We graded every pick the Rams made in the 2023 NFL draft. How would you grade their draft class? https://t.co/s309aOgfvH

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) April 29, 2023

By Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/4471020/2023/04/29/los-angeles-rams-picks-draft-2/?source=emp_shared_article

ENCINO, Calif. — Fourteen picks later, the Rams’ 2023 draft is complete.

They mulled their options for a trade into the first round — five players (all on the offensive side of the ball) were considered depending on how the picks fell and the cost, according to a person with direct knowledge of the proceedings, and they “knocked on some doors” with teams to see what this would take. But ultimately they stayed at No. 36 and on Friday snagged an offensive lineman who sat at the very top of their board after they reset it ahead of the second round: TCU’s Steve Avila.

General manager Les Snead, head coach Sean McVay and their staff traded back multiple times to add a fourth-rounder (quarterback Stetson Bennett), then traded back a few more times to add picks in the fifth and sixth rounds (plus a late trade up for running back Zach Evans at No. 215). Their final haul skewed pretty evenly, as it should considering the holes on the current roster: seven defensive picks (including two of their three top-100 picks), six offensive picks and a punter.

Late into Saturday afternoon, some assistant coaches and scouts hung around, wheeling and dealing on the phone as they worked to bring in the rest of their undrafted free-agent class (the Rams usually announce those signings the following Sunday or Monday). The Rams IT and operations staff coiled up internet cables and packed away WiFi routers, and disassembled hundreds of other individual pieces required to make the “draft house” function as a crash-proof operation for three long days. Fourteen picks and it’s over.

Now they get to the football.

The picks

• Steve Avila, G/C, Round 2, No. 36
• Byron Young, OLB, Round 3, No. 77
• Kobie Turner, DL, Round 3, No. 89
• Stetson Bennett, QB, Round 4, No. 128
• Nick Hampton, OLB, Round 5, No. 161
• Warren McClendon, OT, Round 5, No. 174
• Davis Allen, TE, Round 5, No. 175
• Puka Nacua, WR, Round 5, No. 177
• Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, CB, Round 6, No. 182
• Ochaun Mathis, OLB, Round 6, No. 189
• Zach Evans, RB, Round 6, No. 215
• Ethan Evans, P, Round 7, No. 223
• Jason Taylor II, S, Round 7, No. 234
• Desjuan Johnson, DL, Round 7, No. 259

Best pick

Avila. Not only is he massive (6-foot-3 and 332 pounds) and a total road-grader in the run game, but he also didn’t give up a single sack in 2022 at TCU.

“Tough guy, I mean a large human being who moves very well for that size,” said Cedric Jones, who was the lead area scout on Avila. “A guy that is in the business of moving people.”

As a person, Avila draws rave reviews for his character and work ethic. He’s exactly the kind of player the Rams need to help stabilize a roster in disarray.

“He has a great personality, he can relate to a lot of different people,” Jones said. “You can put that guy in, he’s gonna come and do his job. We’re pretty confident in that.”

Pick who will make biggest immediate impact

In the short term, again it should be Avila. The Rams have options with him — they have a vacancy at guard, or they could play him at center. In the long-term outlook, I can see Avila taking over at center and having a solid career there.

Biggest surprise

Hodges-Tomlinson is a surprise, but only because his size profile (5-7 and 178 pounds) is smaller than they’ve generally targeted, even for a player who best projects as a nickel. His assertive playing style is right in their wheelhouse, however, and he’s going to be arriving in Los Angeles with a chip on his shoulder because he, the 2022 Jim Thorpe Award winner presented to the nation’s best collegiate defensive back, fell to the sixth round.

“Even though I’ve done as much as I’ve done … it seems to still go over others’ heads,” Hodges-Tomlinson said. “The Rams believed in me. So, I’m going to make sure that this pick right here is one of the greatest picks that they’ve ever had.”

Hodges-Tomlinson doesn’t lack confidence, and the Rams could use a presence like that roaming underneath their zone and jumping the quick routes that plagued them in 2022.

Biggest question mark

All of their pass rushers — Young, Hampton and Mathis — have some exciting qualities that project well as professionals. But all also come with questions. Young is blazing fast, the speed the Rams have needed off the edge especially with quarterbacks attacking their match-zone with a quick game. However, Young has to take several steps forward as a run defender. Hampton is a powerful player, and solid against the run and in pursuit but inconsistent as a pass rusher. Mathis has all of the athletic potential but is raw.

Remaining needs

The Rams still don’t have a kicker or a long snapper, but their undrafted free-agent (and possibly veteran free-agent) additions will take care of that. They could stand to add a cheap veteran along the defensive line, with so many of their draftees in need of development before they will be impact players. They also could use a little more cornerback depth. Hodges-Tomlinson is a fiery, competitive and assertive player who will immediately compete for time in the slot, but they’re still thin at outside cornerback.

Post-draft outlook

Much of this draft was, in a word, sensible. The Rams didn’t firefly toward shiny skill players with their earliest picks and instead beefed up both sides of their lines. They found a running back and a promising safety way later than they were projected to be drafted and now have a cheap backup quarterback on the roster (the pick point for Bennett has been argued by some fans, but there was an internal sense that other NFL teams were higher on him than they publicly let on so they went for it).

It’s not that they’re thinking Bennett will be their future starter, but more so that they believe he could win them some games and be a competitive leader should quarterback Matthew Stafford get hurt.

The Rams also spent many of their defensive picks either on players at premium positions (outside linebacker and cornerback) or on players who eventually will need to fill a role in unlocking star defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

I never like to judge a draft before the players even take the field. We don’t know what we don’t know! Still, the Rams’ methods this year, and the logic behind many of the picks, moved away from flashier picks and most filled needs with generally hungry, leadership-forward players who will hit a steep learning curve because they’ll have early playing time on such a depleted roster.

Many of the players the Rams selected are still on a developmental path. How they compete — and are coached — in practice will make all of the difference in the coming months.

69RamFan

With 14 players selected, I’m happy with our draft choices we made.

I like our backup QB Bennett, he has the ability to throw 50yds deep, has accuracy and has escape run abilities. He’s mature and should be soaking up Staff’s brain as much as he can.

On the defensive side, Young/OLB, should be a starter. I think he could average 10 sacks.

And I’m hoping that Turner/DT can be up to par and be part of rotation too.

As for our OL, I like both picks and McC should play LG and Bruss(coming off injury) at RG, both need to gain 10 to 15lbs each of muscle in the weight room,
with Avila at C, that should be a massive and mobile OL.

Also, on our P/Ethan Evans

I think we found a gem, looking at his video, the kid has a leg, 60yds easy.

He seems like another Johnny Hekker, He can make those corner kicks.

To top it off, Evans has a leg for KO to kick it out the end zone. So by getting an accurate K/Christopher Dunn with 40+ range, His high being a 53yd.

I feel we’re in good shape.

LMU93

Just personal opinions on how this Draft played out and the path ahead…

Overall, I give Snead, McVay and the scouting department credit. To me the initial judging of a Draft can really only come from estimating value picks vs. reaches. And overall I think the Rams mostly drafted value. It was more of a common sense, “safe” Draft than they’ve had in a while, seemed to have more logic (and maybe humility?) to it than in some past years. There could be no WTF picks with their top few selections and they needed most of their day 3 picks to be guys that were largely anticipated to go earlier. They did that. And I think they largely drafted very good athletes with high motors and good work ethics. That counts for a lot.

As Jourdan has said, in recent years when the roster was more loaded they were more willing to be bold (and a little arrogant?), taking fliers on guys and even drafting some mid-round picks purely for special teams, etc. And they realized they couldn’t do that this year. I give Snead credit for seeming to get just how much the roster needed. All along I had wanted them to end up with fewer and higher (top 150-160) picks vs. quantity. And really, they were able to end up doing both. 7 in the top 175 and 14 selections overall.

Of course, no matter what not all these guys will work out. But most have the ability and experience to at least provide depth. More will contribute as rookies than usual. And in the longer term it will benefit the team as they ‘bridge’ this year to 2024 when they have all their draft capital back and a decent amount of cap space.

Thoughts on some specific picks and positions:

– I didn’t look at Avila at all because I just never thought they’d take an OG like him at 36. I’m so pleasantly surprised. He is a day one starter at LG and, as others have written, might settle in there for 10 years. Exactly the type of attitude OL the team needs. Would fit really well in my opinion in between Jackson at LT and Shelton at C. He’s the type of pick that will have a positive cascade effect on the OL as a whole.

– Young at 77 is the type of guy that can come in and play situationally from day one while he learns the larger game and can grow into more of an every-down role in 2024. No matter who they drafted on the edge- even if they’d taken one at 36 (which was what I expected), they are riding at least somewhat on the development of guys like Hoecht, Hardy and Keir Thomas. For them to get better QB pressure this year at least 2 of those 3 guys have to take notable steps forward. It’s a big question mark entering camp.

– I know nothing about the Wake Forest DT, Turner, other than thinking he could maybe be used to spell Donald 10 snaps/game and help them based on pure motor and effort while he learns the position. Maybe their biggest reach pick? And maybe never more than a rotational DL. But you need those guys too. I really thought TE Tucker Kraft was going to be the pick there (who went the very next selection to Green Bay…). Or the CB Ringo.

– Like others, I was really disappointed when they took Bennett at QB, both for the value itself and given who else was on the board. I thought he could have been taken later until those other 5 later round QBs also went off the board in the next 30+ picks. A lot of us wanted to take a QB around #180-190 overall but that just wasn’t going to happen. Once all those other QBs came off the board it became pretty clear that the idea of waiting on a QB until the 6th round just would not have been feasible. Maybe it was group-think and just one of those runs on a position, but the Rams were one of 6 teams to take QBs between 127 and 160 overall and all six were guys projected to go later. I remain skeptical Bennett can be the QB2 this year. But that seems like their plan. His average arm strength doesn’t matter at all to me. He’s played on the biggest stages against top-level competition. 32 starts which is a big plus for QBs. If his poise, decision making and accuracy are good then his arm strength is just fine. Hopefully he’s mature and a good teammate. Seems like that’s a bit murky?

– If they reached on Turner I thought Hampton helped make up for it by being a pretty good value selection. So was the TE Davis who I think joins Hunter Long as their TE2 and TE3 and ends up with Hopkins cut (saving them $1M) in late August.

– Taylor was probably my favorite day 3 value pick of theirs. He could have gone 50 picks earlier. The Rams seem to feel good about Fuller this year and with Yeast and Lake joining him it can allow Taylor to develop as a rookie and maybe take a bigger role in 2024.

– Hodges-Tomlinson and Evans are intriguing. Each could carve out a year one role for themselves. Or not. Given the CB situation I think there is more than a few people crossing fingers that Tomlinson can. Being related to an all-time great NFL player like LT can only help as far as knowing how to prepare and work. But the Rams CB situation? I like Durant. He got a lot of work the final 6 games and held his own. He’ll be ready for a full-time starting role. But otherwise right now they are counting on two of the three between Rochell, Kendrick and Hodges-Tomlinson to be able to handle starting duties. I like Pleasant a lot as their DBs coach, but that’s asking a lot….

– I know nothing about the punter other than thinking it was a good spot to take one and I’m sure they did diligence on a lot of them. If you’re going to draft a Division II guy punter is a good place to do it. He was also PFF’s top-rated punter.

– I know nothing about Nacua either but it seems like his only real issue is health. If he can stay healthy, great, he could grow into a depth role. He’s athletic and competitive and competing for a WR6 spot this year. Maybe he can learn some things from Kupp. Mathis and Johnson weren’t inspiring picks but we’ll see.

Looking ahead, I think my biggest 2023 concerns are at Edge rusher and CB. They really have to hope a surprise emerges at each spot very early on or the defense will have some growing pains. A healthy Fuller would really help the secondary. And I actually think the DL depth is pretty good. I’m also skeptical they have anyone capable of playing next to Jones at ILB on the roster.

I like what they come into 2023 with at RB, WR and TE. And the Avila addition is again a real positive for an OL that needed both talent and attitude infused in a hurry. They need a strong running game and Avila can obviously help there from day one. Adding him also likely allows Noteboom some breathing room in his recovery. If someone wins the RG spot (not just by default) between Bruss and Anchrum I think things are looking steadier there overall.

Looks like Bennett will likely take 80% of the snaps in preseason which, if he’s going to enter the season as QB2, is a must. Let’s hope he takes advantage of the opportunity.

This Draft helped them- both for 2023 and beyond. I have no doubts there. Enough to make a playoff run this year? Tough to say but the NFC is not nearly as daunting as the AFC. Seattle did seem to solidify their status as NFC West favorites though.

They’re thinner and more questionable at some spots than others. The kicker and punter spots are still very much TBD which isn’t great. But in the end if Stafford, Kupp and Donald are healthy and the OL overall is healthier they can make things happen while the very young team around them develops. And they will enter 2024 with more than adequate salary cap room/flexibility and all their Draft ammo.

By the way, Arizona could very well end up with two of the top five picks in 2024 (and 3 of the top 37).

Breaking down Rams’ draft picks and undrafted free-agent signings

GARY KLEIN

https://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/story/2023-04-29/rams-2023-picks-why-they-were-drafted

The Rams did not have a first-round NFL draft pick again this season, last one coming in 2016 with the No. 1 pick of Jared Goff, but they did select a whopping 14 players over the last two days.

L.A. grabbed six offensive players, seven defenders and a punter. The Rams entered the draft without a kicker, punter or long snapper on the roster. They addressed both lines on Day 2 of the draft, in rounds two and three. On Day 3, they had a fourth-round pick, four fifth-round picks, three sixth-round picks and three seventh-round picks.

Breaking down the picks and how they might contribute with the Rams next season.

Steve Avila — offensive lineman

6 feet 4, 331 pounds, Texas Christian, Round 2, Pick 36

Notable: Avila, a Texas native, played guard, center and tackle during his college career. He started at left guard in 2022 for the Horned Frogs, who advanced to the College Football Playoff title game.

Last season: Avila played in 15 games and did not give up a sack. He was voted to the All-Big 12 Conference team.

Why the Rams drafted him: The Rams’ offensive line underperformed last season even before injuries began to mount. The Rams let guard David Edward leave as a free agent and unproven Tremayne Anchrum is returning from an ankle injury he suffered in the season opener. Logan Bruss, the Rams’ top pick last season, also is coming back from a knee injury suffered during the second preseason game.

Byron Young — edge rusher
6 feet 2, 250 pounds, Tennessee, Round 3, Pick 77

Notable: According to Tennessee’s website, Young worked at a Dollar General store for about 18 months before making the team at Georgia Military College. He played two seasons at the junior college and transferred to Tennessee.

Last season: Young had seven sacks and 12 tackles for losses for the Volunteers. He was voted All-SEC by the league’s coaches. Young had 12½ sacks in his two seasons in Knoxville.

Why the Rams drafted him: The Rams are in desperate need of edge rushers. Last season, the Rams released outside linebacker Justin Hollins and Terrell Lewis. After the season, they released edge rusher Leonard Floyd. Converted defensive lineman Michael Hoecht and Daniel Hardy, a second-year pro who was injured last season, are on the roster.

Kobie Turner — defensive lineman
6 feet 2, 288 pounds, Wake Forest, Round 3, Pick 89

Notable: Turner, a Virginia native, walked on at Richmond and amassed 14½ sacks in three seasons before transferring to Wake Forest for his final season.

Last season: Young played in 13 games but did not start. He posted 10 tackles for losses, including two sacks. He also forced four fumbles for the Demon Deacons.

Why the Rams drafted him: Aaron Donald is a three-time NFL defensive player of the year but the Rams need reinforcements on the interior line. After last season, the Rams let Greg Gaines and A’Shawn Robinson leave as free agents. Turner joins a defensive line group that includes Bobby Brown and Marquise Copeland.

Stetson Bennett — quarterback
5 feet 11, 192 pounds, Georgia, Round 4, Pick 128

Notable: Bennett is the first quarterback selected by the Rams during the Sean McVay era — and only the fourth since Les Snead became general manager in 2012.

Last season: Bennett, who began his career as a walk-on, led Georgia to the College Football Playoff championship. He passed for 27 touchdowns, with seven interceptions.

Why the Rams drafted him: Rams starter Matthew Stafford is 35, and he is coming off a season in which he worked through right-elbow issues, suffered a concussion and was sidelined for the final seven games because of a spinal bruise. Bennett will presumably be able to learn from Stafford, who also played at Georgia, before ultimately succeeding him.

Nick Hampton — edge
6 feet 2, 236 pounds, Appalachian State, Round 5, Pick 161

Notable: Hampton caught the attention of NFL scouts when he recorded 11 sacks as a junior in 2021.

Last season: Despite missing three games because of injury, Hampton had 9½ tackles for losses, including seven sacks.

Why the Rams drafted him: The Rams released Justin Hollins, Terrell Lewis and Leonard Floyd, leaving converted defensive lineman Michael Hoecht and second-year pro Daniel Hardy as the only remaining edge rushers on the roster. Hampton joins third-round pick Byron Young as young players who will try to fill the void.

Warren McClendon Jr. — offensive tackle
6 feet 4, 306 pounds, Georgia, Round 5, Pick 174

Notable: McClendon was a three-year starter at right tackle for Georgia, which won back-to-back national titles.

Last season: McClendon was voted All-Southeastern Conference after starting 14 games. McClendon helped protect quarterback Stetson Bennett, who was selected by the Rams in the fourth round.

Why the Rams drafted him: The Rams are in need of offensive linemen to improve a unit that underperformed and was riddled with injuries last season. McClendon could back up veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein. McClendon was the second offensive lineman drafted by the Rams, joining second-round pick Steve Avila of Texas Christian.

Davis Allen — tight end
6 feet 6, 245 pounds, Georgia, Round 5, Pick 175

Notable: Allen spent most of his first two seasons as an on-line blocker before breaking into the starting lineup as a pass-catching threat as a junior.

Last season: Allen, who caught 28 passes as a junior, grabbed a career-best 39 passes for 443 yards and five touchdowns.

Why the Rams drafted him: The Rams want to build tight end depth. Veteran Tyler Higbee is entering his eighth season — and possibly the final year of his contract. Brycen Hopkins is in the final year of his rookie deal, and the Rams acquired Hunter Long in the trade that sent star cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins.

Puka Nacua — wide receiver
6 feet 2, 201 pounds, Brigham Young, Round 5, Pick 177

Notable: Nacua played his first two college seasons at Washington before returning to his home state and playing for the Cougars.

Last season: Nacua caught 48 passes for 625 yards and six touchdowns. He also is a threat as a rusher.

Why the Rams drafted him: The Rams are searching for receivers to complement star Cooper Kupp, who is returning from an ankle injury that required surgery. The Rams recently traded Allen Robinson. Van Jefferson is in the final year of his rookie contract, and Tutu Atwell and Ben Skowronek have shown improvement.

Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson — cornerback
5 feet 8, 178 pounds, Texas Christian, Round 6, Pick 182

Notable: Hodges-Tomlinson is the nephew of Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson.

Last season: Hodges-Tomlinson was an All-American and won the Jim Thorpe Award as college football’s top defensive back. He intercepted three passes.

Why the Rams drafted him: The Rams did not re-sign veteran Troy Hill, who played as a nickel back. So Hodges-Tomlinson could compete for that role in a cornerback group that includes Cobie Durant, Derion Kendrick and Robert Rochell. The cornerbacks are once again coached by Aubrey Pleasant, who returned to the staff after stints with the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.

Ochaun Mathis — edge
6 feet 5, 250 pounds, Nebraska, Round 6, Pick 189

Notable: Mathis, a Texas native, played three seasons at Texas Christian before transferring to Nebraska for his senior season.

Last season: Mathis started 12 games and recorded five tackles for losses, including 3½ sacks.

Why the Rams drafted him: The Rams and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris continued their search for players who can work with star tackle Aaron Donald and consistently pressure quarterbacks. Mathis joins fellow draftees Byron Young and Nick Hampton to help fill the void left by the release of Leonard Floyd and others.

Zach Evans — running back
5 feet 11, 202 pounds, Mississippi, Round 6, Pick 215

Notable: Evans began his career at Texas Christian and played two seasons for the Horned Frogs before transferring to Ole Miss.

Last season: Evans was sidelined at times because of a hip injury and a concussion, but he rushed for 936 yards and nine touchdowns.

Why the Rams drafted him: Running back Cam Akers, who rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the final three games last season, will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season. Second-year pro Kyren Williams was injured most of last season. Evans gives new running backs coach Ron Gould some depth.

Ethan Evans — punter
6 feet 4, 238 pounds, Wingate, Round 7, Pick 223

Notable: Evans is the first punter to be drafted by the Rams since 2005, when they selected Reggie Hodges of Ball State.

Last season: Evans averaged 40.3 yards per punt for a Wingate team that won 11 games.

Why the Rams drafted him: With no specialists on the roster, new coordinator Chase Blackburn needed players. Last season, Riley Dixon replaced longtime Rams punter Johnny Hekker but the Rams released Dixon and let kicker Matt Gay and long-snapper Matt Orzech leave as free agents.

Jason Taylor II — safety
6 feet, 204 pounds, Oklahoma State, Round 7, Pick 234

Notable: Evans, an Oklahoma native, was a two-year starter who made plays in the secondary and on special teams.

Last season: Taylor was named All-Big 12 Conference after making 99 tackles and intercepting six passes.

Why the Rams drafted him: The Rams needed depth at safety. Nick Scott and Taylor Rapp, starters last season, signed with the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills, respectively. Jordan Fuller is returning from injury and Russ Yeast and Quentin Lake will be second-year pros.

Desjuan Johnson — defensive lineman
6 feet 2, 285 pounds, Toledo, Round 7, Pick 259

Notable: Johnson was selected with the 259th and final pick in the draft. The Rams acquired the pick when they traded pick No. 167 to the Texans for Nos. 174 and 259.

Last season: Johnson had 16½ tackles for losses and 5½ sacks for Toledo, which had a 9-5 record.

Why the Rams drafted him: The Rams did not waste an opportunity to add another potential contributor to a defensive line group that lost Greg Gaines and A’Shawn Robinson. Several late-round picks in the last few drafts demonstrated late last season that they could play as rotational players.

zn wrote:

from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/lists/rams-nfl-draft-grades-experts-2023-class-report-card/

Touchdown Wire – Grade: B

Doug Farrar liked what the Rams did at the top of the draft, particularly with their first pick, Steve Avila. He questioned the selection of Stetson Bennett in the fourth round, however, which many fans and analysts have done, too.

I love the addition of Steve Avila up top — he’s a natural power blocker who will work his way into that depleted offensive line right away. And Tennessee’s Byron Young is a hybrid-sized (6-foot-2, 250-pound) rusher who had nine sacks and 42 total pressures last season. The fifth round was a value round for the Rams — Warren McClendon Jr. was a personal favorite as was Puka Nacua, Davis Allen should thrive in Sean McVay’s offense, and if Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson was six feet tall and weighed 200 pounds, we’d have been talking about him as we were talking about Devon Witherspoon, Christian Gonzalez, and Joey Porter Jr.

Full analysis: Click here

NFL.com – Grade: A-

Chad Reuter wasn’t as critical of the Bennett pick, saying he has the tools to potentially replace Matthew Stafford after he retires – though he needs to do some maturing, too. He also liked the selections of Avila and Taylor in the first three rounds, but he believes Kobie Turner went earlier than expected.

Analysis: Super Bowl-winning quarterback Matthew Stafford functioned as the Rams’ first-round pick again this year. The team added more picks through various Day 2 trades. Adding Avila bolsters the interior of the offensive line, while Young’s closing ability gives him a chance to become an effective edge defender. Turner was a productive player at Richmond and Wake Forest but went a bit earlier than projected.

Full analysis: Click here

Pro Football Focus – Grade: A-

Pro Football Focus noted that Young isn’t a finished product as a pass rusher, but the potential is there for him to become a quality player. Turner got some good recognition from the analytics site, which viewed him as one of the most underrated players in the entire draft.

The Rams grab one of the most underrated players in the class. After producing at an elite level in the FCS for Richmond, Turner transferred to the Demon Deacons and earned a 92.2 PFF grade in 2022 — the second-best mark in the Power Five, behind only Georgia’s Jalen Carter. Turner plays with excellent leverage and possesses strong hands and quicks.

Full analysis: Click here.

Sports Illustrated – Grade: B

Gilbert Manzano, who used to cover the Rams, gave them a grade of ‘B’. He views Avila as a potential starter at guard next season and the team’s center of the future, while Young fills a clear need at edge rusher. Turner should get better after learning from Aaron Donald, too.

The Rams were smart to add depth to the offensive line after the starting unit was decimated by injuries in 2022. Avila could compete for a guard spot next year and possibly become the center of the future. L.A. followed with another smart decision, addressing its pass-rushing need by selecting Young, who could provide that after recording seven sacks last season. Turner lacks ideal size as a defensive tackle, but he’s a polished pass rusher and will get to learn from Aaron Donald. The Rams made noise on Day 3 after selecting Bennett to be the backup for Matthew Stafford. — G.M.

Full analysis: Click here

The Ringer – Grade: C+

Danny Kelly noted how large the Rams’ draft class is, consisting of 14 total players. The quantity is there, but he doesn’t believe they found a star in this class. And while Byron Young is an older prospect, Kelly sees him as “an athletic marvel.”

I’m also a fan of day-three role players Clemson tight end Davis Allen, BYU pass-catcher Puka Nakua, and Ole Miss running back Zach Evans, the latter of whom could push Cam Akers for carries early on. This wasn’t the flashiest group of players for the Rams, and I’m not sure I see a star. But L.A.’s got to rebuild the depth of their roster—and this was a solid start.

Full analysis: Click here

FOX Sports – Grade: B

Eric D. Williams gave the Rams a ‘B’ for their class, noting that Bennett should be a “solid backup” to Stafford. Young will help replace Leonard Floyd on the edge, and Avila should shore up an offensive line that turned into a revolving door last season.

The Rams had several needs to fill, particularly on the defensive side, where Aaron Donald is one of the few starters sticking around. Tennessee edge rusher Byron Young should help replace the production left vacant by the departure of Leonard Floyd. TCU product Steve Avila helps bolster an offense that started 14 different offensive-line combinations in 2022. Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett should be a solid backup for the aging Matthew Stafford.

Full analysis: Click here

…

From Roundup: Grades for and reactions to Rams’ 2023 NFL Draft picks

Stu Jackson

https://www.therams.com/news/rams-2023-nfl-draft-grades

CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco: B

Prisco says TCU guard Steve Avila (Round 2, No. 36 overall) was the Rams’ best selection.

“The Rams didn’t have a first-round pick — shocking, right? — but they made the most of the picks they did have,” Prisco writes. “They picked a lot of good players. In addition to Avila, I liked a lot of their picks, including third-round edge Byron Young. Sixth-round corner Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson is a quality player, who could be a good nickel. This team is being overhauled and this is the kind of draft that gives a team some good, young bodies to help make it happen.”

Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer: B-

“The Rams, for a change, loaded up on draft picks after not having a first-rounder again,” Iyer wrote as part of his analysis. “There’s a lot of volume here, with Avila, Young, McLendon, Hodges-Tomlinson and Zach Evans standing out as the most valuable picks for Les Snead and Sean McVay.”

ESPN’s Todd McShay says Tennessee outside linebacker Byron Young was the Rams’ best value pick (subscription required to read full analysis).

“Hitting on the Day 2 and 3 picks is going to be important, and I think a lot of prospects in the Rams’ rookie class will have a chance to start at some point this season,” McVay wrote as part of his breakdown. “So getting an impact edge rusher such as Young in the third round? Massive. He has a really explosive first step and closing burst, and it’s no surprise that Young lit up the combine with a 4.43-second 40 at 250 pounds, along with wild 11-foot broad and 38-inch vertical jumps. All three numbers were first or second among edge rushers.”

Who had the best draft⁉️ pic.twitter.com/pBElRvqs7Y

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) May 3, 2023

wv wrote:

I’m just being Blonest.(blunt and honest) w v

Thafin go-ed.

“That’s fine. Go ahead.”

Billy_T wrote:

What’s interesting about the Rams is, they are at the forefront of not sending scouts on the road, not having scouts or coaches at the combine, so when you see them select players you consider to be reaches for reasons beyond the film,

We already know that’s probably an exaggeration. The Rodrigue article about the draft talks about the road. So I don’t know what the real story is.

Inside the Rams’ major changes to their draft process, and why they won’t go back to ‘normal’

Jourdan Rodrigue

Apr 12, 2021

https://theathletic.com/2507342/2021/04/12/inside-the-rams-major-changes-to-their-draft-process-and-why-they-wont-go-back-to-normal/

In January, as on-field drills got underway at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., under the gaze of dozens of NFL talent evaluators, Rams general manager Les Snead and his staff were watching the broadcast of the event from their homes, instead.

Taking necessary safety precautions against COVID-19 forced teams to move toward an all-virtual offseason last spring, and the Rams pulled their scouts off the road during college football season in the fall. But even as in-person scouting events increased little by little this spring, the Rams largely kept operations virtual. It wasn’t just the Senior Bowl; the Rams have only sparsely attended this spring’s local or regional college pro days that replaced the annual NFL scouting combine.

Even in the post-pandemic offseasons of the future, the Rams won’t likely be prominent figures at any of these pre-draft events. Individual meetings held with prospects have been conducted virtually leaguewide over the last two seasons, but even when restrictions are ultimately lifted, the Rams aren’t likely to return to the old ways of in-person “top 30” visits or private workouts with players at the team facilities.

This change in the Rams’ approach directly correlates to the ways they’ve also changed their pre-draft evaluation process — from the data points they match to players, to how they project development, to their internal hierarchy of physical testing and even to their use of resources such as the time and energy spent evaluating players. Last spring, the pandemic — and resulting restrictions — only expedited the changes beginning to take hold within the Rams’ building. In some ways, the Rams even felt they were proved right about the direction they are heading as they watched five of their draft picks become substantial role players in 2020 (running back Cam Akers and safety Jordan Fuller became starters).

In fact, it doesn’t sound like they’re ever going back to the way it was done before.

“We’re always trying to build to where you don’t necessarily have to be there (in person),” Snead told The Athletic. “That’s a model we’re trying to come up with.”

To understand why the Rams are comfortable operating like this, it’s important to first know how their valuation of some of the data produced at events such as the combine or pro days has changed over the years.

All of the data is important, and it’s being shared at a greater rate than ever before. This year NFL teams are sharing medical information on players and testing numbers, and each team constantly collects and assembles everything from athletic profiles, to film, to interviews with scouts and college coaches, to psychological profiles and more (how deeply they dive into each category varies by team).

“With no combine, all pro days we will share data, but that occurs every year in a system that’s referred to as the APT system,” Snead said. “Every club doesn’t have to attend a pro day, but (if a player at a) subset school didn’t go to the combine, we can (still) get the standard 40-yard dash, standard short shuttles, and that data is shared.”

The difference for the Rams is in how they disseminate and apply that data to the players themselves.

Take the 40-yard dash as an example.

Earlier this spring, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah tweeted that he believes the 40-yard dash — perennially marketed to fans as the premier event of the NFL combine and prospect pro days — will soon become obsolete.

In the Rams’ building, it already is — and has been for a couple of years.

“Does it matter whether (a receiver) runs a 4.48 or a 4.56? No,” said J.W. Jordan, the Rams’ director of draft management. “That’s where you use tape, GPS, all the information and data you have on him. Does (the 40) really and truly matter? No.”

Ever since colleges began providing teams with GPS data for players, the Rams have been among the NFL teams to use and apply the data to what they see on film. By doing this, they are not watching how fast a player runs in a straight line — they are projecting how fast he gets into position on a field, in a variety of live-action scenarios. They can see how his play speed matches up against his opponents and how well he can move at the opening of a play, versus when it breaks down and he has to freestyle.

“If you’re looking for a Cooper Kupp, a guy who can do the stuff over the middle, can be a great route runner and get separation with quickness,” Jordan said, “if that’s what you need in a given year, you wouldn’t weight that 40 time as heavily and you might have guys like that (on your board) ahead of guys with faster times.”

Kupp, whom the Rams drafted in the third round in 2017, ran a 4.62-second 40 at the NFL combine. But the team wasn’t really interested in that time; instead, they pulled the GPS data from the routes he ran at the Senior Bowl to gauge how quickly he could navigate the shorter space he would be working with as a slot receiver in their system.

Similarly, the Rams felt Fuller dropped into the sixth round in the 2020 draft because he ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash — and could not believe their luck when they saw him falling to their pick in that round. Internal scouts, plus former director of college scouting Brad Holmes, had been extremely high on Fuller’s game tape, and the Rams had GPS data from Ohio State that showed Fuller’s remarkable ability to cover a field — at a much higher play speed than his straight-line test indicated.

“The answer to most of our questions is found by watching film of that football player play football,” Snead said. “Not necessarily watching that player do a short shuttle … or an interview where he’s probably prepped on how to answer the questions based on how you want them answered.

“Ninety percent of your evaluation is going to come from watching the orchestra play music or watching the actress act, not watching them memorize their lines.”

That’s not to say the Rams don’t take a player’s straight-line speed (best demonstrated by a 40-yard dash) into account in their overall evaluation of that player. For a “speed threat” receiver, Jordan said, the Rams might weight that time just a bit more than they would a technical receiver such as Kupp. Jordan said that a 40 time can also be helpful as a flag or checks-balances tool in the rare occasions in which a player initially ranked very low on an evaluation blows out his measurables/testing. At that point, the 40 time’s usefulness expands to that of a signal to scouts to check their early evaluation, and see if there is anything they missed or any additional outliers.

For the Rams, it’s just a less important data point than many, many other traits and measurables, and certainly less important than what they see from that player in a game. Snead said the last 10 percent of the evaluation could come from any number of things — but it should serve as a confirmation of what an evaluator found in the other 90 percent, not as a catalyst to change it.

If a measurable such as a 40-yard dash is this much less of a deciding factor in the Rams’ draft process, and if those data points are at once available to the team without them needing to spend the unnecessary extra time to obtain them, why would they?

“It’s not like my ability to time a 40 is better or worse than anybody else’s,” Jordan laughed. “I don’t need to sit there and time a guy on the 40 to believe that he ran whatever time it was. … We get the data, we get the information. As long as we get it, that’s all that matters. … I don’t need to watch a guy jump a vertical jump.”

As he spoke, Jordan turned the volume down on the television in his office, on which a pro day was being broadcast by the NFL Network. He called it “good background noise.”

As the Rams’ view on measurables such as the 40-yard dash has shifted, and data-sharing has increased among NFL teams, so has their usage of time-on-task hours.

The position drills at the Senior Bowl are perennially a helpful tool for teams because they pit a pool of higher-level draft talent against their peers, instead of relying on a range of opponents varying in skill level through the college season. Yet Snead feels he and his staff of evaluators may be even better served viewing them virtually — so even as NFL evaluators were allowed to attend the all-star event, the Rams stayed home.

Snead explained that if he were to be in the bleachers in Mobile, Ala., watching those workouts in person, he wouldn’t be able to extrapolate the players he actually wanted to see, nor focus full attention on any one player for an extended period of time for fear of missing another.

In a virtual setting, the Rams’ regional scouts watched the broadcast of the practices live, then received film of each player in their region courtesy of the Senior Bowl’s staff. When the scouts finished writing their reports, the film then was cross-referenced by position evaluators and analysts, who also wrote reports on all of the prospects in their respective “pools” of talent. Each of the Rams’ personnel staff members did this from their own home.

The whole process took about a week, whereas Snead said if the Rams had traveled to the Senior Bowl, it would take them two or three weeks to get through the same workload. Film study wouldn’t even start until after every staff member returned from Mobile.

“It’s about trying to be efficient with the time, versus, ‘Let’s all travel and let’s all hang out in Mobile,’” he said. “You get a feel for kind of ‘live’ work … then you go back and do all of this next week, where you watch the film. The Senior Bowl really calls for two weeks of work, maybe more (with travel) …

“Let’s look at the amount of travel we’ve been doing. Is that really necessary, or are we only doing it because that’s the way it’s always been? Can we actually engineer a setting where our evaluators can have the time to evaluate more film, travel less?”

James Gladstone, the Rams’ director of scouting strategy, has nicknamed such a process “overriding old data.”

“What are you doing, and why are you doing it?” Snead explained the phrase. “The easiest thing to do is to say, ‘hey, this is what we’re doing.’ But I think what I’ve challenged our group to do is to know why we’re doing it — and does that ‘why’ give us an advantage?

“And if it doesn’t, we should eliminate it.”

The Rams tried this approach with the NFL scouting combine in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic escalated into a global crisis.

Snead and head coach Sean McVay attended the combine (usually seven to 10 days long) for only about 24 hours, to conduct their annual pre-draft media sessions. Most of the Rams’ assistant coaches and coordinators didn’t travel to Indianapolis. Instead, they gathered the most important part of it — players’ medical data — via their team physicians who were on site.

“There are a lot better things for me to do that would be more beneficial to the Rams than spend seven to eight days at the combine,” Snead said. “Even when I was there, I’d spend a lot of time in the hotel room doing film evaluation and what-have-you, just because it’s hard to lose those weeks.

“Even analyzing data, it’s better for me to sit with our ‘Nerd’s Nest’ (the Rams’ team of analysts stationed in Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and analyze the data coming in, of all of these kids running 40s and short shuttles and all of that, than me watching them do it.”

Jordan said that many of the events of the combine are more ritualistic than they are of actual value to teams.

“The most important thing at the combine is the medical information that you get from the physicals,” he said. “That doesn’t affect scouts. … I believe that if you put most people on a lie detector test, you’d find out that a lot of people think that, from a scouting perspective, a lot of stuff you do at the combine is done just because everybody does it, and everybody’s always done it, and it’s just checking a box.”

That includes the notorious combine interview process — sometimes referred to as the “car wash” — in which prospects churn through a series of 15- to 20-minute interviews with teams. A group of NFL personnel people, sometimes including the head coach and even team psychologists, sit in a room with a prospect and essentially grill him. They might ask the prospect to draw up plays or run him through a series of mental hoops and odd questions. Snead and Jordan believe this process, which unfairly backs a prospect into a corner against a dozen NFL people, also increases the likelihood that a player is coached by agents on what to say, or is automatically at a disadvantage by being one person speaking, or “presenting” to a group of NFL personnel. That dynamic can present a skewed version of a player’s actual personality, and influence a whole new set of unconscious biases within some evaluators.

“Why do you have to be sitting in the same room with them?” Jordan said. “Maybe you get a little bit out of it, but are you really going to figure out a person in 15-20 minutes?”

Without a formal combine, teams can spend multiple hour-long sessions with prospects via video conferencing. Even when in-person interviews return, Jordan says the Rams won’t overlook the value of more private, personalized and in-depth conversations that happen virtually.

“If you’re looking to really dive into the kid, the person, the background, the football knowledge — in a lot of ways, it’s actually better,” he said. “The more intimate setting (makes players more comfortable). It’s not one kid walking into a job interview with 10 people staring at him. It seems like the one-on-one intimate setting, kids are more comfortable. When they’re more comfortable, they tend to be more honest.”

The Rams’ changing of their philosophy and practices during draft season has been in the works for a few years — and drastic adjustments into an all-virtual setting forced by the pandemic in the 2020 draft expedited the process.

“Off the heels of that 2020 draft, and really looking toward 2021, we refined our process to guide an approach that centered around one main thing,” Gladstone said. “That being: Measuring raw potential in really an authentic football environment, to determine the scheme fit and the culture fit (of the player).

“And the benefits of no in-person all-star attendance, no combine and minimal pro day attendance where we’re just sending folks on specific ‘missions’ is that the transfer of energy that would otherwise be given to logistics or travel is turned into film evaluation — an authentic football environment of a player performing — and digging deep with sources on the human being, (and) then the virtual player interviews where you now have the capacity to potentially reach more.”

Their model began to shift in 2016, as the then-St. Louis Rams began their transition to Los Angeles, and they faced another dramatic catalyst to their everyday processes. Similarly to 2020, they were largely working from home during the peak of draft season (without the same technology they have today).

“We realized that some of the things that we were doing in terms of meeting and traveling were inefficient,” Jordan said. “We were not equipped, from a technological standpoint, to do some of the things that we are now. But we were dealing with the same type of issues in the sense that we cleared out (our offices) in St. Louis sometime in February, and didn’t get out to Los Angeles until April as a scouting department.

“That was the year we traded up for (Jared Goff), we drafted (Tyler) Higbee. We got Cory Littleton and Morgan Fox as undrafted free agents … and that may have been the true genesis of it, in a sense, where it put the realization in our heads that, ‘Hey, we got through these two months basically working remotely.’ And I think that might have been the first realization that we didn’t really miss much by being in limbo during the move. From there, we had an infusion of younger, more tech-savvy people who could really push it to the next level.

“We didn’t bring either Cory or Morgan in on a visit, didn’t do an interview with Cory at the combine. … It sticks with you, those sorts of things. Like, ‘Do we really need to do this?’”

Now, the Rams may never go back to the “old” ways, even as restrictions and precautions start to lift.

Without a combine, many teams have flooded the local and regional pro days held in its place with their maximum allotment of personnel (three per team, per league rules). For several teams, it’s the first opportunity to see prospects in person.

The Arizona Cardinals, for example, have sent multiple personnel people and coaches to at least 50 pro days this spring. Titans head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters last week that his own staff had been working hard through the spring to get someone at every single pro day.

Yet the Rams have sparsely attended these events, and they certainly have not sent three of their personnel people at once. Even at more widely populated pro days held by some powerhouse FBS schools they were the only one of 32 not to go. Rams personnel people admit that there’s a safety element to staying away from more populated events — plus, with limited draft resources this year, they don’t want to tip their hand too much toward any one prospect or school.

“Why take the extra risk if there’s no additional reward to taking that risk?” Jordan said. “Everything they do is on film. We can watch all of it … the risk/reward thing doesn’t add up to send people.”

For many inside the Rams’ personnel department, it’s tough to see a return to an offseason schedule that would feature their presence at multiple pre-draft events. Gladstone believes that the time they save — as well as the financial resources required to coordinate that travel period — can be funneled into an even more robust analytics department and the investment into analytical resources used by the team to help disseminate a massive wave of data that will hit the NFL in the coming years.

Meanwhile, the Rams’ team-building model has also shifted. In recent years, Snead has offloaded their first-round picks in bundles for “proven” entities such as cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and more recently, quarterback Matthew Stafford. Because the Rams are currently winning at a sustainable rate, Snead believes those future first-round picks would be in the latter part of the round and, therefore, worth less in the Rams’ minds than, say, a former No. 5 overall cornerback or No. 1 overall quarterback (two high-value positions; the Rams wouldn’t do this for a running back, for example).

Those players, plus their and other “core contracts,” are an investment into stars but also shrink the Rams’ draft capital and their financial capital. The complementary aspect of that model, then, is to identify and draft players who can develop into starters or role players while still on rookie deals when plugged in between the core contracts, and then let them get paid by somebody else, resulting in the “free” compensatory picks doled out by the NFL each spring.

It’s a fragile ecosystem, so it becomes all the more crucial to find some sort of “edge” within the draft process that makes the Rams more competitive there, given the draft’s importance to their success and relative dearth of capital. Could their re-assessment of resources such as “time,” as well as their data points within the evaluation process, be the answer?

“The results aren’t (going to be) totally clear until a few years later,” Jordan said. “But just looking at our (2020) draft and college free agency … it seems like it was successful given who has contributed in their rookie year.

“Signs are pointing in the right direction.”