickest CB. Zone CB
179. Jalen Elliott – S – Notre Dame – 6′-0″ 205 lbs. – Slow, moderate athlete, but man he loves to blow up ball carriers. IMO a box safety or a big nickel LBer.
180. Mitchell Wilcox- TE – South Florida – 6′-3″ 247 lbs. – Hard working combo TE that had good production, but won’t wow you as an athlete. I worry a bit about his hands.
181. Michael Onwenu – IOL – Michigan – 6′-3″ 344 lbs. – An absolute tank in the trenches. Surprisingly decent footwork. Great power. Not a great mover. Man scheme.
182. Trevon Hill – Edge – Miami – 6′-3″ 248 lbs. – Athletic, bursty edge with a nice pass rush. Needs to add weight to handle the run. Pass rush specialist early. 34 Edge.
183. Binjimen Victor – WR – Ohio State – 6′-4″ 198 lbs. – Another big catch radius guy with nice hands. Not a deep threat, but is kinda dangerous in the open field.
184. Carter Coughlin – Edge – Minnesota – 6′-3″ 236 lbs. – an undersized 34 edge rusher with some burst and fluid movement skills. Cannot match power with anyone, and his run defending suffers from that.
185. Josiah Scott – CB – Michigan State – 5′-9″ 185 lbs. – A nickel back with good speed and decent toughness for his size. Good ball skills. Too small to survive on the outside.
186. Jonathan Garvin – Edge – Miami – 6′-4″ 263 lbs. – 43 DE that can set a strong edge and keep everything inside. Not a ton of burst, and average athletically. Decent pass rush on physical traits alone.
187. Scott Frantz – OT – Kansas State – 6′-5″ 300 lbs. – Mauler strength and a maulers mentality. Not a great athlete and needs to add weight.
188. – Patrick Taylor Jr. – RB – Memphis – 6′-1″ 217 lbs. – big, powerful and hard to bring down. Not great feet and not very imaginative with the ball. Short yardage back IMO.
189. Khalil Davis – IDL – Nebraska – 6′-2″ 308 lbs. – Not real long, but a quick first step and a good motor is where he wins. Not a great run defender due to his lack of length.
190. Myles Dorn – S – North Carolina – 6′-2″ 205 lbs. – A decent all-around S with good work in the box and some solid pass defense stats. His lack of speed may limit his upside.
191. Kendall Coleman – Edge – Syracuse – 6′-3″ 257 lbs. – Average athlete that is really still developing his skill set. Good motor and plays with nice physicality. Needs to be developed. Developmental 34 Edge.
192. Jake Hanson – IOL – Oregon – 6′-4″ 303 lbs. – A zone scheme OC. A technician and good athlete, lacks the strength to trade power with defenders.
193. Mykal Walker – LB – Fresno State – 6′-3″ 230 lbs. – Has played DE, Edge and ILB. So, he is a movable chess pc. I like him as an ILB in an odd front. Certainly knows how to blitz, can drop into coverage and will stick his nose in the fan in run support. Needs development time, due to so many position changes.
194. Lavert Hill – CB – Michigan – 5′-10″ 190 lbs. – A hard-nosed press man. Lacks speed to stay with the fast WRs. Might work inside. Man only.
195. Cheyenne O’Grady – TE – Arkansas – 6′-4″ 253 lbs. – A natural pass catcher with good route running. A willing blocker, although it isn’t a strength. Tough to bring down. His biggest issue is he was dismissed from the team for saying he was going to quit after the Bama game.
196. – Michael Warren II – RB – Cincinnati – 5′-9″ 226 lbs. – Decent feet for his build (a bowling ball) with good power and contact balance. Not making you miss and isn’t a HR hitter. Another short yardage back IMO.
198. Aaron Parker – WR – Rhode Island – 6′-2″ 209 lbs. – A good blend of physicality combines with his ability to go up and get it makes him a contested catch monster. He needs to develop his route running.
200. Sewo Olonilua – RB – TCU – 6′-3″ 232 lbs. – Another short yardage specialist. Not fast, quick or nimble. He is a load to bring down and will wear you out.
201. Kyle Murphy – IOL – Rhode Island – 6′-3″ 316 lbs. – Overpowered FCS competition, needs to add size and power to do that at the NFL level. He’s an easy mover with good footwork. Scheme versatile.
202. Joe Reed – WR – Virginia – 6′-0″ 224 lbs. – A deep threat with good hands and can return in STs. Has some wiggle. Another gadget kid early as he learns to run routes properly.
203. Stephen Sullivan – TE – LSU – 6′-5″ 248 lbs. – Massive seam buster that got lost in the shuffle of an all star offense. Long, middle of the field mismatch. Not a tremendous blocker.
204. Benito Jones – IDL – Ole Miss – 6′-1″ 316 lbs. – a fire hydrant with very good strength. Won’t slide thru gaps but holds more than his own against the run. A true NT with a little pass rush push.
205. Jaylinn Hawkins – S – California – 6′-1″ 208 lbs. – Smart, physical with some range. Not a ton and won’t wow you going sideline to sideline. Decent ball skills, but he has room for improvement.
206. Trajan Bandy – CB – Miami – 5′-8″ 180 lbs. – Smooth footed DB that moves well in space and has OK speed. Lack of size and strength is an issue.
207. Jauan Jennings – WR – Tennessee – 6′-3″ 215 lbs. – A runaway beer truck in the open field. Tough to bring down. Slow play speed and ran a 4.74 so that matches what you see.
209. Kyahva Tezino – LB – San Diego State – 6′-0″ 235 lbs. – Plays the run well, decent athlete that can get to the sidelines and plays with patience and intelligence. Lacks length and quickness.
211. Jace Whittaker – CB – Arizona – 5′-11″ 185 lbs. – a ballhawk with good instincts and good speed. Not very physical and lacks great size.
212. Colton McKivitz – OT – West Virginia – 6′-6″ 306 lbs. – Big, strong RT prospect that has issues against speed. Can get out over his feet when he lunges at targets.
214. Kindle Vildor – CB – Georgia Southern – 5′-10″ 191 lbs. – Ballhawking athletic CB with the size and footwork to work in any scheme. Not great in run support. Can be over-aggressive.
215. Stephen Guidry – WR – Mississippi State – 6′-3″ 201 lbs. – Long with long arms and decent deep speed. Can go up and get it, or win over the top. Not a great route runner.
216. J.J. Taylor – RB – Arizona – 5′-5″ 185 lbs. – Scat back with good receiving skills. Plays fater then he ran, but obviously not a between the tackles type.
217. James Robinson – RB – Illinois State – 5′-9″ 219 lbs. – A hammer that did it all for ISU. Surprising speed can catch you off guard. not very shifty.
218. Justin Herron – OT – Wake Forest – 6′-4″ 308 lbs. – A OG in the NFL. Good pass blocker with decent footwork, has trouble trading power in the run game. Zone scheme OG.
219. Reggie Robinson II – CB – Tulsa – 6′-1″ 205 lbs. – Long with decent athletic profile, does his best work in a zone and things are in front of him. Nice production. Modest athlete.
220. Tyrie Cleveland – WR – Florida – 6′-2″ 209 lbs. – Long and fast. Never ran a diverse route tree, but he can eat up a DB in a hurry. Will need some development.
221. Jon Runyan – OT – Michigan – 6′-4″ 306 lbs. – I think he moves inside to OG. Son of an NFL OT. So he is smart. Good athlete but lacks strength. zone scheme OG.
222. Tipa Galea’i – EDGE – Utah State – 6′-5″ 235 lbs. – An explosive, oily, easy mover. Needs to add mass if he wants to hold up against the run.
223. Nigel Warrior – S – Tennessee – 6′-0″ 190 lbs. – Vols played him everywhere from what I saw. So he can do some of everything. Good athlete, good run defender for hsi size. Lack of ball production is a concern.
224. Nevelle Clarke – CB – UCF – 6′-1″ 190 lbs. – I called him a mini Ramsey. Plays with a swagger and a ballhawks mentality. Great size for a CB. Easy mover. Needs to add strength and some weight to reach his full potential.
225. Salvon Ahmed – RB – Washington – 5′-11″ 197 lbs. – Long speed despite what he ran at the combine. Decent wiggle in the open field. Due to size, a 3rd down back only. Lacks power and vision.
226. James Proche – WR – SMU – 5′-11″ 201 lbs. – Natural hands and just catches everything. Smooth athlete, with great college production. Not a burner. Needs to work on route running.
227. Cameron Brown – LB – Penn State – 6′-5″ 233 lbs. – Long for a LBer. Also raw. Can cover a ton of ground quickly and goes sideline to sideline. Not great in coverage. Not sure his position fit. 43 OLB or maybe add 15-20 lbs and make him a 34 edge?
228. Sean McKeon – TE – Michigan – 6′-5″ 242 lbs. – A combo TE that can block in line and be used as a pass catcher. Not the most dynamic route runner, or athlete, but he competes hard. Good 3rd TE for a roster.
229. Cole McDonald – QB – Hawaii – 6′-3″ 215 lbs. – An absolute howitzer of an arm. Good NFL size. A rhythm passer that loves getting the ball deep. Everything breaks down once he is off schedule.
230. Quez Watkins – WR – Southern Miss – 6′-0″ 185 lbs. – Will take the top off a defense. No idea how to run a route, gets open from DBs being scared of being ran by. Electric in the open field. Needs to add some good weight.
231. Bravvion Roy – IDL – Baylor – 6′-1″ 333 lbs. – Not your typical NT. He can dominate against the run, but has some juice to get after the QB (6 sacks this year) Short length will limit his upside.
232. Kamal Martin – LB – Minnesota – 6′-3″ 240 lbs. – A 34 ILB that fills that downhill run plugger role that is tight hipped and lacks the range to work 3 downs. Will stick you when given the chance.
233. Grayland Arnold – CB – Baylor – 5′-9″ 186 lbs. – Nickel CB with great ball production. Smooth lower body makes him sticky, has a ballhawk mentality. Lacks size to hold up on the outside.
234. Trey Adams – OT – Washington – 6′-8″ 318 lbs. – Power blocking scheme only, once a top 25 pick, now maybe undraftable due to multiple injuries. Carries bad weight. A better athlete then mauler so his skill set doesn’t match his power (or lack thereof)
235. Charlie Taumoepeau – TE – Portland State – 6′-2″ 240 lbs. – Literally a move TE. He played H-back, RB, TE, WR for Portland State. So he can block and catch and be a nice depth piece. Nothing athletically extrordinary.
236. Darryl Williams – IOL – Mississippi State – 6′-2″ 304 lbs. – A OG/OC prospect with decent power and good technique. Needs to add some power. A tad stiff movement wise. Developmental depth for a power blocking team.
237. Tyler Clark – IDL – Georgia – 6′-4″ 300 lbs. – nice get off with good hand usage to keep himself clean. Kinda frenetic, and will wash himself out at times. Good power.
238. Levonta Taylor – CB – Florida State – 5′-10″ 190 lbs. – a CB turned safety, smooth lower half and good speed and lack of strength make him an ideal zone fit, either as a nickel or S. had back problems in the past.
239. Kalija Lipscomb – WR – Vanderbilt – 6′-0″ 207 lbs. – Good route runner with reliable hands. Just an OK athlete and not a burner.
240. Tyler Huntley – QB – Utah – 6′-1″ 205 lbs. – A real athlete with the ball in his hands. Can scramble, throw on the run and generally work his way around in the pocket. Accuracy is OK. Pretty good arm strength. I don’t think he can read a defense yet.
241. Stanford Samuels III – CB – Florida State – 6′-1″ 187 lbs. – Long and a bit clumsy. Would be a good zone CB with some developmental upside.
242. Robert Landers – IDL – Ohio State – 6′-1″ 285 lbs. – A 34 DE that lacks the usual length. Strong with a good burst. Decent athlete. At his best in a straight line.
243. Shyheim Carter – S – Alabama – 5′-10″ 194 lbs. – A CB/S that was used as a hybrid 3rd safety for the Tide. Could be a movable piece in the secondary. Not overly fast or athlete. Declined to test at the combine reinforcing that idea.
244. Freddie Swain – WR – Florida – 6′-0″ 197 lbs. – Good athlete with good hands and good speed. Not a very nuanced route runner and lacked college production. Punt returner bonus.
245. Mohamed Barry – LB – Nebraska – 6′-1″ 245 lbs. – A bull in a china shop ILBer with sideline to sideline athleticism. Tough and strong just kinda running around out there hitting things and overrunning other things…
246. John Reid – CB – Penn State – 5′-10″ 187 lbs. – A physical press man CB that due to lack of size will end up being a Nickel Back. Average speed to match his average athletic ability.
247. Jordan Fuller – S – Ohio State – 6′-2″ 203 lbs. – A single high safety that is too slow to play single high in the NFL IMO. Racked up a ton of tackles and loves to hit. I like him as a depth/3rd safety with plenty of upside in the box.
248. Darius Anderson – RB – TCU – 5′-10″ 208 lbs. – A tough little runner with plenty of takeoff, lacks the top end to be a HR threat and lacks the size to be a between that tackles guy.
249. Derrek Tuszka – Edge – North Dakota St. – 6′-5″ 251 lbs. – A 43 end that will transition to a standup 34 edge. Tough, strong and can hold up vs the run. Great pass rush production. Decent athlete, but lacks flexibility to bend around the edge.
250. Rodrigo Blankenship – K – Georgia – 6′-1″ 197 lbs. – He kicks footballs and I love his nerd glasses. I dare you to find that kind of draft analysis anywhere but here. LOL
Agamemnon
1. Cesar Ruiz – IOL – Michigan – 6′-3″ 307 lbs. – Zone or man, excellent pass blocker, can play OG or OC. Best combo of size/strength and athletic ability in the IOL group. I like him as a Zone scheme OC.
2. D’Andre Swift – RB – Georgia – 5′-8″ 212 lbs. – Bellcow back with excellent footwork and balance, HR speed and can catch passes. Not a between the tackles type.
3. Laviska Shenault Jr. – WR – Colorado – 6′-1″ 227 lbs. – A physical, workhorse that just punishes defenders in the open field. Injuries are a concern.
4. Josh Jones – OT – Houston – 6′-5″ 319 lbs. – Super athlete with great feet, decent anchor that would work best in a zone scheme. Not the dog the top 4 are, but still will get after it.
5. Zack Baun – Edge – Wisconsin – 6′-3″ 238 lbs. – A bit smaller edge, but he is smart, relentless and refined. Will have trouble against the run due to size. I think he works best as a LBer you move around inside early, out late.
6. Lloyd Cushenberry – IOL – LSU – 6′-3″ 312 lbs. – Another OG/OC candidate. Strong and tough, not as mobile as the other top OCs. Really improved over the year.
7. Denzel Mims – WR – Baylor – 6′-3″ 207 lbs. – Big, strong with decent speed. He can go up and get it. A real 50/50 ball stud. Lacks any real route running.
8. JK Dobbins – RB – Ohio State – 5′-9″ 210 lbs. – Inside out back that can catch passes, extremely tough after first contact and can go the distance. I wish he was a tad bigger.
9. Justin Jefferson – WR – LSU – 6′-1″ 202 lbs. – Good route runner, good hands, good speed, good blocker. Not explosive, but gets open, makes catches and scores.
10. Brandon Aiyuk – WR – Arizona State – 6′-0″ 205 lbs. – Another big play waiting to happen. Can take the top off the defense and is slippery in the open field. Not a very nuanced route runner, hands are OK.
11. Terrell Lewis – Alabama – 6′-5″ 262 lbs. – Another high ceiling guy with injury history. Loooong levered. Smooth. Stong. 34 Edge
12. Jonathan Taylor – RB – Wisconsin – 5′-10″ 226 lbs.- A workhorse back with HR speed and excellent vision. Pass catching is his worst trait, and its fine.
13. Tee Higgins – WR – Clemson – 6′-4″ 216 lbs. – a highpoint, catch radius WR that wins at all levels of the field, but is at his best winning 50/50. Good, not great speed.
14. Jalen Reagor – WR – Arizona State – 5′-11′ 206 lbs. – He’s a jittery HR hitter that is electric deep or in the open field. His hands are iffy IMO, or he’d be higher on my list.
15. Clyde Edwards-Helaire – RB – LSU – 5′-7″ 207 lbs. – An easy mover with a powerful lower half. May lack the size to handle a full NFL load.
16. Austin Jackson – OT – USC – 6′-5″ 322 lbs. – Lost time/strength due to helping his sister with a medical issue. He may need a year, but a full toolbox with a good balance of strength and agility.
17. K.J. Hamler – WR – Penn State – 5′-9″ 178 lbs. – Electrifying. In the open field as dangerous as any WR in the draft. Hands can be iffy, and he is small, but a HR hitter and someone a defense needs to plan for.
18. Lucas Niang – OT – TCU – 6′-6″ 315 lbs. – Another nice power/athletic combo blocker that plays with a nice edge. Injury slowed him some, and needs to get consistent.
19. Jordyn Brooks – LB – Texas Tech – 6′-1″ 240 lbs. – An absolute heat seeking missile that is devastating going downhill, lacks pass coverage reps. Sideline to sideline.
20. Van Jefferson – WR – Florida – 6′-1″ 200 lbs. – A route running technician, good hands and is OK in the open field. Not explosive and not what I would call a HR threat.
21. Marlon Davidson – IDL – Auburn – 6′-3″ 303 lbs. – 3T or 34 DE. I like him as a penetrating DE in a 34 that can also hold his own against the run. Big time motor.
22. Michael Pittman Jr. – WR – USC – 6′-4″ 223 lbs – Another physical WR that is starting to put everything together. Not a burner, but a good athlete with a great work ethic. A big Robert Woods.
23. Donovan Peoples-Jones – WR – Michigan – 6′-2″ 212 lbs. – Good hands and an excellent athlete. Underused in that woeful Mich. offense. He is more of a projection due to lack of production.
24. Matt Hennessy – IOL – Temple – 6′-4″ 307 lbs. – A OZS OC that is an excellent mover with great technique. Needs to get stronger, but IQ and skill set are outstanding. Reminds me of Garrett Bradbury.
25. Julian Okwara – Edge – Notre Dame – 6′-4″ 252 lbs. – A 34 Edge with a nice blend of explosiveness and flexibility. Needs to get stronger against the run.
26. Jonathan Greenard – Edge – Florida – 6′-4″ 263 lbs. – I just love his athletic ability, balance against the run and pass and supposedly a hard worker off the field. Not the most flexible, but his length and strength make up for it. high floor, lower ceiling type.
27. Curtis Weaver – Edge – Boise St. – 6′-3″ 265 lbs. – He could either be a 43 or 34. Lacks an ideal athletic profile, but has a hot motor, a good first step, active hands and handles his own against the run. Another high floor, lower ceiling type.
28. Cam Akers – RB – Florida State – 5′-10″ 217 lbs. – Another feature back buried on a horrible offense. Does a little of everything., but he’s a downhill 1 cut style power back at his best.
29. Kyle Dugger – S – Lenoir-Rhyne – 6′-1″ 217 lbs. – Small school kid. Great size and athletic profile that can play free or strong. Excellent blitzer and played really well at the Senior Bowl. Will need some coaching.
30. Jeremy Chinn – S – Southern Illinois – 6′-3″ 221 lbs. – Simmons-lite in a safety body. he could be a LBer a S or an edge rusher with crazy athleticism. Love his physicality and the fact that he is always around the ball.
31. Josh Uche – Edge – Michigan – 6′-1″ 245 lbs. – Smaller edge that will have issues against the run. but he is a flexy, bursty little dude that is also good in space.
32. Zack Moss – RB – Utah – 5′-9″ 223 lbs. – A big, bigtime power back with some wiggle to him. Hard to bring down. I like his footwork. Not a HR hitter and a 1 cut and go type back.
33. Jonah Jackson – IOL – Ohio St. – 6′-3″ 306 lbs. – A technician with decent strength that can play anywhere on the inside. Needs to be more consistent. Plays with an edge.
34. Akeem Davis-Gaither – LB – Appalachian St. – 6′-2″ 224 lbs. – Highly productive WILL that plays fast, can cover and rush the QB. I like him outside in a 43, but maybe a MO in a 34…
35. Chase Claypool – WR – Notre Dame – 6′-4″ 238 lbs. – A big possession WR, that wins contested catches, 50-50 balls and is tough in the redzone. Tested better then he plays, but is still a great athlete.
36. Bradlee Anae – Edge – Utah – 6′-3″ 257 lbs. – Can rush the passer and hold his own against the run, excellent hand fighter, with a top-notch motor. Not the greatest athlete. 43 or 34 compatable.
37. Robert Hunt – IOL – Louisiana-Lafayette – 6′-5″ 323 lbs. – 2nd nastiest OG in the draft. He is a punisher. Needs to be a little more patient, but he will finish on all levels.
38. Malik Harrison – LB – Ohio St. – 6′-3″ 247 lbs. – Old school type MLBer that stuffs the run and plugs gaps. Quick to react, strong and will drop the hammer. Too stiff to contribute in a lot of coverage.
39. Brycen Hopkins – TE – Purdue – 6′-4″ 245 lbs. – Your prototypical new age TE. A mismatch problem in the middle of the field that is a smooth, easy mover. Not an inline blocker, I worry a bit about his hands.
40. Prince Tega Wanogho – OT – Auburn – 6′-5″ 308 lbs. – Surprise, an athletic, raw skilled LT from Auburn. He has elite tools, but needs a year learning and gaining strength.
41. Leki Fotu – IDL – Utah – 6′-4″ 330 lbs. – A monster NT with a little pass rush juice to him. Good motor and is almost impossible to move. Not the athletic freak Lawrence was last year.
42. Ben Bartch – OT – St. Johns (MN) – 6′-6″ 309 lbs. – Small School prospect that held his own at Senior Bowl. TE turned OT. Athletic with a nice anchor, he needs seasoning. Arm length probably moves him inside.
43. Eno Benjamin – RB – Arizona State – 5′-9″ 207 lbs. – Physical for his size, smooth lower half and can be slippery to tackle. Change of pace back only.
44. Matt Peart – OT – Connecticut – 6′-7″ 318 lbs. – An easy moving OT with decent strength that again, could use a year or 2 learning and adding power, but there is no denying the skills are there.
45. Tyler Biadasz – IOL – Wisconsin – 6′-4″ 314 lbs. – OC for any scheme. Excellent mover with a great anchor and good strength. Off season hip surgery slowed him down last season. Followed by shoulder surgery this off season. Could be a heck of a steal.
46. Raekwon Davis – IDL – Alabama – 6′-7″ 311 lbs. – a 34 DE, because he will get out-leveraged on the inside. powerful with a solid anchor against the run, pass rush potential is there, but never developed.
47. Albert Okwuegbunam – TE – Missouri – 6′-5″ 258 lbs. – Big target with enough athletic ability to create issues in the seam. A decent and willing blocker inline. Offense and QB really slowed down his progression.
48. Bryan Edwards – WR – South Carolina – 6′-3″ 212 lbs. – He wins with his size and physicality in the middle of the field. Not a burner, but plays hard and smart.
49. Darnay Holmes – CB – UCLA – 5′-10″ 195 lbs.- Smooth and quick are his calling cards. I wish he was more aggressive. off man or zone scheme fit.
50. Troy Dye – LB – Oregon – 6′-4″ 231 lbs. – Another see ball, chase ball LBer that needs to add strength. But he makes plays all over the field.
51.Kenny Robinson – S – XFL – 6′-1″ 205 lbs. – A ballhawking single high Safety that needs development, but has a real nice athletic profile and flashes elite ball skills.
52. Thaddeus Moss – TE – LSU – 6′-2″ 250 lbs. – Not the freakish athlete his dad was, but is a monster in the blocking game, is a nuanced route runner and knows how to get open. Competes hard.
53. Cole Kmet – TE – Notre Dame – 6′-6″ 263 lbs. – Another size mismatch with decent athleticism. Should be a better blocker then he is. Good hands, decent route runner.
54. Adam Troutman – TE – Dayton – 6′-5″ 255 lbs. – Exciting athlete that is new to being a TE. Extremely productive, but a raw skill set including route running. A plus blocker.
55. Darrell Taylor – Edge – Tennessee – 6′-4″ 267 lbs. – Good athlete, with plenty of flex, decent get off and enough size to hold up against the run. hasn’t put it all together. High upside, high bust potential.
56. Nick Harris – IOL – Washington – 6′-1″ 302 lbs. – Smaller, smooth moving OC that lacks the power to go heads up against any kind of power. Good technique. Zone scheme only.
57. Saahdiq Charles – OT – LSU – 6′-4″ 321 lbs. – A smooth mover with good athleticism, but lacks power. A move inside might be in his future. zone scheme prospect.
58. Logan Stenberg – IOL – Kentucky – 6′-6″ 317 lbs. – Meanest, nastiest OG in the draft. Won’t win on style points and will talk your ear off. Not a great athlete.
59. Ezra Cleveland – OT – Boise State – 6′-6″ 311 lbs. – Absolute athlete for his size/length. Real smooth mover with light feet. Needs to add strength and needs technique work. I’d say an OZS LT right now.
60. Willie Gay Jr. – LB – Miss. St. – 6′-2″ 243 lbs. – Athletic and quick, will pop you in the mouth. And he did punch his own QB in the face, so there is that. Could be a 3 down ILBer with some seasoning.
61. Terrell Burgess – S – Utah – 5′-11″ 202 lbs. – He’s an exciting athlete with good speed and a bigtime motor. Lack of size might be an issue.
62. Larrell Murchison – IDL – NC State – 6′-2″ 297 lbs. – A nose for the ball with a great motor. Not the rangiest 3 tech, but he will apply constant pressure.
63. Brandon Jones – S – Texas – 5′-11″ 198 lbs. – A smaller, tad more rangy version of Brooks. He is a thumper with an all-day motor, and a nose for the ball.
64. Jordan Elliott – IDL – Missouri – 6′-4″ 302 lbs. – Strong and bursty, he can cause havoc in the backfield. Easy mover with excellent hands. Not the fastest off the snap, timing issues slow him down.
65. Tyler Johnson – WR – Minnesota – 6′-1″ 206 lbs. – A nuanced route runner that knows how to get open. Plays with some physicality. I question his speed and he didn’t run so…
66. Netane Muti – IOL – Fresno St. – 6′-3″ 315 lbs. – Skill set, power and movement ability should have him as the top IOL in the draft. he can flat out dominate. And looks to dominate you. Cannot stay healthy. Serious medical red flags.
67. AJ Dillon – RB – Boston College – 6′-0″ 247 lbs. – A bigger bodied back with more speed than one would think. A gap power fit. Loses a lot when stretched out east to west.
68. Ben Bredeson – IOL – Michigan – 6′-5″ 315 lbs. – A LG prospect I love that has played in Gap/man/OSZ at Mich so he is versatile. Decent mover with good balance and very good power that looks to finish blocks.
69. Amik Robertson – CB – Louisiana Tech – 5′-8″ 187 lbs. – slot corner due to his size. But he is a mean, physical little dude that will bring the fight to you.
70. Lamical Perine – RB – Florida – 5′-11″ 216 lbs. – A patient power back with just enough juice to get to the house. Enough wiggle to get outside, but is at his best working north to south.
71. Jabari Zuniga – Edge – Florida – 6′-3″ 253 lbs. – Decent burst, OK against the run, good athlete with range. Another boom bust prospect.
72. Kenny Willekes – Edge – Michigan State – 6′-4″ 264 lbs. – Relentless, tough, strong, try hard with average athletic ability for the position. I think due to that he is a 43 DE.
73. Alex Highsmith – Edge – Charlotte – 6′-4″ 248 lbs. – Dynamic athlete off the edge with plenty of range, good flexibility and a great motor. Not the sturdiest run defender. 34 Edge.
74. Logan Wilson – LB – Wyoming – 6′-2″ 241 lbs. – A easy flowing downhill ILBer with average athletic ability, plays with smarts and under control. Don’t think he has the range to cover on passing downs. 2 Down ILBer.
75. Anthony McFarland – RB – Maryland – 5′-8″ 208 lbs. – An undersized, raw talented HR threat from anywhere on the field. Not a 3 down guy.
76. Shaquille Quarterman – LB – Miami – 6′-1″ 234 lbs. – A real old school MLBer that reads, reacts and then thumps. I think he moves well enough to help in some coverage.
77. Antonio Gibson – RB – Memphis – 6′-1″ 223 lbs. – A wr/rb/do it all back with home run ability. Elusive with a bit of power. A jack of all trades, master of none.
78. Evan Weaver – LB – California – 6′-2″ 237 lbs. – Not the world’s greatest athlete, but he is so instinctual he’s always around the ball. Super productive. Not a hammer and not great in coverage.
79. David Woodward – LB – Utah State – 6′-2″ 230 lbs. -Not fast or super athletic, but he is smart, instinctual and has a big motor. He is everywhere. ILB
80. Ke’Shawn Vaughn – RB – Vanderbilt – 5′-10″ 214 lbs. – Decent vision with good balance and ok speed. Good pass catcher. Lacks wiggle and not explosive.
81. Quintez Cephus – WR – 6′-1″ 202 lbs. – Wisconsin – Big strong physical. Good route runner that can get himself open. Lacks deep speed. Faced 2 counts of sexual assault, case was dismissed.
82. Jason Strowbridge – IDL – North Carolina – 6′-4″ 275 lbs. – A gap jumper that lacks the size to hold his ground against double teams. Once he is into gaps, causes issues for the offense. A 34 DE or 43 DE is his future.
83. Alton Robinson – Edge – Syracuse – 6′-3″ 264 lbs. – A toolbox full of length, athletic ability, bend and explosiveness. Decent against the run. Just needs to put it all together. 34 Edge with a high ceiling.
84. Joe Bachie Jr. – LB – Michigan State – 6′-2″ 230 lbs. – a ILB with good instincts and decent range. Will pop you in the mouth when given the chance. Probably a 2 down ILBer in the NFL. Steroid suspension…
85. Joshua Kelley – RB – UCLA – 5′-11″ 212 lbs. – Strong, tough with good balance and hard to bring down, but lacks wiggle and HR speed. A one cut and go type of back.
86. Lynn Bowden – WR – Kentucky – 5′-11″ 204 lbs. – a gadget WR that can play RB and QB (wildcat) A real team guy that you will need to game plan to get the ball in his hands as he learns to be a slot WR.
87. Colby Parkinson – TE – Stanford – 6′-7 252 lbs. – Big with a big wingspan, he will torture defenders in the middle of the field and the endzone. Not a great blocker and needs to get stronger.
88. Antonio Gandy-Golden – WR – Liberty – 6′-4″ 223 lbs. – Crazy catches are littered throughout his highlights. Outstanding catch radius combined with flypaper hands make him a bigtime contested and 50-50 ball receiver. Not a great athlete or burner.
89. Darrynton Evans – RB – Appalachian State – 5′-10″ 203 lbs. – Lightning in a bottle. His change of direction and lateral jump cuts will have defenders tackling air. HR speed. Narrow frame with little room for growth. Better outside then inside. OZS committee back.
90. J.R. Reed – S – Georgia – 6′-1″ 202 lbs. – An old school SS that works best moving forward as he doesn’t have the foot speed to be ultra rangy.
91. Harrison Bryant – TE -Florida Atlantic – 6′-5″ 243 lbs. – Athletic with good hands and is a good route runner. He isn’t a blocker. His calling card is in the middle of the field.
92. Javelin Guidry – CB – Utah – 5′-9″ 191 lbs. – Quick, oily and super fast. Size is going to limit him to slot/nickel/dime work.
93. Hakeem Adeniji – OT – Kansas – 6′-4″ 302 lbs. – Another smaller LT that moves well and could slide into a zone scheme easily. needs to add power.
94. Jacob Breeland – TE – Oregon – 6′-5″ 252 lbs. – An average at best athlete, but plays with an edge and isn’t afraid of contact. Good hands and can get deep. Decent inline blocker.
95. Geno Stone – S – Iowa – 5′-10″ 207 lbs. – Another kid from Iowa with smarts, instincts and lacks a big athletic profile. Works best in the box or zone coverage.
96. Markus Bailey – LB – Purdue – 6′-1″ 235 lbs. – A Kiser clone in the fact that he is a smart. between the tackles, run stopping machine. Not enough athletic ability or speed to cover against the pass. 2019 knee injury muddies his water. 2 down ILB.
97. Josiah Deguara – TE – Cincinnati – 6′-2″ 242 lbs. – Good inline blocker regardless his size, is also a good route runner and pass catcher. Not a tremendous athlete, but is first team try hard TE. A balanced TE.
98. Gabriel Davis – WR – UCF – 6′-2″ 216 lbs. – Exciting athlete with decent speed and plays with a bit of an edge. hands are meh, and he didn’t run a ton of different routes.
99. D.J. Wonnum – Edge – South Carolina – 6′-5″ 258 lbs. – An above average athlete that can do a little of everything, but isn’t great at any one thing. Perfect size for 34 Edge with a great motor.
100. Justin Strnad – LB – Wake Forest – 6′-3″ 238 lbs. – Smooth moving forward and backward, can run and cover and go sideline to sideline. Would rather run around blockers then stack and shed. Still learning the nuances so his arrow is pointing up. ILBer in an odd front or WILL in an even front.
101. Myles Bryant – CB – Washington – 5′-8″ 183 lbs. – another slot CB, plays faster than he ran, explosive movement skills.
102. Lamar Jackson – CB – Nebraska – 6′-2″ 208 lbs. – Big, long and physical. Speed will give him issues. Press man CB.
103. Julian Blackmon – S – Utah – 6′-0″ 187 lbs. – Fun kid on tape. Plenty of speed and range, great physicality, but at the same time, not a tremendous athlete.
104. Devin Duvernay – WR – Texas – 5′-10″ 200 lbs. – a speed demon that would rather run you over then around you. A RB in a WRs body. A smart OC can do alot of stuff with this kid. Small catch radius.
105. Essang Bassey – CB – Wake Forest – 5′-9″ 191 lbs. – a nickel/slot CB that gets after it and is a smooth enough athlete to mirror really well.
106. Charlie Heck – OT – North Carolina – 6′-8″ 311 lbs. – As Alyo has stated, the son of a coach. Smart, good technique and excellent length. Needs to add some weight and power. Great developmental type of L/RT.
107. James Lynch – IDL – Baylor – 6′-4″ 289 lbs. – Monster sack production from a guy with not a ton of athletic ability. Not twitchy and not explosive. Just average strength. Really just wins on an all-day motor and a give ’em hell attitude.
108. Trevis Gipson – Edge – Tulsa – 6′-4″ 261 lbs. – an easy mover with decent burst and good flexibility. Can get bullied against the run. Developmental 34 Edge.
109. A.J. Green – CB – Oklahoma State – 6′-1″ 202 lbs. – Physical CB, sometimes too physical. Decent speed and a decent athletic profile.
110. Jalen Elliott – S – Notre Dame – 6′-0″ 205 lbs. – Slow, moderate athlete, but man he loves to blow up ball carriers. IMO a box safety or a big nickel LBer.
111. Mitchell Wilcox- TE – South Florida – 6′-3″ 247 lbs. – Hard working combo TE that had good production, but won’t wow you as an athlete. I worry a bit about his hands.
112. Trevon Hill – Edge – Miami – 6′-3″ 248 lbs. – Athletic, bursty edge with a nice pass rush. Needs to add weight to handle the run. Pass rush specialist early. 34 Edge.
113. Josiah Scott – CB – Michigan State – 5′-9″ 185 lbs. – A nickel back with good speed and decent toughness for his size. Good ball skills. Too small to survive on the outside.
114. Myles Dorn – S – North Carolina – 6′-2″ 205 lbs. – A decent all-around S with good work in the box and some solid pass defense stats. His lack of speed may limit his upside.
115. Kendall Coleman – Edge – Syracuse – 6′-3″ 257 lbs. – Average athlete that is really still developing his skill set. Good motor and plays with nice physicality. Needs to be developed. Developmental 34 Edge.
116. Jake Hanson – IOL – Oregon – 6′-4″ 303 lbs. – A zone scheme OC. A technician and good athlete, lacks the strength to trade power with defenders.
117. Mykal Walker – LB – Fresno State – 6′-3″ 230 lbs. – Has played DE, Edge and ILB. So, he is a movable chess pc. I like him as an ILB in an odd front. Certainly knows how to blitz, can drop into coverage and will stick his nose in the fan in run support. Needs development time, due to so many position changes.
118. Lavert Hill – CB – Michigan – 5′-10″ 190 lbs. – A hard-nosed press man. Lacks speed to stay with the fast WRs. Might work inside. Man only.
119. – Michael Warren II – RB – Cincinnati – 5′-9″ 226 lbs. – Decent feet for his build (a bowling ball) with good power and contact balance. Not making you miss and isn’t a HR hitter. Another short yardage back IMO.
120. Tanner Muse – S – Clemson – 6′-2″ 227 lbs. – A big S, maybe a LBer…4.41 speed, can play deep due to his speed and athleticism, can play in the box due to his size. Never put it all together for his profile.
121. Aaron Parker – WR – Rhode Island – 6′-2″ 209 lbs. – A good blend of physicality combines with his ability to go up and get it makes him a contested catch monster. He needs to develop his route running.
122. Kyle Murphy – IOL – Rhode Island – 6′-3″ 316 lbs. – Overpowered FCS competition, needs to add size and power to do that at the NFL level. He’s an easy mover with good footwork. Scheme versatile.
123. Joe Reed – WR – Virginia – 6′-0″ 224 lbs. – A deep threat with good hands and can return in STs. Has some wiggle. Another gadget kid early as he learns to run routes properly.
124. Stephen Sullivan – TE – LSU – 6′-5″ 248 lbs. – Massive seam buster that got lost in the shuffle of an all star offense. Long, middle of the field mismatch. Not a tremendous blocker.
125. Benito Jones – IDL – Ole Miss – 6′-1″ 316 lbs. – a fire hydrant with very good strength. Won’t slide thru gaps but holds more than his own against the run. A true NT with a little pass rush push.
126. Jaylinn Hawkins – S – California – 6′-1″ 208 lbs. – Smart, physical with some range. Not a ton and won’t wow you going sideline to sideline. Decent ball skills, but he has room for improvement.
127. Davion Taylor – LB – Colorado – 6′-1″ 228 lbs. – Late comer to football. Kid is a PAC 12 track star, so he can fly, great athlete, smooth mover. Great motor. Needs to get stronger and needs massive development. WILL or ILB in a 34.
128. Kyahva Tezino – LB – San Diego State – 6′-0″ 235 lbs. – Plays the run well, decent athlete that can get to the sidelines and plays with patience and intelligence. Lacks length and quickness.
129 Devin Asiasi – TE – UCLA – 6′-3″ 257 lbs. – a combo blocker/receiver with good size for the position. Needs technical work in all aspects. Developmental type traditional TE.
130. Dalton Keene – TE – Virginia Tech – 6′-4″ 253 lbs. – Here is your late round, H-back, fullback, TE. He can block and catch but was never really given much opportunity. Decent athlete, but plays like an old school TE.
131. Kindle Vildor – CB – Georgia Southern – 5′-10″ 191 lbs. – Ballhawking athletic CB with the size and footwork to work in any scheme. Not great in run support. Can be over-aggressive.
132. Stephen Guidry – WR – Mississippi State – 6′-3″ 201 lbs. – Long with long arms and decent deep speed. Can go up and get it, or win over the top. Not a great route runner.
133. Justin Herron – OT – Wake Forest – 6′-4″ 308 lbs. – A OG in the NFL. Good pass blocker with decent footwork, has trouble trading power in the run game. Zone scheme OG.
134. Reggie Robinson II – CB – Tulsa – 6′-1″ 205 lbs. – Long with decent athletic profile, does his best work in a zone and things are in front of him. Nice production. Modest athlete.
135. Tyrie Cleveland – WR – Florida – 6′-2″ 209 lbs. – Long and fast. Never ran a diverse route tree, but he can eat up a DB in a hurry. Will need some development.
136. Jon Runyan – OT – Michigan – 6′-4″ 306 lbs. – I think he moves inside to OG. Son of an NFL OT. So he is smart. Good athlete but lacks strength. zone scheme OG.
137. Tipa Galea’i – EDGE – Utah State – 6′-5″ 235 lbs. – An explosive, oily, easy mover. Needs to add mass if he wants to hold up against the run.
138. Nigel Warrior – S – Tennessee – 6′-0″ 190 lbs. – Vols played him everywhere from what I saw. So he can do some of everything. Good athlete, good run defender for hsi size. Lack of ball production is a concern.
139. Nevelle Clarke – CB – UCF – 6′-1″ 190 lbs. – I called him a mini Ramsey. Plays with a swagger and a ballhawks mentality. Great size for a CB. Easy mover. Needs to add strength and some weight to reach his full potential.
140. James Proche – WR – SMU – 5′-11″ 201 lbs. – Natural hands and just catches everything. Smooth athlete, with great college production. Not a burner. Needs to work on route running.
141. Cameron Brown – LB – Penn State – 6′-5″ 233 lbs. – Long for a LBer. Also raw. Can cover a ton of ground quickly and goes sideline to sideline. Not great in coverage. Not sure his position fit. 43 OLB or maybe add 15-20 lbs and make him a 34 edge?
142. Sean McKeon – TE – Michigan – 6′-5″ 242 lbs. – A combo TE that can block in line and be used as a pass catcher. Not the most dynamic route runner, or athlete, but he competes hard. Good 3rd TE for a roster.
143. Quez Watkins – WR – Southern Miss – 6′-0″ 185 lbs. – Will take the top off a defense. No idea how to run a route, gets open from DBs being scared of being ran by. Electric in the open field. Needs to add some good weight.
144. Grayland Arnold – CB – Baylor – 5′-9″ 186 lbs. – Nickel CB with great ball production. Smooth lower body makes him sticky, has a ballhawk mentality. Lacks size to hold up on the outside.
145. Charlie Taumoepeau – TE – Portland State – 6′-2″ 240 lbs. – Literally a move TE. He played H-back, RB, TE, WR for Portland State. So he can block and catch and be a nice depth piece. Nothing athletically extrordinary.
146. Levonta Taylor – CB – Florida State – 5′-10″ 190 lbs. – a CB turned safety, smooth lower half and good speed and lack of strength make him an ideal zone fit, either as a nickel or S. had back problems in the past.
147. Mohamed Barry – LB – Nebraska – 6′-1″ 245 lbs. – A bull in a china shop ILBer with sideline to sideline athleticism. Tough and strong just kinda running around out there hitting things and overrunning other things…
148. John Reid – CB – Penn State – 5′-10″ 187 lbs. – A physical press man CB that due to lack of size will end up being a Nickel Back. Average speed to match his average athletic ability.
149. Jordan Fuller – S – Ohio State – 6′-2″ 203 lbs. – A single high safety that is too slow to play single high in the NFL IMO. Racked up a ton of tackles and loves to hit. I like him as a depth/3rd safety with plenty of upside in the box.
150. Derrek Tuszka – Edge – North Dakota St. – 6′-5″ 251 lbs. – A 43 end that will transition to a standup 34 edge. Tough, strong and can hold up vs the run. Great pass rush production. Decent athlete, but lacks flexibility to bend around the edge.
AgamemnonRams General Manager Les Snead & Head Coach Sean McVay – – April 21, 2020
(On what he learned this Spring during the evaluation process that might change or impact how he approaches the draft this year)
MCVAY “I think what’s been really good is the dialogue, especially between (Rams General Manager) Les (Snead) and myself and really our groups as far as looking back on the three years of experience that we’ve had. The good things, maybe some things that we would say, maybe we would handle differently and that’s what it’s always about is self-evaluating, being able to learn from our mistakes, continue to try to replicate some of the things that have enabled us to have a certain level of success. I think it’s about recommitting every single year to evaluating your own roster, what are some of the needs? What do we feel like based on the flow of the league and trying to be competitive within your own division, the types of players that we want to onboard and the types of people that we want in our building? We’re hopeful that our people and our way of doing things will create our edge. We’re excited about attacking this draft process and fulfilling some of those needs to try to complete our roster to be a competitive group in 2020 in a very tough division.”(On if any players other than OL Brian Allen or anyone in the organization has tested positive for COVID-19)
MCVAY “No, not that I know of. When we spoke last time, out of respect for the privacy of (OL) Brian (Allen) and where that was at, at that time and that’s why I didn’t want to reveal any specific names. When he had decided to speak about it openly, then you at least felt comfortable to acknowledge who it was. I was really pleased and proud of the way that Brian communicated immediately. I think (Senior Director of Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie Scott’s guidance and leadership through that process, as you’re trying to navigate through it and handle it in all the right ways, was instrumental in us taking those steps with some urgency and now our facilities are opened back up. There hasn’t been anybody else that’s been exposed to that, to my knowledge.”(On what went into the decision to trade WR Brandin Cooks)
SNEAD: “Many variables go into any time you trade someone, but probably to keep it simple is – a lot of teams did contact us about (WR) Brandin (Cooks) throughout this, I guess you’d call, offseason, whenever the new league year started, even before a little bit. We were committed to keeping Brandin because of what he did for our offense. I think in that time where we, I’d call it, naturally played hard to get because we weren’t actively trying to move him. When a few teams did come with a chance to get a second-round pick, that’s probably when we sat down and (Rams Head Coach) Sean (McVay) and I discussed, ‘Hey, what could be best moving forward?’ That pick being very valuable. Us with the emergence of (WR) Josh Reynolds and (WR) Robert Woods and (WR) Cooper Kupp, especially Josh Reynolds coming. We’ve got a deep receiver room, I think that helped and then getting another pick in the top 60, very valuable. I think those two variables – getting a second-round pick, having Josh Reynolds to go with two other very accomplished players allowed us to do that.”(On how he sees WR Josh Reynolds fitting in and if it will be Cooks’ role or seeing interchangeable parts with his three starting receivers)
MCVAY “In a lot of ways, it’s a big vote of confidence to what we feel like Josh is capable of, of continuing to ascend to. He’s stepped in and been a starter and he’s got the ability to play really our X or Z, he can play in the slot. I think, really, we just feel like he’s a capable starting receiver if you’re getting into some of those three receiver sets. I think it’s also a reflection of the confidence that we have, really in our skill group as a whole. You can activate five different skilled players at any time, it doesn’t necessarily always have to be three receivers. You look at the emergence of (TE) Tyler Higbee, we’ve talked a lot about the confidence that we have in (TE) Gerald Everett, we’ve got to get (RB) Darrell Henderson going. We’ve got some skilled players that we’re excited about doing a better job of developing and seeing these guys have success. When you take a look at that unit as a whole and the entirety of what they represent, those are where you feel comfortable to make those decisions and there are some capable guys that we might be able to add in there in the next couple of days.”(On how they see the possibilities for drafting a wide receiver given how many there are in this draft)
SNEAD: “Again, it’s obviously been well stated, this is a very deep receiver draft. With that being said, usually when a draft is considered deep in a position, it’s probably a lot of those players are gone in the first 32 (picks). That’s usually what deep means, right? There’s a lot of quality players. The one thing about the wide receiver position in college football, there’s a lot of teams throwing the football, there’s a lot of wide receivers on the field, so it’s imperative for us, our scouting staff working with our coaching staff to maybe get beyond some of the household names that make this draft deep ,that are probably going to go in the top-32 and find some of those players that have a skill set that can fit in to Sean’s offense and help us continue gaining yards, getting first-downs and scoring touchdowns.”
MCVAY “I think a lot of the same. Really, for us, I think our coaching staff, Les and his group have done a great job collaborating to find players that we see value in. It doesn’t exclusively have to be that receiver position. It’s players that have an opportunity to make plays when the ball is in their hands and ultimately, it’s about scoring points. There’s a lot of different playmakers that come from different position groups in this draft and that’s something that we’ll see how things play themselves out. We’ve got a nice opportunity to be patient on Thursday and then Friday will be an exciting chance for us to get four picks off the board, but you guys know Les Snead. He’s a wheeler and dealer, you never know.”(On how the logistics are looking and if everything has gone smoothly on his end and if he has any concerns about the communication for this weekend)
SNEAD: “It’s been very smooth. I think the experts we have helping us or assisting us get through this on our IT team, our video team, I give that group all the credit. Sean’s probably a little more adapt at some of this than I am, but I do know this have relied on some smart people and have not had a glitch at all and definitely am not anticipating any glitches. I do know this, if like anything, you have a phone, so if the screens go out or as (Senior Director of Communications) Artis (Twyman) just did with myself, I don’t know if you all knew this, but I was struggling to get into this Zoom conference, so guess what Artis did? He gave me a call on the old cell phone and it all worked out.”(On what the NFL draft setup will be like at their homes)
MCVAY “This is the command center, that you can see here. It looks like I can set off a spaceship at this thing. Les and I have the same setup. They even got a camera in my office that they’ll film during the draft to make sure that Les and I aren’t at the same location. This is something that’s going to be different for sure.”(On what has been the biggest challenge has been having to go virtual since the NFL Combine and not being able to bring players to the facility)
MCVAY “That’s really been the biggest challenge. I think in a lot of ways, the best part about this is, we’ve probably been more efficient, more detailed, just being able to operate on a cleaner schedule because it does take out – when you’re only just remotely working – you don’t have some of the other distractions that do inevitably come up. So, certainly not minimizing all the stuff that’s going on way bigger than football, but it has probably been the smoothest process. Les and I were able to talk this morning. We’ve been able to connect with the personnel and coaching staff and really have some clarity that you probably haven’t had in previous years because of the limited distractions that you have outside of ‘Hey, let’s focus on getting ready for this draft,’ and then our virtual offseason program with the players will start next Monday (April 27, 2020). So, that’s where there’s been positives. The negatives are where you don’t have that interpersonal interaction, that when you can bring the Top 30’s in. One of the things that I thought was instrumental in our first year that Les has done in previous years, we went around and actually got a chance to workout some guys. We worked out (WR) Cooper Kupp, we worked out (TE) Gerald Everett, some other guys that we were considering. Those are really beneficial things to get that up close and feel, most importantly for the human being, but then also some of the physical things that you’re looking for. That’s where you get a little bit minimized, but it’s sometimes does create clarity because we’re asking them to play football. The Zoom meetings or the FaceTimes have enabled you to have some interaction with the players, where you can still get a feel for their personality and how they’re wired.”(On if the Rams are in the market for a backup quarterback through the draft that the team can develop or if they are satisfied with QB John Wolford in that role)
MCVAY “Yeah, I think, you’re always looking to upgrade that position, but John Wolford is a guy that we’re very excited about. We feel like he is more than capable of continuing to ascend and develop. I think his skill set and just the way that he’s wired above the neck are great traits and things that we look for from that quarterback position. I think what’s just as important is the rapport that he has with (QB) Jared (Goff) because it starts with Jared and then making sure that there’s a good comfortable relationship with whoever that person is as the backup. You never know exactly how this thing sorts itself out, but if you said, ‘We’re going into a season and John Wolford is your backup, and God forbid something happen to Jared, do you think he can come in operate and have you function as an offense?’ The answer is absolutely.”(On if McVay can give a visual tour to media on the call of his at-home command center)
MCVAY “I can give you a quick view as long as it’s got the screensaver that doesn’t have our board. So really, that’s where our boards will be on those monitors – offensive board, defensive board and then the draft tracker, and the other one. That’s really what that entails, so it’s as close to a simulation as what we would have if we were sitting in our draft room at the office. I can’t say enough about (Rams Manager, Information Technology) Jeff Graves and Dan Dmytrisin (Director, Video) on what a job they’ve done of making this as smooth as a process with IT and the video.”(On if the draft board is behind the screensavers of McVay’s command center monitors)
MCVAY “Don’t ask me to show that, now we’re getting carried away (laughs).”(On concern of hackers during the 2020 NFL Draft)
MCVAY “I’m not too worried about that. If they’re worried about hacking us, these things never go exactly according to plan. So, the board is a demonstration of where we have it, but it doesn’t always work out that way, which is why the planning and contingency planning is vital.”
SNEAD: “…You see, I’ve got this little thin notebook.”
Media Member: “It’s the little red book?”
MCVAY “His (Les Snead) penmanship is pretty impressive, too. He’s sent some notes. It’s impressive.”
SNEAD: “Yeah, I think it says ‘2019 Draft area scout draft meeting, coaches meetings.’”
MCVAY “You see the problem is, Les doesn’t know what year it is, but other than that we’re in good shape (laughs).”(On Snead’s quarantine beard)
SNEAD: “I don’t know if this is a beard, this is just probably laziness of not shaving. Then when I got the text from (Rams Senior Director, Communications) Artis (Twyman) this morning, I was slightly embarrassed that I was coming back on a Zoom call, with kind of my fisherman look. I do plan to clean up before the draft. The dress code is the pros of this quarantine.”
MCVAY “Like a true PR director too, look at Artis (Twyman). He looks like he is getting ready to film a shot on Good Morning America or something. He’s got the office setup. I just got my mom’s blinds as an interior designer (laughs).”(On if there’s any concern regarding computer glitches while selecting draft picks)
MCVAY “I think there’s enough time in between picks. The NFL has done a great job of communicating and understanding and some flexibility if some of those things do arise. If you were telling me we’re operating on a real play clock, like 40 seconds or 25 in a really game, I’d say maybe I’d feel a little bit differently, but we have a little bit more time in between those selections and I think the NFL has done a nice job of kind of getting ahead of some of those things that could come up.”(On how the League’s practice draft went and if doing that affected the way they’ll approach the draft)
SNEAD: “I think it went well. I think it served what a – if you want to call it a practice session is for. To get everyone on the same page, to get used to how it was going to play out, especially from a technical standpoint. I don’t think it will change a lot of how you’re going to strategize in the draft. I think if we do make a trade, as Sean mentioned earlier, that’s definitely a possibility. I do think at that point, it’ll probably be a little different than just on the phone, just walking through it. Maybe we’ll be a little more careful to make sure all parties are onboard and in the know, so we can execute a trade without a glitch. I do think like Sean said, I do think the league will be well aware if two teams are trying to make a trade. I do think Jeff Graves showed me, I think there’s an emergency line that you can eventually call in and go, ‘Mayday, mayday. We’re trying to make a trade but technology is down.’ Don’t quote me on that, but I do believe that is the case. I did tell Jeff, that I’m glad Jeff is going to be here. An IT person can be in your home, so that will be a great sidekick.”(On why there’s been a delay in Leonard Floyd being introduced and how important it is to find a potential successor for LT Andrew Whitworth in the 2020 NFL Draft)
SNEAD: “We’ve agreed to terms with (OLB) Leonard (Floyd) and (DL) A’Shawn (Robinson) based on language in your contract on when the players can get physicals and things like that is really the nuances of why you can’t officially announce. That is, again, a little bit of the adversity during these quarantined-times with the physicals. On the OL, I think we have been trying to strategically attack the offensive line position over the last few years and with one main goal to accomplish, is get as many young players that can grow together as possible. When you step into a draft, and say, ‘you have to find your next left tackle.’ It doesn’t matter where you’re picking, that may be hard to do. I think just like in drafts past, if there’s a potential player that can maybe have a shot to replace ‘Big Whit’ (T Andrew Whitworth) in time – now as Sean may say, ‘I don’t know if Whit’s ever going to retire.’ He may be 50 and we’re still talking about replacing ‘Big Whit.’ We’ve done it with (OL) Joe Noteboom, we’ve drafted (OL) Bobby Evans, we can do it again this year. Goal would be, draft someone who can be versatile, not only a left tackle, but as many players that can play left tackle as possible is always good.”(On what would have to happen for the Rams to trade into the first round)
SNEAD: “I think simply put, there’s a football player where we really like the human being and we really like the skillset and we think that player and person can be a benefit, can help us continue contending, continue our winning ways that we’ve established over the past few years.”(On if trading up to the first round is a possibility)
SNEAD: “There’s definitely been, since we’ve been here, we’ve proven that we’ll go get a player and we’ll also move back to acquire, let’s call it, more picks in the draft, which ultimately means more players. So that’s the benefit, you either give up a player on the back end to go get one, or maybe you gain one or two more that you weren’t expecting if you trade back. We’ll try to navigate that as the draft comes to us, because when you’re picking 52 (overall), 57 (overall), there is an element that you have to allow the draft to come to you a little bit.”(On if they expect this year’s draft to be more unpredictable in terms of where players are taken)
SNEAD: “No, I think all drafts are unpredictable. I think the way, let’s call it your profession (media), covers the draft – we all could name maybe the 15-20 (or so) players that we feel like might be first rounders, I don’t know if we could get the order right, so that’s even unpredictable in itself. Except, maybe you can get the names right. I do think once you get late 20s, into the second, third round, you can study a lot of mocks and those players go anywhere from second to fifth (round). The draft’s always unpredictable in that nature. What I like to say is, ‘Everything up to this point is speculation. But no one has seen each 32 team’s draft boards and what they feel and who they feel can help them.’ Then when that team decides to take a player that becomes his IPO, his initial public offering, everything else is speculation up until that point.”(On if Snead tends to get more calls when the Rams do not have a first round pick to move into the round or does he tend to make more of the calls to see what’s out there)
SNEAD: “I think you try to make calls to get a feel for who may be willing to move. In all honesty, when you’re at 52 (overall), I bet teams that are trying to move out of late first would rather not come back that far, and usually the ammo it takes to move up, could be a little unrealistic or maybe less rational unless you’re just wanting to come away with one player.NFL
Find this article at:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001110012/article/daniel-jeremiahs-top-150-prospects-in-the-2020-nfl-draft-class
Daniel Jeremiah’s top 150 prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft classBy Daniel Jeremiah
NFL Media analyst
Published: April 20, 2020 at 10:26 a.m.
Updated: April 20, 2020 at 11:50 p.m.Top 150
Top 50: 4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0With the Cincinnati Bengals set to make the first pick of the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday, April 23, it’s time for my final prospect rankings of draft season.
RANK
1
Chase Young, Edge
School: Ohio State | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 1Young is a tall, long and athletic defensive end. As a pass rusher, he explodes off the ball and gains ground in a hurry. He uses a quick swipe move and also has the ability to control the wrists of blockers. He can convert speed to power and is effective on loops and games. He does have a little tightness at the top of his rush. Against the run, he sets the edge easily and uses his quickness to slip blocks and create chaos behind the line of scrimmage. Overall, Young is an All-Pro talent, reminiscent of Julius Peppers and Mario Williams.
RANK
2
Joe Burrow, QB
School: LSU | Year: Senior (RS)
Previous rank: 2Burrow has solid size for the position and he possesses many elite qualities. He operated out of the ‘gun in the LSU spread attack and he is extremely accurate, efficient and instinctive. He is very smooth in his drop and he has the ability to process through his reads at a rapid pace. He throws with anticipation and he can naturally layer the ball over and under coverage. He doesn’t have top-shelf arm strength when driving the ball outside the numbers. He relies more on timing/touch. He doesn’t flinch versus pressure when he sees something he likes down the field. If he needs to buy time, he can slide and climb the pocket with excellent feel/awareness. He has a nice burst when he leaves the pocket and he is more than a capable runner. Overall, Burrow lacks special arm strength, but his combination of poise, accuracy and toughness is very appealing.
RANK
3
Isaiah Simmons, LB/S
School: Clemson | Year: Junior (RS)
Previous rank: 3Simmons is an extremely versatile, athletic defensive chess piece. He is a long, rangy athlete who lined up at linebacker, over the slot and in the deep middle for Clemson, thanks to his diverse and unique skill set. Against the pass, he has terrific range and instincts from the deep middle. He has the speed and agility to match up with top-flight tight ends and backs underneath. He is an explosive blitzer off the edge and in through the middle. Simmons overpowers running backs in protection. Against the run, he takes good angles and his speed allows him to make plays from the back side. He will struggle at times if he has to take on blocks on the edge. Overall, Simmons is built for today’s NFL and his role could change week to week, depending on the opponent.
RANK
4
Jeff Okudah, CB
1
School: Ohio State | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 5Okudah has ideal size, length, twitch and competitiveness for the position. He is very comfortable and effective in both press and off coverage. He is patient in press and very fluid/smooth when he opens up. He does a nice job of staying on top versus vertical routes and he can locate the football down the field. He has the agility to mirror underneath. In off coverage, he explodes out of his plant and he is a dependable open-field tackler. This is a very clean player with a very high floor and ceiling.
RANK
5
Derrick Brown, DT
1
School: Auburn | Year: Senior
Previous rank: 4Brown has excellent size, power and athleticism for the defensive tackle position. As a pass rusher, he has a quick first step and uses his hands very effectively. He wins with a violent club/swim move, a rip move or a nifty up-and-under counter move. Against the run, he easily holds the point of attack. The Auburn product creates separation from blockers with an explosive punch, which allows him to close quickly and make plays. His effort is consistent. Overall, this is a complete player capable of dominating on all three downs. He’ll be a difference maker on Day 1.
RANK
6
Tua Tagovailoa, QB
School: Alabama | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 6Tua lacks ideal height for the position, but he has quick feet, eyes and release. He primarily operated in the ‘gun at Alabama, but he did take some snaps under center. He is very crisp and urgent in his setup. He throws off a firm platform and he spins the ball really well. He always throws with the proper pace on slants and crossers. He doesn’t have an overpowering arm, but he can still place balls in tight windows. He understands how to hold and manipulate safeties with his eyes. He makes good decisions in the RPO game. He is a nifty runner, but he prefers to buy time behind the line and remain in passing mode. He did struggle with identifying some underneath defenders when in the red zone. He is coming off a serious hip injury and that must be factored into his evaluation. Overall, Tua is the ultimate point guard. If he can remain healthy, he has the potential to be one of the NFL’s most efficient passers.
RANK
7
Mekhi Becton, OT
School: Louisville | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 7Becton is a massive left tackle prospect with a similar size/skill set to former first-rounder Bryant McKinnie. In pass protection, he has surprisingly nimble feet and uses his length to steer defenders. Even when he fails to land his punch, he can absorb rushers with his girth. He needs to improve his awareness versus games up front. He is a dominating run blocker and collects knockdowns by the bunches. He latches on and uses his upper-body strength to torque and toss. He isn’t as effective when working in space. Overall, Becton has areas to improve — mainly balance and awareness — but he is a rare athlete at this size and his upside is through the roof.
RANK
8
Javon Kinlaw, DT
School: South Carolina | Year: Senior
Previous rank: 8Kinlaw is a hulking defensive tackle prospect. As a pass rusher, he has a sudden get-off and he’s quick to shoot his hands and drive back blockers. He will also incorporate a push/pull move on occasion. He does need to broaden his arsenal of moves, but there is tremendous upside. Against the run, he easily locks out single blocks, but he gets washed by angle blocks and double teams. His effort is solid. Kinlaw showed out against elite competition, but he played down to the level of lesser opponents. Overall, Kinlaw’s best football is in front of him and he has Pro Bowl potential.
RANK
9
CeeDee Lamb, WR
School: Oklahoma | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 9Lamb is a tall, lean wideout with top-tier hands, toughness and production. He lines up inside and outside. He is a smooth, fluid route runner and understands how to set up cornerbacks. He also has a good feel in zone. He attacks the ball when working back to the quarterback and tracks the ball naturally down the field. Lamb doesn’t have elite speed, but he can find some extra juice when the ball is in the air. He is at his best after the catch, as he consistently breaks tackles and is also very elusive. Overall, Lamb is a polished player who is equally explosive and reliable.
RANK
10
Jedrick Wills, OT
School: Alabama | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 10Wills lined up at right tackle for Alabama. He has average height for the position and he’s carrying a little extra weight. An excellent pass protector, Wills is quick out of his stance and he’s an easy mover versus speed and counters. He is a natural knee bender and he reworks his hands to maintain leverage/control. He is aware versus games and stunts. In the run game, he is at his best when working up to the second level. He also flashes the ability to roll his hips and uproot defenders over his nose. He’s never on the ground. Overall, Wills doesn’t have the ideal body type, but he has all of the necessary tools to be a 10-year starter at either tackle spot.
RANK
11
Jerry Jeudy, WR
School: Alabama | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 11Jeudy is an elite route runner with outstanding burst, body control and awareness. He explodes off the line and uses his quickness to avoid press coverage. His snap at the top of the route is as good as any prospect in the last decade. He has the ability to make plays outside of his frame, but he will have some concentration lapses, which lead to drops. After the catch, he is very slippery and elusive, although he isn’t going to break a lot of tackles. Overall, Jeudy is a loose athlete with elite route skills and he should emerge as a high-volume production guy very early in his career.
RANK
12
Henry Ruggs III, WR
School: Alabama | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 12Ruggs has an unbelievable blend of speed and toughness. He lines up outside and in the slot. He ran a lot of slants and take-off routes in Alabama’s offense — and he was special on both. Ruggs boasts world-class speed — he truly explodes off the line and after the catch. He needs to continue to refine his releases against press (he gives up his chest too often), but not many defenses will want to take that chance against his speed. His hands are good, not great, and he does allow too many balls into his chest. After the catch, he runs away from most defenders while occasionally running through them. He is outstanding on jet sweeps and also has kick-return value. Overall, Ruggs has Tyreek Hill-type ability. He will be a matchup nightmare every week.
RANK
13
Tristan Wirfs, OT
School: Iowa | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 13Wirfs is a big, powerful offensive tackle. In pass protection, he launches out of his stance and hasn’t had issues versus outside speed rushers. However, he has experienced issues against inside counter moves. He over-sets and struggles to redirect back inside, allowing too many pressures in the games I studied. When he can land his punch, it’s over. His hands are so strong and he has the power base to end the play right there. In the run game, he is very strong and aggressive. He creates a ton of movement, but also will overextend and fall off at times. He’s on the ground too much. I love his aggressive demeanor, but he needs to play more under control. Overall, I believe he can survive at tackle, but he’d benefit from playing with neighbors on both sides. I think Wirfs has All-Pro potential at guard.
RANK
14
Justin Jefferson, WR
School: LSU | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 14Jefferson is a tall, slender wideout with off-the-charts production. He lines up in the slot and out wide. He is an outstanding route runner. He does a nice job getting on the toes of cornerbacks and then creating separation out of the break point. He does a lot of work in traffic and will extend and finish before taking hard contact. He can play above the rim down the field and can contort his body to make special catches. He doesn’t have elite speed, but he’s plenty fast enough. After the catch, he has some wiggle and will fight for extra yards. Overall, Jefferson is a polished receiver and should make an immediate impact at the next level.
RANK
15
Patrick Queen, LB
School: LSU | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 15Queen is an undersized linebacker with outstanding burst, instincts and coverage ability. Against the pass, he is very fluid in his drops and his change-of-direction ability is excellent. He has good instincts to jump routes and he closes to the flat in a hurry. He is a very dynamic blitzer (see him flat-back an offensive guard in the Texas A&M game). In the run game, he is quick to key/read and shoot gaps. He does get uprooted at times because of his size, but he usually finds a way to beat blockers to spots. Overall, Queen is a high-tempo playmaker at the second level and should impact all three downs.
RANK
16
D’Andre Swift, RB
School: Georgia | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 16Swift is a compact running back with excellent patience, vision and quickness. On inside runs, he lets things develop before exploding through the line of scrimmage. He has the vision to see and set up second- and third-level defenders. He has make-miss ability in tight quarters, but prefers to drop his shoulder and seek contact. He has enough speed to capture the corner on outside runs. He is a cradle catcher in the passing game, but it’s effective. In pass protection, he likes to cut block and he’s reliable. Overall, Swift has a similar skill set to Josh Jacobs, and I expect comparable results at the next level.
RANK
17
Kenneth Murray, LB
1
School: Oklahoma | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 18Murray is an off-the-ball, run-and-hit linebacker. He is at his best when he’s free to chase and make plays to the perimeter. He closes in a heartbeat and he is an explosive tackler. He struggles when he has to play off blocks and locate the football through the trash inside, as he doesn’t use his hands and gets swallowed up. He has had some success dipping and slipping blocks. He is very athletic in coverage versus running backs, easily mirroring them in space. He is also a very dynamic blitzer. Overall, I believe Murray would be best served to play outside and off the ball, where he would be afforded clean sight lines to attack with his speed.
RANK
18
Andrew Thomas, OT
1
School: Georgia | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 17Thomas is a thick, powerful offensive tackle. In pass protection, he has average foot quickness in his set, but he possesses a powerful punch and strong anchor. He gets in trouble at times because his base is too wide; he lunges and loses balance. He plays with good overall awareness. He is a dominant run blocker. He can uncoil and uproot defenders over his nose and has the strength to wash defenders down the line of scrimmage on down blocks. He is effective working up a level when he can stay on one track, but he struggles to redirect in space. Overall, some teams view Thomas as a guard, but I believe he can hold up at tackle if he improves his balance issues.
RANK
19
Ross Blacklock, DT
School: TCU | Year: Junior (RS)
Previous rank: 19Blacklock is a dynamic interior defensive lineman. As a pass rusher, he launches out of his four-point stance and his bull rush is ferocious. He creates immediate knock-back. He is ultra-twitchy. He flashes a long-arm move where he can jolt, separate and finish. As a run defender, he successfully stacks and sheds single blocks, but he needs to improve his awareness and effectiveness versus double teams, where he gets washed down the line. He does have some durability concerns, but his skill set is special. Overall, Blacklock comes with some risk, but he’s worth it. He has the potential to develop into a top-flight interior pass rusher.
RANK
20
Justin Herbert, QB
School: Oregon | Year: Senior
Previous rank: 20Herbert has exceptional size, mobility and arm strength. He has quick feet in his setup and he bounces on his toes once he gets to the top of his drop. His motion can be a little robotic at times, but the ball comes out tight with high RPMs. He has a big arm, but his placement is a little inconsistent. His front side flies open on some throws, impacting his accuracy. That can be corrected. He has shown the ability to touch up the ball underneath and makes some impressive throws on the run. He is a very good runner. He builds speed and he is effective on zone reads. The biggest area he needs to improve is his lack of anticipation. He waits too long to cut it loose. According to everyone at Oregon, his work ethic and character are off the charts. Overall, Herbert has some special physical tools, but he needs to play with less caution and learn to embrace an attacking mentality.
RANK
21
CJ Henderson, CB
School: Florida | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 21Henderson is an extremely explosive and athletic cornerback prospect out of Florida. He played outside and inside on the games I studied. He is very physical in press coverage, landing a two-hand jam consistently. He is extremely loose and fluid to open up and mirror all over the field. He’s hardly ever out of position and possesses rare makeup speed when he is caught in a bind. You see that same burst when he’s in off coverage and the ball is thrown in front. He does need to improve on finding the ball down the field, as he’s often a little late to look back. The major concern with this player is tackling. He has way too many misses and that must be improved. Overall, Henderson has some elite traits and could emerge as the top cornerback in this class, but his tackling must be addressed.
RANK
22
Xavier McKinney, S
School: Alabama | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 22McKinney was an instinctive safety for the Tide and he also spent some time playing nickel linebacker. When aligned deep, he is fluid in his movement and he’s quick to key/read and drive on the football. His range is excellent. While he can effectively locate the ball, he will occasionally lose a 50/50 battle down the field. He is a dependable wrap/drag tackler. He has a very good feel as a blitzer, displaying timing and burst. Overall, McKinney is an intelligent, versatile defender and he should be very effective in multiple roles.
RANK
23
Jordan Love, QB
School: Utah State | Year: Junior (RS)
Previous rank: 23Love has ideal size, arm strength and athletic ability. He operated out of the ‘gun at Utah State and was very fluid and smooth in his setup. He throws from a variety of platforms and arm angles. The ball jumps out of his hand. He is at his best on skinny post drive throws and over-the-top deep balls. His decision making was very concerning this past season. He forced too many balls into crowds and didn’t ever give up on a play — to a fault. His supporting cast wasn’t very good, but he still fell into too many bad habits. He uses his athletic ability to escape and extend plays, but there are occasions when he fails to climb and reset his feet. Overall, Love is a raw prospect who will need some time to develop. There is risk with him, but the payoff could be huge.
RANK
24
Brandon Aiyuk, WR
School: Arizona State | Year: Senior
Previous rank: 24Aiyuk is one of my favorite players in the draft class. He has a solid, muscular frame and plays an aggressive brand of football. He is explosive in his release and he attacks the leverage of cornerbacks before suddenly snapping off his route. Aiyuk doesn’t run a wide variety of routes, but he’s very efficient and effective. He has strong hands and can finish in traffic. He is at his best after the catch, breaking tackles and making people miss without gearing down. Those skills serve him well as a returner, too. Overall, Aiyuk will need a little time to develop as a complete route runner, but he’s a tough, explosive playmaker with added special teams value.
RANK
25
K’Lavon Chaisson, Edge
School: LSU | Year: Sophomore (RS)
Previous rank: 25Chaisson primarily lined up as a stand-up rusher in the Tigers’ defensive system. He is long, explosive and very athletic. As a pass rusher, he relies more on pure get-off speed and athletic ability than technical skill. He is at his best as a looper, where he can find a crease and explode through. He has yet to figure out how to use his length to his advantage on a consistent basis. Against the run, he flashes the ability to stack and hold the point, but he excels at slipping blocks and creating havoc. His speed and effort show up on the back side of plays. Overall, Chaisson is more athlete than football player right now, but he has all of the raw tools to be a dominant force at the next level.
RANK
26
A.J. Epenesa, Edge
School: Iowa | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 26Epenesa is a skilled pass rusher with outstanding size, strength and effort. He has average get-off quickness, but he boasts strong hands, can flip his hips and is a reliable finisher. He has a variety of hand techniques, including a violent club move, swipe move and a push/pull move. He also will flash a long-arm move with his inside arm. He has a great feel when an OT is leaning outside, which creates an opening for his up-and-under inside-counter move. Against the run, he can hold the point of attack easily. His effort on the back side is outstanding, but he lacks the burst to make a ton of plays from distance. Overall, Epenesa has a very high floor as a prospect. He should be a consistent 8-to-10-sack performer at the very least.
RANK
27
Tee Higgins, WR
School: Clemson | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 27Higgins is a tall, long and rangy wideout with elite high-point skills. He uses a quick foot fire to defeat press coverage. He is a smooth, long-striding route runner. He is at his best when on the move: slants, posts and go routes. He lacks snap at the top of his route when working back downhill. He has incredible ball skills down the field. He can elevate and also adjust to the back-shoulder ball. After the catch, he is very smooth and slippery. Overall, Higgins isn’t going to do a lot of the dirty work in the middle of the field, but he’s very effective on the outside and provides big-play ability.
RANK
28
Austin Jackson, OT
School: USC | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 28Jackson brings an intriguing blend of size, athleticism and upside. In the passing game, he has the quickness to easily cut off speed rushers and he plays with good knee bend and balance. He needs to improve on his punch, as he’s often late to shoot his hands and gives up his chest, leaving him vulnerable to the bull rush. He flashes the ability to settle down after giving ground, but this needs to improve. In the run game, he has the quickness to reach/cut off on the back side and he does a good job of staying attached on the front side. His overall play strength needs to improve, but he’s only 20 years old and that should come in time. Jackson isn’t ready to play at a high level right away, but the upside is tantalizing.
RANK
29
Jaylon Johnson, CB
School: Utah | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 29Johnson offers an enticing size/speed combination for the position. He plays a lot of press-bail technique, but also flashes a firm two-hand jam. He is very fluid to open up and has plenty of long speed to carry vertical routes. He also excels when he slides inside to cover the slot. He was rarely challenged down the field in the games I studied. His ball production was outstanding in 2018 and opposing teams chose to avoid him last fall. He is very aggressive versus the run. He closes quickly before coming to balance and delivering firm tackles. Overall, Johnson is very talented and should be a Day 1 starter outside with the potential to cover in the slot as well.
RANK
30
Yetur Gross-Matos, Edge
School: Penn State | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 30Gross-Matos was a tall, long edge rusher for the Nittany Lions. He will stand up on the edge or launch out of his four-point stance. He is a very productive pass rusher. He doesn’t have an elite get-off, but he has very active hands and an array of moves. He has a quick swipe move, inside spin and he can also bend/wrap at the top of his rush. I’d like to see him develop more power, but he still has a lot to work with. He is very effective on loops and games. He does need to improve versus the run, as he sometimes plays too high and gets uprooted. Overall, Gross-Matos offers double-digit sack potential, but he does need to add strength at the next level.
RANK
31
A.J. Terrell, CB
School: Clemson | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 31Terrell is a tall, slender cornerback prospect with a strong resume in a variety of coverages and techniques. In press coverage, he uses an effective one-hand jam before turning and opening up. He can carry vertical routes with his speed, but he is a little bit sticky when he’s forced to gear down and come back downhill. In off coverage, he has a quick pedal, but there is a brief pause in his plant/drive. He has very good ball awareness down the field. He is a reliable tackler and an outstanding blitzer from the boundary corner spot. He had a rough outing against LSU in the national title game, but was otherwise very steady last season. Overall, Terrell has some tightness, but he’s a very solid player who should emerge as a quality No. 2 cornerback for his drafting team.
RANK
32
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB
School: LSU | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 32Edwards-Helaire is a short, compact runner with quick feet, power and prowess in the passing game. On inside runs, he’s a quick-stepper with darting lateral agility to slide and avoid contact. He runs extremely low to the ground and is tough for opponents to square up. He drives his legs on contact and pulls out of a lot of tackles. He is quick to capture the perimeter and refuses to run out of bounds, choosing instead to fight for extra yards. He is outstanding in the passing game. He can line up anywhere in the formation and he runs clean/crisp routes. He catches the ball outside his frame very smoothly and he’s outstanding after the catch. His ability to start/stop in space is elite. He is rarely used in pass protection because of his value out in the route. Overall, Edwards-Helaire has a very similar skill set to Austin Ekeler — I envision a similar role/results at the next level.
RANK
33
Marlon Davidson, Edge
1
School: Auburn | Year: Senior
Previous rank: 34Davidson has average height and a thick/square build. He typically lined up at defensive end for the Tigers, but also possesses the ability to slide inside. As a pass rusher, he is devastating when he has a runway. He generates a lot of power in his bull rush and has an array of hand moves he can incorporate on the move. He doesn’t have an elite get-off, but he wins in the ways just mentioned. He destroys tight ends with his strength and power combination. Against the run, he uses his length to stack blocks, and his effort to pursue is outstanding. Overall, Davidson has some inside/outside flexibility and his production should carry over to the next level.
RANK
34
Zack Baun, LB
1
School: Wisconsin | Year: Senior (RS)
Previous rank: 33Baun is a slightly undersized outside linebacker with excellent athleticism and versatility. He spends a lot of time playing over tight ends and gets the best of them in the run and pass games. As a rusher, he has a good initial burst and can really bend at the top of his rush. He has a nifty inside counter move and he can get skinny before closing on the quarterback. He mixes in a stutter/bull rush, but usually stalls out after generating some push. He is very athletic as a dropper in coverage. He is very good as a back-side run defender because of his burst and effort. Teams will differ on where to play him at the next level. He reminds me of former USC LB Uchenna Nwosu, someone whose versatility the Chargers have tapped into. I’d do the same with Baun.
RANK
35
Jonathan Taylor, RB
School: Wisconsin | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 35Taylor is an ultra-productive running back with outstanding strength and speed. On inside runs, he’s sudden, carries his pads low to the ground and shows the balance to bounce off tacklers while keeping his legs alive. He isn’t overly shifty, but he avoids taking flush hits and he always falls forward for extra yardage. He has plenty of speed to capture the edge and once he gets in space, he can run away from the crowd. In the passing game, he is very effective on screens, where he can set up his blocks and collect big chunks of yardage. He trusts his hands and attacks the ball when he’s out in the route. He didn’t have a lot of reps in pass protection in the games I studied. Overall, Taylor is an explosive home run hitter with upside in the passing game.
RANK
36
Laviska Shenault, WR
School: Colorado | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 36Shenault is arguably the best athlete in the entire draft class. He is tall with a thick, muscular build. He lined up everywhere in Colorado’s offense — out wide, in the slot, at running back and he even took snaps as a Wildcat quarterback. Shenault isn’t a nuanced route runner, but he is a monster with the ball in his hands. He excels on quick hitters, fly sweeps and vertical routes. He has strong hands and his transition into a running back is immediate after the catch. He steps through tacklers and has a burst to finish. He is very competitive. Overall, Shenault comes with some durability concerns and will need time to develop into a fully polished wideout, but he can have an immediate impact for a creative offensive coordinator. He’s too big, strong and fast to not contribute. His drafting team just has to figure it out.
RANK
37
J.K. Dobbins, RB
3
School: Ohio State | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 40Dobbins is a compact running back with tremendous power, balance and instincts. He is at his best on inside runs. He doesn’t hesitate, accelerating into contact and breaking a ton of tackles. He has a nifty inside spin move and can make second- and third-level defenders miss in space. He has enough speed to get to the perimeter, but he always looks to turn upfield as soon as possible. In the passing attack, he is effective in the screen game, but he has more work to do as a route runner. He had two tough drops vs. Clemson in the College Football Playoff, but he was reliable in every other game I studied. He is very aware in pass protection — he can drop his weight and anchor linebackers. Overall, Dobbins’ game should translate very well to the next level. He’ll be a dependable starter immediately.
RANK
38
Cesar Ruiz, C
1
School: Michigan | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 37Ruiz is an extremely consistent, physical and aware center. In pass protection, he has a tight punch and immediate anchor. His lower body is outrageously strong. He is very aware vs. twists/stunts. He lacks elite foot quickness, but he doesn’t have any issues sliding and redirecting to stay square vs. defenders. In the run game, he latches and runs his feet to create movement. He is outstanding on combo blocks, staying under control, locating and walling off linebackers. His lack of foot quickness shows up on outside pulls. Overall, Ruiz reminds me of Travis Frederick coming out of Wisconsin.
RANK
39
Joshua Jones, OT
School: Houston | Year: Senior (RS)
Previous rank: 39Jones lined up at left tackle for the Cougars. He has the ideal frame and length for the position. In pass pro, he is very smooth and efficient in his set. He isn’t overly explosive, but he has enough foot quicks to kick out and cover up speed rushes. He has a firm punch and he does a nice job replacing his hands when they get knocked down. He does play a little high and that impacts his ability to redirect versus up-and-under moves. In the run game, he can create movement on down blocks and is effective at the second level. He shows awareness against both run and pass. Overall, Jones has some games where he looks like a top-15 player (see: the Oklahoma tape), but he needs to play with better knee bend on a consistent basis. He should be a solid, dependable starter early in his career.
RANK
40
Grant Delpit, S
2
School: LSU | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 38Delpit is a tall, fast free safety who also possesses the ability to play in the slot. From the deep middle, he trusts his eyes and explodes to the ball, whether run or pass. He has outstanding range and I trust his ball skills. His numbers dropped this past season, but that was the result of some nagging injuries. He is fluid and smooth when lined up in the slot. He is aggressive as a force defender, but he has too many fly-by missed tackles. Everyone at the school raves about his leadership and intangibles. Overall, Delpit needs to clean up some tackling issues, but he has Pro Bowl potential at free safety.
RANK
41
Cole Kmet, TE
School: Notre Dame | Year: Junior
Previous rank: 41Kmet has an ideal frame for the TE position. He lined up inline and flexed out in Notre Dame’s offense. In the passing game, he has good speed and does a lot of damage working in the seams. He uses his big frame to wall off defenders and pluck the ball in traffic (see: Georgia game). He isn’t very polished or nuanced at the top of his route. He is at his best when he stays on the move instead of working back to the quarterback. He is physical after the catch, but he doesn’t provide much wiggle or elusiveness. In the run game, he can effectively shield and wall off at the point of attack, and he takes good angles working up to the second level. Kmet was the closer on Notre Dame’s baseball team and should make major strides now that he’s solely focused on football. Overall, Kmet isn’t a dynamic player, but he’s going to get stronger. I see him as a reliable, long-term starter at the position.
RANK
42
Jeff Gladney, CB
4
School: TCU | Year: Senior (RS)
Previous rank: 46Gladney lacks ideal size/bulk for the position, but he excels because of his blend of quickness and feistiness. He plays outside and inside. He is at his best in off coverage, where he uses a quick, fluid pedal before efficiently planting and driving on balls thrown in front of him. He doesn’t waste steps. He is always in good position, but will get walled off at times by bigger wideouts. When he does press, he usually sits at 2 yards and carries his hands low before trying to catch wideouts and re-route them. His overall ball awareness is very good. He does a good job coming to balance before tackling runners and he’s also an effective blitzer. Gladney needs to get a little stronger, but I love his scheme versatility and toughness.
RANK
43
Kristian Fulton, CB
1
School: LSU | Year: Senior
Previous rank: 42Fulton has good size for the position and he’s very fluid, smart and competitive. In press coverage, he switches up his technique. He’s primarily patient, but he’ll occasionally land a quick two-hand jam. He lacks elite top speed and he’s had some issues timing his leap on jump balls down the field. From off coverage, he’s very aware and shows some pop out of his plant/drive. He is very aggressive in run support. He fights through blocks and is very reliable in space. Overall, Fulton has some flaws, but I’ll bet on his intangibles and toughness.
RANK
44
Jeremy Chinn, LB
1
School: Southern Illinois | Year: Senior
Previous rank: 43Chinn is a fun player to study. He lined up all over the field in SIU’s scheme. He has an outstanding blend of size, speed and instincts. He is at his best when he’s in the box as a down safety/nickel linebacker. He has tremendous range to make plays sideline to sideline. He can locate and play the ball naturally (see: the high-point INT vs. UMass). He does have a little tightness when he’s in space, but he recovers quickly. He is a very firm/reliable tackler. Overall, I believe Chinn is ideally suited to play WLB at the next level. He is exactly what teams are looking for in today’s NFL.
RANK
45
Justin Madubuike, DT
1
School: Texas A&M | Year: Junior (RS)
Previous rank: 44Madubuike is a strong, versatile defensive lineman. He aligns at every spot along the defensive front, but he’s best suited as a 3-technique (on the edge of the guard). Against the pass, he is very quick to shoot his hands and generate knock-back. He has a quick club/rip move and is very adept at working through half the opponent instead of rushing down their numbers. His effort is outstanding. He is a dominant run defender. He excels at stacking blockers, separating and locating the football. Overall, Madubuike isn’t an elite pass rusher, but he’s impactful and can dominate on early downs.
RANK
46
Denzel Mims, WR
1
School: Baylor | Year: Senior
Previous rank: 45Mims is a tall, rangy wideout with exceptional burst and body control. He uses his quickness and burst to escape press coverage, excelling on vertical routes down the field. He tracks the ball naturally and wins a bunch of 50/50 balls. He will need some time to develop as a complete route runner. He simply wasn’t asked to run a large variety of routes in Baylor’s offense. After the catch, he is slippery and elusive, but he isn’t going to break many tackles. Overall, Mims is a big-play generator on the outside and has all of the tools to develop into a complete receiver.
RANK
47
Antoine Winfield Jr., S
School: Minnesota | Year: Sophomore (RS)
Previous rank: 47Winfield is an undersized safety prospect with outstanding instincts and ball skills. His movement skills are very smooth and easy from the back end. He does a nice job playing over the top. He keeps everything in front of him, collecting a bunch of picks on tips and overthrows. He also spends a lot of time covering in the slot. He has enough speed to carry vertical routes down the field and he is also an excellent blitzer. As a tackler, he usually comes to balance, settles his feet and wraps up. Overall, there is some concern due to size and durability (missed time in 2017 and 2018 due to injury), but Winfield is a playmaker from the deep middle and his ability to match up in the slot is a bonus.
RANK
48
Michael Pittman Jr., WR
NR
School: USC | Year: Senior
Previous rank: NRPittman is a tall, muscular wideout who had excellent production for the Trojans. He lines up out wide and he uses his upper-body strength to power through press coverage. He builds speed as he goes and he is a jump-ball specialist down the field. He high points the ball consistently and big brothers opposing cornerbacks routinely. He doesn’t have elite speed, but he’s very efficient getting in and out of breaks for such a big receiver. He is at his best after the catch, when his competitiveness and strength form a winning combination. He refuses to go down on first contact. Pittman has earned a reputation as one of the best special teams players in the country for his ability to cover and block punts. Overall, Pittman reminds me a lot of current Charger Mike Williams, and he can make an impact on all four downs because of his special teams value.
RANK
49
Trevon Diggs, CB
1
School: Alabama | Year: Senior
Previous rank: 48Diggs has elite size, athleticism and ball skills. (He also played wide receiver and returned kicks during his career at Alabama.) He uses an effective one-hand jam in press before opening up and staying on the hip. He’s fluid for such a big cornerback. It’s important for him to stay in phase with the wideout because he lacks elite recovery speed. From off coverage, he reads through the wide receiver to the quarterback and has a good feel for jumping routes and making plays. His ball skills are outstanding — as you’d expect, considering his brother is Stefon Diggs. He does need to improve as a tackler in space. Overall, Diggs has some room to develop, but he will excite teams looking for a big cornerback to match up with guys like Mike Evans and Courtland Sutton.
RANK
50
Jalen Hurts, QB
School: Oklahoma | Year: Senior
Previous rank: 50Hurts is slightly undersized for the position, but his production, poise and playmaking ability are very impressive. He has crisp footwork in his drop and he throws from a very firm platform. He has a quick release and generates excellent velocity on drive throws. Hurts flashed the ability to touch the ball up, but his ball placement still needs to improve. His vision and anticipation are other areas that need work. He’s an outstanding runner, both on designed runs and when pressured. He gains ground quickly and runs through contact consistently. I love his competitiveness and toughness. Overall, Hurts must continue to improve in the passing game, but I’m going to bet on his eventual success due to his playmaking skills and overall competitiveness.
RANK
51
Jordan Brooks, LB
School: Texas Tech | Year: Senior
RANK
52
Lloyd Cushenberry, C
3
School: LSU | Year: Junior (RS)
RANK
53
Ezra Cleveland, OT
School: Boise State | Year: Junior (RS)
RANK
54
Logan Wilson, LB
School: Wyoming | Year: Senior
RANK
55
Cam Akers, RB
School: Florida State | Year: Junior
RANK
56
Jalen Reagor, WR
School: TCU | Year: Junior
RANK
57
KJ Hamler, WR
School: Penn State | Year: Sophomore (RS)
RANK
58
Josh Uche, LB
School: Michigan | Year: Junior (RS)
RANK
59
Damon Arnette, CB
School: Ohio State | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
60
Robert Hunt, OT
School: Louisiana-Lafayette | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
61
Matt Hennessy, C
School: Temple | Year: Junior (RS)
RANK
62
Willie Gay, LB
School: Mississippi State | Year: Junior
RANK
63
Saahdiq Charles, OT
School: LSU | Year: Junior
RANK
64
Jacob Eason, QB
School: Washington | Year: Junior (RS)
RANK
65
Neville Gallimore, DT
School: Oklahoma | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
66
Isaiah Wilson, OT
School: Georgia | Year: Sophomore (RS)
RANK
67
Jordan Elliott, DT
School: Missouri | Year: Junior (RS)
RANK
68
Adam Trautman, TE
School: Dayton | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
69
Van Jefferson, WR
School: Florida | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
70
Jake Fromm, QB
School: Georgia | Year: Junior
RANK
71
Harrison Bryant, TE
School: Florida Atlantic | Year: Senior
RANK
72
Chase Claypool, WR
School: Notre Dame | Year: Senior
RANK
73
Noah Igbinoghene, CB
School: Auburn | Year: Junior
RANK
74
Kyle Dugger, S
School: Lenoir-Rhyne | Year: Senior
RANK
75
Bradlee Anae, Edge
School: Utah | Year: Senior
RANK
76
Malik Harrison, LB
School: Ohio State | Year: Senior
RANK
77
Curtis Weaver, Edge
School: Boise State | Year: Junior (RS)
RANK
78
John Hightower, WR
School: Boise State | Year: Senior
RANK
79
Antonio Gandy-Golden, WR
School: Liberty | Year: Senior
RANK
80
Devin Duvernay, WR
School: Texas | Year: Senior
RANK
81
Lynn Bowden Jr., WR
School: Kentucky | Year: Junior
RANK
82
Ben Bartch, OT
School: St. John’s (Minn.) | Year: Senior
RANK
83
Darrynton Evans, RB
School: Appalachian State | Year: Junior (RS)
RANK
84
Reggie Robinson, CB
School: Tulsa | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
85
Amik Robertson, CB
School: Louisiana Tech | Year: Junior
RANK
86
Ashtyn Davis, S
School: California | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
87
Josiah Scott, CB
School: Michigan State | Year: Junior
RANK
88
Terrell Burgess, S
School: Utah | Year: Senior
RANK
89
James Lynch, DE
School: Baylor | Year: Junior
RANK
90
Darrell Taylor, Edge
School: Tennessee | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
91
Damien Lewis, OG
School: LSU | Year: Senior
RANK
92
Hakeem Adeniji, OL
School: Kansas | Year: Senior
RANK
93
Davon Hamilton, DT
School: Ohio State | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
94
Bryan Edwards, WR
School: South Carolina | Year: Senior
RANK
95
Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB
School: Appalachian State | Year: Senior
RANK
96
Leki Fotu, DT
School: Utah | Year: Senior
RANK
97
Matt Peart, OT
School: Connecticut | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
98
Davion Taylor, LB
School: Colorado | Year: Senior
RANK
99
John Reid, CB
School: Penn State | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
100
Bryce Hall, CB
School: Virginia | Year: Senior
RANK
101
Terrell Lewis, Edge
School: Alabama | Year: Junior (RS)
RANK
102
Cameron Clark, OG
School: Charlotte | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
103
Grayland Arnold, CB
School: Baylor | Year: Junior (RS)
RANK
104
Jonathan Greenard, Edge
School: Florida | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
105
Zack Moss, RB
School: Utah | Year: Senior
RANK
106
Brandon Jones, S
School: Texas | Year: Senior
RANK
107
Antonio Gibson, WR
School: Memphis | Year: Senior
RANK
108
Raekwon Davis, DT
School: Alabama | Year: Senior
RANK
109
Ke’Shawn Vaughn, RB
School: Vanderbilt | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
110
Julian Okwara, Edge
School: Notre Dame | Year: Senior
RANK
111
Shaquille Quarterman, LB
School: Miami (Fla.) | Year: Senior
RANK
112
AJ Dillon, RB
School: Boston College | Year: Junior
RANK
113
Jack Driscoll, OT
School: Auburn | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
114
Jared Mayden, DB
School: Alabama | Year: Senior
RANK
115
Julian Blackmon, S
School: Utah | Year: Senior
RANK
116
Larrell Murchison, DT
School: North Carolina State | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
117
Khalid Kareem, Edge
School: Notre Dame | Year: Senior
RANK
118
Charlie Heck, OT
School: North Carolina | Year: Senior
RANK
119
Josiah Deguara, TE
School: Cincinnati | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
120
L’Jarius Sneed, S
School: Louisiana Tech | Year: Senior
RANK
121
Devin Asiasi, TE
School: UCLA | Year: Junior (RS)
RANK
122
Kindle Vildor, CB
School: Georgia Southern | Year: Senior
RANK
123
Geno Stone, S
School: Iowa | Year: Junior
RANK
124
K’Von Wallace, S
School: Clemson | Year: Senior
RANK
125
Alton Robinson, Edge
School: Syracuse | Year: Senior
RANK
126
Hunter Bryant, TE
School: Washington | Year: Junior
RANK
127
Jabari Zuniga, Edge
School: Florida | Year: Senior (RS)
RANK
128
Dalton Keene, TE
School: Virginia Tech | Year: Junior
RANK
129
Joe Bachie, LB
School: Michigan State | Year: Senior
RANK
130
Jacob Phillips, LB
School: LSU | Year: Junior
RANK
131
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Follow Daniel Jeremiah on Twitter @MoveTheSticks.
Agamemnonhttps://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-04-07/hospitals-washington-seize-coronavirus-supplies
Hospitals say feds are seizing masks and other coronavirus supplies without a word
By Noam N. Levey Staff Writer
April 7, 2020
2:07 PMWASHINGTON — Although President Trump has directed states and hospitals to secure what supplies they can, the federal government is quietly seizing orders, leaving medical providers across the country in the dark about where the material is going and how they can get what they need to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Hospital and clinic officials in seven states described the seizures in interviews over the past week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is not publicly reporting the acquisitions, despite the outlay of millions of dollars of taxpayer money, nor has the administration detailed how it decides which supplies to seize and where to reroute them.
Officials who’ve had materials seized also say they’ve received no guidance from the government about how or if they will get access to the supplies they ordered. That has stoked concerns about how public funds are being spent and whether the Trump administration is fairly distributing scarce medical supplies.
“In order to have confidence in the distribution system, to know that it is being done in an equitable manner, you have to have transparency,” said Dr. John Hick, an emergency physician at Hennepin Healthcare in Minnesota who has helped develop national emergency preparedness standards through the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
The medical leaders on the front lines of the fight to control the coronavirus and keep patients alive say they are grasping for explanations. “We can’t get any answers,” said a California hospital official who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation from the White House.
In Florida, a large medical system saw an order for thermometers taken away. And officials at a system in Massachusetts were unable to determine where its order of masks went.
“Are they stockpiling this stuff? Are they distributing it? We don’t know,” one official said. “And are we going to ever get any of it back if we need supplies? It would be nice to know these things.”
PeaceHealth, a 10-hospital system in Washington, Oregon and Alaska, had a shipment of testing supplies seized recently. “It’s incredibly frustrating,” said Richard DeCarlo, the system’s chief operating officer.
“We had put wheels in motion with testing and protective equipment to allow us to secure and protect our staff and our patients,” he said. “When testing went off the table, we had to come up with a whole new plan.”
Although PeaceHealth doesn’t have hospitals in the Seattle area, where the first domestic coronavirus outbreak occurred, the system has had a steady stream of potentially infected patients who require testing and care by doctors and nurse in full protective equipment.
Trump and other White House officials, including his close advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, have insisted that the federal government is using a data-driven approach to procure supplies and direct them where they are most needed.
In response to questions from The Times, a FEMA representative said the agency, working with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense, has developed a system for identifying needed supplies from vendors and distributing them equitably.
The representative said the agency factors in the populations of states and major metropolitan areas and the severity of the coronavirus outbreak in various locales. “High-transmission areas were prioritized, and allocations were based on population, not on quantities requested,” the representative said.
But the agency has refused to provide any details about how these determinations are made or why it is choosing to seize some supply orders and not others. Administration officials also will not say what supplies are going to what states.
Using the Defense Production Act, a Korean War-era law that allows the president to compel the production of vital equipment in a national emergency, Trump last month ordered General Motors to produce ventilators to address shortfalls at hospitals.
The law also empowers federal agencies to place orders for critical materials and to see that those get priority over orders from private companies or state and local governments.
Experts say judicious use of this authority could help bring order to the medical supply market by routing critical material — ventilators, masks and other protective gear — from suppliers to the federal government and then to areas of greatest need, such as New York.
Yet there is little indication that federal officials are controlling the market, as hospitals, doctors and others report paying exorbitant prices or resorting to unorthodox maneuvers to get what they need.
Hospital and health officials describe an opaque process in which federal officials sweep in without warning to expropriate supplies.
Jose Camacho, who heads the Texas Assn. of Community Health Centers, said his group was trying to purchase a small order of just 20,000 masks when his supplier reported that the order had been taken.
Camacho was flabbergasted. Several of his member clinics — which as primary care centers are supposed to alleviate pressure on overburdened hospitals — are struggling to stay open amid woeful shortages of protective equipment.
“Everyone says you are supposed to be on your own,” Camacho said, noting Trump’s repeated admonition that states and local health systems cannot rely on Washington for supplies. “Then to have this happen, you just sit there wondering what else you can do. You can’t fight the federal government.”
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Amish Shah is an emergency room doctor and an Arizona State Representative. Here is his view from the frontlines of #COVID19. It’s worth your time to read.Amish Shah
Friends,
Two weeks have passed since my last post. We are now squarely in the throes of this crisis, and the situation has changed for the worse as we all expected. COVID19 continues its devastating march across the world, but one country has been hit especially hard – The United States. America now has the most confirmed cases at 311,000. We now stand at 8,400 deaths and rising fast. For comparison, we had 25,000 cases and under one thousand deaths just two weeks ago. Yesterday we recorded over 34,000 cases and 1,300 deaths in 24 hours – again, the most recorded in the world. Since our testing is uneven and haphazard, there are likely many more cases in the community that are unrecorded. Unfortunately, our situation will still get worse before it gets better.
The New York City metro area is hardest hit, and conditions at many of their hospitals are dire. I trained at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx and worked as a faculty member at Mount Sinai in Manhattan and Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, so I feel for the health care workers at those locations in particular. (See for example: https://www.nytimes.com/…/ny…/nyc-coronavirus-hospitals.html)
I have spoken with some of my colleagues at the New York hospitals and have read their accounts. They describe a heartbreaking scene:
– Huge lines of very sick patients waiting to be seen, all coughing and febrile
– A painful and miserable course for patients lasting weeks, including persistent shortness of breath and severe weakness
– Multiple “Code Blue” (cardiac arrest) announcements throughout the day
– Emotionally and physically exhausted staff who are afraid for their lives but continue to persevere
– Several doctors and nurses who have fallen sick and a few who have lost their lives
– Lack of PPE (personal protective equipment) and supplies such as masks, drugs, and ventilators
– Dead bodies being loaded into refrigerated trucks because there is no space in the morgueThe Governor of New York and their Mayor continue to plead for help, and the help they are receiving does not seem to be enough to meet demand, possibly because other hot spots have emerged across the country, such as Detroit and New Orleans.
We must use all available means to prevent this from happening in Arizona. Currently, we continue to see large increases in cases here. Today, April 5, we have 2,269 cases and 64 deaths – compared to the 100 cases and one death that I mentioned in my last post. Unfortunately, these numbers will continue to rise. Compared to New York, our growth rate is lower, with cases doubling about every five days instead of every three.
Despite the increase in cases, the good news is that the *growth rate* is actually slowing across America – meaning that even if we are on the upslope, the curve is starting to flatten. We believe that this is a result of our ever-stricter social distancing. Let’s keep it up. This is crucial for the sake of our individual safety and for those on the front lines. From all of us health care workers out there, we really appreciate how the vast majority of the public has acted with great responsibility and sacrifice, as well as offers of help.
Meanwhile, I have reached out to many of my physician colleagues to understand how our health system is coping. So far, our Arizona hospitals are not yet saturated with cases. Emergency departments are seeing fewer patients overall. Patients that do present are more often truly ill or injured. We are freeing up resources appropriately, and I’m grateful that the public is responding to our messages to come to the hospital only when appropriate. With regard to sicker patients, several Arizona hospitals have ICUs that are partially full with COVID19 patients, and one (in Flagstaff) is reported to have a full ICU. But most hospitals still have capacity, and the Governor’s order to increase beds in every hospital by 50% will certainly help.
Meanwhile, our hospitals continue to see an increased demand for PPE and are keeping up at this point, even as the situation is tenuous. I have been personally working to connect our hospitals and the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) with suppliers. While manufacturing has ramped up and more supplies are available for sale, we have also received reports of a chaotic and difficult marketplace. Hospitals, state governments, the Federal government (by way of FEMA) and foreign countries are vying for the same precious resources. Just today, however, we received welcome news that Honeywell will manufacture millions of masks here in Arizona for our use.
Testing continues to expand. The US has tested over 1.7 million people. This number continues to increase rapidly with more tests entering the market due to expedited FDA approval. Yet Arizona is still behind. We have run over 27,000 tests, but there are concerning bottlenecks, including availability of swabs and testing reagents. Currently, we can only test those who are ill or with whom we have higher suspicion of contagion. With increased availability, we hope to broaden testing criteria. (I discussed the individual and public health benefits of testing in my prior posts.) Also, researchers in Colorado have developed an antibody test to determine who has already recovered from the virus. This will take months to formulate, but if successful may help many people return to normal life.
Throughout these two weeks, our Governor has taken more steps to maintain social distancing. We’ve pared down the list of essential businesses, allowed for emergency refills of chronic medications, and allowed the use of telemedicine for a number of occupations including physical therapists and veterinarians. Schools are closed for the rest of the year. This will continue to reduce human interactions and therefore viral spread. The CDC has not yet issued a national recommendation that everyone wear a mask in public, but I believe it would be helpful.
Meanwhile, the economy continues to be in free fall, and the pain is real. This week, Arizona saw 88,000 unemployment claims, compared to the few thousand we usually see. The US had over 6.5 million, compared to the usual few hundred thousand. These figures are unprecedented since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Importantly, the supply of food, financial services, and other necessities remains very stable. We are continuing to provide for the basic needs of our people.
These past two weeks, I have heard from so many tenants who have had difficulty with rent, small business owners who are afraid that they will have to permanently shut down, and unemployed people facing uncertainty. We are working to connect every constituent to resources to help them through this difficult time. To highlight, we have increased unemployment benefits, made Small Business Loans much more accessible, and placed a temporary halt on evictions, among other initiatives. Please visit my website at http://www.AmishForArizona.com/Covid for a complete list.
Finally, I want to address a few questions that I have been asked frequently in recent days.
How are we doing? Is our public response adequate? Since the beginning of this crisis, I have continued to support all of our elected officials who continue to act in good faith to serve the American people. This is not a time for politics and backbiting, but rather a time of national unity and good governance. We are certain to learn some important lessons, and once this is over, I hope that we will never forget nor let this happen again. Our human toll and the economic hardship cannot be in vain.
In the longer term, we will have to take specific actions to protect humankind. The origin of the current virus appears to be a food market in China with wild animals and unsanitary conditions, and the international community will have to insist that these types of markets be closed or heavily regulated to stop the emergence of such diseases. We will have to spend more money on research into the development of vaccines for known, predictable threats. Most importantly, we will have to ensure that the national preparedness plan is not just a dusty document on a shelf but a reminder of a real danger to our existence.
Have any drugs been proven effective in treating COVID-19? As for medications, we have had mixed news. Chloroquine has been touted as a promising drug, and one small controlled trial demonstrated some efficacy, but another showed no effect. Larger studies are still ongoing. Another drug, Kaletra, was not found to be useful in one trial. But researchers continue to investigate dozens of other drugs that either block viral entry into our cells or stop its replication. Vaccine development is also promising as more than one research lab has identified a real candidate, but these will take several months of development before we can demonstrate true efficacy and safety in humans.
When will this end, and how can we end it? The timing is very difficult to predict, but it will take at least several weeks before cases start to decline. Once we are certain that the decline is stable, we will want to end the crisis by progressively clearing areas and declaring them virus-free and safe for resumption of normal life.
But to get there, we will need a systemic public health effort to track and trace the virus. This piece of the puzzle has been glaringly absent so far. Such an effort would begin with rigorous quarantine of all positive cases. Then, we would find all of their recent contacts and test/isolate them if positive. We would rinse and repeat until very few positives occur. Several Asian countries enacted such a strategy, and it is akin to using a fine scalpel to cut out the disease from society. It would be a win-win scenario, because once we have only a few positives, whole communities that are free of disease can re-open and restart the economy.
Unfortunately, we do not have a “scalpel” available to us yet. That takes preparation and effort. All we have instead is the “hammer,” meaning massive lockdowns that disrupt much of society. The hammer is blunt and causes collateral damage. My hope is that our hammer buys us enough time to develop a scalpel soon. (For more, see: https://medium.com/…/coronavirus-the-hammer-and-the-dance-b…)
I know that the days ahead are dark, especially the next few weeks. I wish I had better and more uplifting news for you, but my intent here is to give you a real look at what our people are now facing. If this is not affecting your immediate circle, it likely will soon, and I want you to be safe and prepared. I feel the melancholy of our national mood, but find real strength in the knowledge that all of you are striving to make your contribution to our great country every day. For some of you, this means providing essential services like staffing grocery stores and maintaining the food supply despite personal risk. Others are navigating the stress of family obligations while working at home. Some of you are just isolating and making TikTok dance-challenge videos. While social distancing may not feel always like contributing, it’s the most patriotic and community-minded action we can take.
I promise that one day this will end. We have seen other countries get past their terrible peaks and we will, too. Until then, let’s continue to give it our best fight every day, like so many proud generations of Americans have before us during the most difficult of times.
Thank you, and please continue to reach out.
Chloroquine inhibits the virus in test-tubes, is used with Lupus patients as an anti-inflamatory. Might prove effective, might not.
This scientist has some thots on other approaches.
——————————–
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