draft "grades" & reviews

Rams succeed in exploiting value of draft’s middle rounds

RYAN KARTJE

link: https://www.ocregister.com/2019/04/27/analysis-again-rams-succeed-in-exploiting-value-of-drafts-middle-rounds/

THOUSAND OAKS — Here they were again, wading through the middle rounds, scraping up value wherever they could find it. An All-American safety with a slow 40 time. An All-Pac-12 nose tackle with iffy measurables. An offensive lineman who struggled through injury. An athletic linebacker who’d once been expelled.

Over the first two drafts of Coach Sean McVay’s tenure, when a series of big trades left them barren of picks, this value shopping approach to the draft had become the Rams’ standard out of necessity. But this time, armed with a first-round pick for the first draft in three years,they’d arrived at this strategy by choice.

And who could blame them? They’d found gem after gem in the uncertain muck of the draft’s middle rounds, mining for prospects who might’ve been mistakenly undervalued, for one reason or another. All seven of the third- and fourth-round picks from McVay’s first two drafts are expected to play major roles next season, and by any measure, that’s a staggering rate of success.

“You can always go back to John Johnson and Cooper Kupp,” Rams general manager Les Snead said on Saturday, the final day of the draft. “They didn’t test well, but we thought they were really good at football. It worked out.”

Only time will tell if they’ve found a similar treasure trove in the middle rounds of this draft. The Rams made a point to pick four times in the draft’s top 100, moving around the board five times in the first two days, then one more time on Day 3, to ensure they nabbed the specific prospects they’d sought all along.

The elation of their first selection, Washington safety Taylor Rapp, suggests he’s well on his way to joining other Rams who outperformed their draft slot. McVay said on Saturday that the team considered taking the former All-American with the 31st pick, before they dealt back twice, only to find him still sitting there at No. 62 overall.

They used their remaining picks to move up and down the board with a purpose, targeting specific prospects that they felt fit their system. It’s that specificity that made this draft stand apart from the previous two, when the Rams were less comfortable with what they wanted from their personnel and schemes.

With their first pick on Saturday, Snead moved up to take a prospect who fit perfectly into the team’s gaping hole at nose tackle. Since watching him dominate first-round offensive linemen at the Senior Bowl, the Rams scouting staff had become enamored with Washington’s Greg Gaines. Drafting him on Day 3, Snead said, was the team’s “first priority”.

Gaines ultimately fell to the fourth round (134th overall), which was much further down the board than the Rams had him listed. They packaged two fifth-round picks to assure he became a Ram, and now, judging by their initial praise, Gaines may have the fast track to the vacated starting nose tackle spot.

“We have a vision for all of those guys, and you can see a fit,” McVay said. “That’s a credit to where we’re at, going into our third year, we have a much better feel for our personnel, the guys we’ve brought in from free agency, the things we want to do specific to the scheme.”

That scheme seems primed for changes, no matter how successful it proved a season ago. McVay hinted the instinctual Rapp could play an immediate role in three-safety dime and nickel sets, adding more speed and athleticism on later downs. The drafting of explosive “change-of-pace back” Memphis’ Darrell Henderson might seem like a red flag for Todd Gurley’s health, but it also points to an evolving scheme that could utilize a pass-catching back alongside — not instead of — their workhorse.

Without many major holes on the roster, the Rams could afford such a luxury. Their most obvious vacancy was filled with the selection of Gaines on Saturday. They added depth along the offensive line, drafting two offensive tackles, including one on Saturday, Wisconsin’s David Edwards, who saw his stock plummet after playing through a shoulder injury as a senior.

Their final choice of the draft, linebacker Dakota Allen, may not have been on the draft boards of some teams. Allen was expelled from Texas Tech after he was charged with second-degree burglary in 2016. The charges were eventually dropped, and he ultimately returned to the school following a junior college stint that was captured on the Netflix documentary series, “Last Chance U”. But on Saturday, it was uncertain if Allen would get a chance in the NFL because of the incident.

“I honestly can’t believe I’m an L.A. Ram,” an emotional Allen told reporters on Saturday.

But Allen’s selection fell in lockstep with a strategy they’ve become adept at exploiting over Snead and McVay’s three drafts together. Allen, like Gaines and Edwards and Rapp before him, had fallen down draft boards for reasons outside of his production on the field.

The Rams had already mitigated those concerns with all their picks. They’d seen Rapp’s preternatural instincts and witnessed Edwards, sans shoulder injury. They’d watched Gaines plow through top competition, in spite of his measurables, and they’d seen Michigan cornerback David Long excel in spite of his size. With Allen, they spoke at-length about the incident and came away impressed with how much he’d learned.

The same could be said of the Rams, who after three years spent deep in the middle rounds, seemed to have learned a thing or two about how to exploit the draft board.

Taylor Rapp, S, Washington, 2nd round, 61st overall: An All-American safety, Rapp is a first-round talent who only fell because of an especially slow 40 time at his Pro Day (4.77). The Rams aren’t concerned and expect him to have an immediate impact in three-safety sets.

Darrell Henderson, RB, Memphis, 3rd round, 70th overall: With the health of Todd Gurley’s knee in question, the Rams traded up to nab an explosive, “change-of-pace” back, who averaged 9.15 yards per carry last season.

David Long, CB, Michigan, 3rd round, 79th overall: Long may be undersized, but his stickiness in man coverage should help him step into the Rams secondary rotation early on.

Bobby Evans, OT, Oklahoma, 3rd round, 97th overall: The Rams have done well with raw, developmental offensive linemen, and Evans, who could play guard early in his career, fits their usual bill.

Greg Gaines, DT, Washington, 4th round, 134th overall: With a huge need at nose tackle, the Rams draft a huge defensive lineman, who, at 6-foot-2, 316 pounds, was voted by opponents as the Pac-12’s defensive lineman of the year last season.

David Edwards, OT, Wisconsin, 5th round, 169th overall: A shoulder injury was the main reason Edwards fell as far as he did, and in L.A., he’ll have time to develop behind another former Badger right tackle, Rob Havenstein.

Nick Scott, S, Penn State, 7th round, 243rd overall: A favorite of special teams coach John Fassel, Scott will contribute on all special teams from the jump while polishing his game as a safety.

Dakota Allen, LB, Texas Tech, 7th round, 251st overall: One of the stars of Netflix’s “Last Chance U”, Allen was expelled from Texas Tech following a burglary charge, but returned to become an All-Big 12 linebacker.

Draft grade roundup: How experts view the Rams’ class

Draft grade roundup: How experts view the Rams' class

The 2019 NFL Draft is officially in the rearview mirror. It was a hectic few days for the Los Angeles Rams, who made a flurry of trades. When the dust settled, the Rams had made eight selections. Analysts began giving out their grades for how each team did, and we’ve compiled what they thought of the Rams’ haul below:

Luke Easterling, The Draft Wire

Easterling gave the Rams a B+. He didn’t elaborate too much, but he only gave six teams higher grades so he clearly thought pretty highly of what Les Snead was able to do.

Pro Football Focus

The team over at PFF gave the Rams an ‘above average’ grade for their work. They liked the drafting of Taylor Rapp in the second round, calling it a “value selection,” and saying Rapp is a “high-floor” player.

“Michigan cornerback David Long, another PFF favorite, was a steal for the Rams,” they write. As for the Rams’ other Day 2 picks, they write that “Darrell Henderson and Bobby Evans weren’t as favorable as Rapp and Long, but both players still bring a lot to the table.”

On Day 3 they liked the pick of defensive tackle Greg Gaines, writing that “he was one of the best run defenders in college football but flashed some pass-rushing chops at the Senior Bowl, where he had the third-best win rate among interior players in the 1-on-1s.”

Doug Farrar, Touchdown Wire

Farrar gave the Rams a B grade overall. Farrar was a big fan of each of the Rams’ first three picks, writing that “adding Washington safety Taylor Rapp and Michigan cornerback David Long to a defense already full of super-smart and hyper-aggressive defenders doubles down on both attributes. And in Sean McVay’s offense, it’s hard to imagine a better fit than third-round running back Darrell Henderson, who lit up the NCAA last season with an 8.9 yards per carry average.”

A lot of people have pointed out that Gaines could help fill some of the void left by Ndamukong Suh’s departure, and Farrar agrees. He also highlighted third round pick offensive lineman Bobby Evans as someone who plays with a “real nasty streak.”

Mark Maske, Washington Post

Maske also gave the Rams a B. He writes that the Rams did “extremely well” by getting Rapp in the second round. Like many other observers, he considers the drafting of Henderson in the third round to be a sign the Rams are concerned about Todd Gurley’s knee.

Chad Reuter, NFL.com

Reuter gave the Rams a B+ grade overall. Specifically, he gave them a B+ for their moves on Day 2 and an A for Day 3. Reuter liked the Rapp pick, and writes that “I suspect he’ll be a long-term starter once Eric Weddle retires (or if the veteran can’t stay healthy this year).”

Count Reuter as another fan of the Gaines pick, as he too thinks the defensive tackle can offer something on passing downs beyond just his run-stuffing. “Gaines is a top-notch nose who won’t just stand there on pass plays — quarterbacks will know he’s there,” he writes.

The bottom line:

Experts seem to be pretty much united in their belief that the Rams had a very good, if not great draft. Every analyst we tracked that gave out letter grades gave them at least a B. That’s not too shabby considering the Rams went into the draft without a second rounder thanks to the Marcus Peters trade. Snead made some shrewd moves, and overall everyone seems pretty happy with the Rams’ weekend.

from YahooSports

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/final-team-grades-for-the-2019-nfl-draft-190428303.html

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Los Angeles Rams

Picks: Washington S Taylor Rapp; Memphis RB Darrell Henderson; Michigan CB David Long; Oklahoma OG Bobby Evans; Washington DT Greg Gaines; Wisconsin OT David Edwards; Penn State S Nick Scott; Texas Tech LB Dakota Allen

Best pick: Rapp

It was a tossup here between Rapp and Long, but we’ll take a player – our No. 28 overall prospect – who fell surprisingly far following one bad 40-yard dash at his pro day. Running in the 4.7s took him out of first-round consideration, and he has a hip injury that is worth monitoring, but this is a Wade Phillips defender if we ever saw one. Lining up alongside Eric Weddle affords the Rams some tremendous versatility and playmaking with their safeties, so we consider this an inspired selection late in Round 2. It was a shock he tumbled that far.

[​IMG]
Washington safety Taylor Rapp might turn out to be a steal for the Los Angeles Rams. (AP Photo)

Worst pick: Henderson

And by worst, we just mean it was one of the few picks we didn’t absolutely love. Henderson in the hands of Sean McVay does feel like a cheat code admittedly, as the big-play back can be schemed into success in this system. But perhaps the bigger story here is that the Rams now have invested quite a bit in the running back position with 2018 preseason standout John Kelly (a sixth-round pick), re-signing Malcolm Brown and giving Gurley a contract that still leaves the team with more than $25 million in dead money into the 2020 season. It’s perhaps more of an indication that Gurley’s long-term health remains a real worry.

Overall: What a haul for the Super Bowl runners-up. GM Les Snead continues to pull rabbits out of hats with his free-agent maneuverings and his draft work, especially with the foresight a year ago to add Day 3 talent on the offensive line. Those picks, along with this year’s selections of Evans and Edwards, should patch a lot of holes up front. And adding Rapp and Long to the secondary was just terrific. Long has the type of man-cover skills Phillips seeks and might be one of the better Day 2 sleepers. So much to like here, even without a full till of picks and no first-rounder.

Grade: A-

from Washington Post

Los Angeles Rams

The defending NFC champs traded out of the first round but did extremely well by getting S Taylor Rapp late in the second. The first of their three third-round choices was RB Darrell Henderson, perhaps a reflection of lingering concerns about Todd Gurley’s workload and the condition of his knee.

Adding Washington safety Taylor Rapp and Michigan cornerback David Long to a defense already full of super-smart and hyperaggressive defenders doubles down on both attributes. And in Sean McVay’s offense, it’s hard to imagine a better fit than third-round running back Darrell Henderson, who lit up the NCAA last season with an 8.9 yards-per-carry average. McVay can use Henderson as backs like Alvin Kamara and Kareem Hunt have been deployed, and he makes this offense even more dangerous. Fourth-round defensive tackle Greg Gaines out of Washington is a nice rotational fit for a line in need of reinforcements around Aaron Donald. Another guy to watch is Oklahoma tackle Bobby Evans, who plays with a real nasty streak and might be Rodger Saffold’s replacement over time.

Grade: B

JackPMiller wrote:

Gaines is what we need at NT, which for now he can play behind Brockers for a season.

My feeling? Gaines will start. Brockers will be at DE. That will be a good line. Better than last year’s (ie. meaning last year during the regular season).

Rams hit it on the nose with the 2019 Draft

J.B. Long

https://www.therams.com/news/rams-hit-it-on-the-nose-with-the-2019-draft

Here’s the standard caveat that there are over four months to go before the Rams travel to Carolina. But it sure sounds like Greg Gaines walks into the Rams facility as the projected starter at nose in base defense. If the La Habra product delivers on that promise, he’ll become a remarkable Day Three steal for Los Angeles, at 134 overall.

“I think some of the things we talked about – how we get better specific to our scheme, but then also defensively in terms of playing the run a little bit better,” Sean McVay explained Saturday regarding why the Rams felt the urge to trade up for the former Washington Husky. “I think that will be a key factor of being really stout inside and we feel like Greg will provide that.”

Michael Brockers moving back inside from his five-technique had been discussed, in anticipation of Ndamukong Suh signing elsewhere in free agency. Brockers, while willing, seemed lukewarm on the concept. Now, that may not be necessary. Nonetheless, his versatility on the defensive front remains a great asset to the organization.

Some Dawgs on Defense

With the selections of Taylor Rapp and Gaines, the Rams could have four recent Huskies on their game day defense, as the rookies join returning starters Marcus Peters and Cory Littleton.

Chris Petersen has not only rejuvenated a championship program in Seattle, he’s also hired one of the best defensive staffs in college football. Under the tutelage of Washington co-defensive coordinators Pete Kwiatkowski and Jimmy Lake, the Huskies routinely churn out pro-ready talents.

Rapp and Gaines should be as well-versed as any rookies arriving at NFL camps.

Game Recognize Game Speed

Unless you’re picking at the top of the first round—and even if you are—it can be difficult to find prospects who check every box. One area where the Rams evaluators tended to lean in this Draft?

“Short-area quickness.”

It was a term McVay and Les Snead used repeatedly in their post-Draft press conferences.

Their contention is that the game speed of players like Rapp and David Long exceeds what can be measured by a 40-yard dash.

“He’s one of the guys that jumps off the screen,” McVay said of Rapp, who the Rams selected on Friday. “He’s got unbelievable instincts – talk about a guy that has a feel for navigating traffic and being able to make knife tackles as a blitzer.”

L.A. may feel fortunate Rapp didn’t blow away the field with his straight-line speed in Indianapolis. If he had, it’s unlikely he’d have been available with the 61st pick.

Rapp did post the top time in the long shuttle, though, and finished runner-up to Long in the short shuttle. Long also posted the top time in the three-cone drill. So while Rams scouts are encouraged to trust the tape, it doesn’t hurt to have some Combine measurables reinforcing their beliefs regarding game speed.

Better Safety than Sorry

One other thought on Rapp: If he’s as ready as I believe him to be, expect the Rams first pick to find the field early.

Even with Eric Weddle and John Johnson entrenched as starters, Wade Phillips and safeties coach Ejiro Evero and assistant head coach Joe Barry will find ways to leverage Rapp’s ability.

One of the under-the-radar themes of 2018 was Marqui Christian playing 34 percent of defensive snaps as a hybrid linebacker. Might the defensive staff find similar ways to incorporate Rapp without taking Weddle or Johnson off the field?

It’s also worth noting here that Mark Barron’s void needs to be filled.

Bones to pick with you

There may not be a seventh-rounder anywhere in the league with a better chance of making a 53-man roster than safety Nick Scott.

Saturday, Les Snead said that the 243rd overall selection out of Penn State “was one of (John Fassel’s) favorite ever special teams player that he’s graded.”

No franchise values special teams more than the Rams, and when those difficult decisions have to be made at the end of the preseason, Bones’ opinion carries weight.

The impact New England’s Matthew Slater made on the Rams most recent game came to mind when L.A. made the Scott selection.

Center of Attention

We have to be careful not to read too many tea leaves with respect to the positions that the Rams addressed on Draft weekend.

However, I’m inclined to interpret L.A.’s selections as yet another vote of confidence in center Brian Allen.

Instead of making a play for Garrett Bradbury, Elgton Jenkins, or Erik McCoy – centers who were taken in the first two rounds – the Rams layered in more depth and competition at tackle and guard by selecting Bobby Evans and David Edwards.

Is it possible that competition produces a strong candidate at right guard, freeing up Austin Blythe to play center? Perhaps.

But based on what the coaching staff has told us to this point, and how Allen performed in limited duty in 2018, it’s increasingly likely that he’s your Week One center in Carolina.

Similar dots could be connected for fellow second-year player Micah Kiser at middle linebacker, however that’s not a one-player, every-down role like center.

Compensatory Picks Pay Off

In the aftermath of Draft weekend, let’s circle back to see what became of the compensatory picks that were awarded to the Rams, and how valuable they proved to be.

The silver lining in losing Trumaine Johnson and Sammy Watkins in free agency (let’s not pick apart their 2018 performance for other teams relative to their contracts here) was a third round pick for each player.

Anticipating one of those picks allowed the Rams to acquire Dante Fowler at the deadline, who made some of the defense’s most critical plays on the path to Super Bowl LIII. The other third rounder was bundled into a move up the board to select running back Darrell Henderson on Friday.

The way the front office disciplines itself in free agency continues to pay dividends.

from: https://theathletic.com/949929/2019/04/29/2019-nfl-draft-wrapup/?source=dailyemail

NFC West
Los Angeles Rams

Best Pick: RB Darrell Henderson, Memphis

The third-round pick is an explosive weapon and the newest toy for head coach Sean McVay to utilize offensively. He’s also insurance in case Todd Gurley’s injured left knee means a reduction in usage.

Most Questionable: S Nick Scott, Penn State

He did not produce much in non-special teams situations until his senior year in college, and he doesn’t project as much more than a special teams player in the NFL. The Rams selected Scott in the seventh round.

Sleeper Pick: NT Greg Gaines, Washington

Gaines fell in the draft due to measurables, including a lack of height. But he was an effective run stopper throughout his college career and he is expected to contend for a starting job immediately. To get that kind of value in the fourth round is impressive.

—Vinny Bonsignore

from 2019 NFL Draft class rankings

Gennaro Filice and Dan Parr, NFL.com

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001029943/article/2019-nfl-draft-class-rankings-cardinals-redskins-titans-thrive

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For the third straight draft, the Rams didn’t make a first-round selection. L.A. actually came into Thursday night with the penultimate pick of the first round, but the Rams traded out, kicking off a dizzying game of musical draft slots in which the organization didn’t make a single pick in one of its original spots until late in the fifth round. But it’s hard to argue with the draft class produced by Les Snead’s pick-swapping extravaganza. NFL scouts-turned-NFL.com draftniks Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks waxed poetic about Rapp throughout the entire pre-draft process, 40 time be damned! Jeremiah had Rapp as his No. 39 overall player, while Brooks ranked the Washington product as the second-best safety in the class. Snead got him near the end of Round 2. That’s a bona fide value pick for the secondary, and it wasn’t the only one! Long produced some eye-popping numbers, both as a player at Michigan and as a physical specimen at the combine. According to Pro Football Focus, the corner logged 595 coverage snaps during his three-year college career, giving up a grand total of 18 catches (on 60 targets) for 130 yards. Then in Indy, Long recorded the top marks in the three-cone drill (6.45) and the 20-yard shuttle (3.97), displaying the kind of next-level agility that comes in quite handy at the cornerback position. Snead got him midway through the third round, after eight other corners had already been picked. In Round 4, the Rams hopped on Gaines, a 312-pound, high-motor plugger who enthusiastically takes on blocks and blows up running lanes. Sounds like a fine running mate for Aaron Donald. On offense, Snead added quality depth in the backfield (Henderson’s the most explosive running back in this entire class) and the offensive line (Evans and Edwards were both three-year starters on stellar college O-lines). Prudent planning, considering Todd Gurley’s health and the offensive line’s offseason attrition (as well as Andrew Whitworth’s age). A center might’ve been nice, though.

PFF: Rams invested in depth at key positions in the 2019 NFL Draft, set themselves up for long-term success

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-rams-invested-in-depth-at-key-positions-in-the-2019-nfl-draft-set-themselves-up-for-long-term-success

After losing to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl last season, the Los Angeles Rams were in the enviable position of not having any glaring needs come draft day. As such, they moved back three times before their first selection came with the 61st overall pick. When Friday night ended, the Rams had added four players on Day 2 in an effort to build out depth throughout the roster. Even without needs, the path to seeing the field for each may come sooner rather than later.

Washington safety Taylor Rapp was the first name written on a Rams draft card this year, and with the Eric Weddle signing, it’s a position that doesn’t necessarily qualify as an immediate need. That is if the Washington star really stays at safety.

Rapp is not only one of the draft’s most effective box safeties, but he’s also going to a defense that has employed former safety Mark Barron at linebacker the past five seasons. At 212 pounds, Rapp could more than hold his own in such a role. Last season, Rapp earned an 89.8 coverage grade, allowing only eight catches on 18 targets for two first downs.

From there, the Rams selected the best outside-zone runner in the draft class – the concept which the Rams ran more of than any other team in the NFL last season. On 53 outside zone runs over the past two seasons, Darrell Henderson gained 569 yards and broke 16 tackles. His 10.7 yards per carry on those runs led the nation. Scheme fits don’t get too much better than that.

The Rams wrapped up the third round with a couple of PFF favorites. David Long was the single-most lockdown cornerback in the country over the past two seasons. He fell due to size concerns, but it didn’t matter at Michigan, where he allowed all of 18 catches over the two-year span. While the Rams have three established starters in place, both Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib’s contracts expire after this season. He’ll likely see work in dime packages right out the gate.

Oklahoma tackle Bobby Evans capped off the day as the Rams addressed another value position. His own Sooners thought enough of him in 2017 to start him over early-second round pick Cody Ford at right tackle. That year, he earned an 86.2 overall grade while going 80.0-plus in both run and pass blocking. Evans kicked over to the left side in 2018, though, and struggled mightily with the transition – something we’ve seen regularly in our grading with offensive lineman making such a switch. His hands were a mess flipping sides, and he routinely opened the door inside for opposing defenders. However, the talent we saw in 2017 didn’t just go away, and he now has valuable practice to be the Rams’ swing tackle.

It was a draft strategy that we here at PFF can applaud wholesale. Instead of seeing their Super Bowl demise and thinking they were one impact player away from changing their fate in 2019, Les Snead recognized that their window is longer than simply this season. The Rams filled out the roster with depth that can step right in if injury luck swings against their favor next season and will set them up to deal with players retiring or leaving in free agency down the line.

Rams 2019 draft class ranked 6th in NFL, earned 'A-' grade https://t.co/HeSPKrh3Qh via @theramswire

— RamsNewsNow (@RamsNewsNow) May 11, 2019

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from THOR’S “DRAFT HAUL” GRADES

Thor Nystrom

https://www.rotoworld.com/article/evaluations/thors-draft-haul-grades?page=0

For my last column of the 2019 NFL Draft cycle I wanted to do something a little out there. An overall “draft haul” grade that combined each team’s draft class and UDFA crop and measured total talent acquired against draft equity spent. Add it all up and see what the numbers say after the dust cleared.

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6. Los Angeles Rams | Draft: 6, UDFA: 20 | 2019 HAUL grade: A-

Pick Name Pos Rk SPQ RAS Comp Ht Wt
2.61 Taylor Rapp S5 56 31.9 5.65 Mike Brown 6’0 208
3.70 Darrell Henderson RB5 77 66.9 7.74 Tevin Coleman 5’8 208
3.79 David Long CB4 36 91.2 9.22 Jaire Alexander 5’11 196
3.97 Bobby Evans OT11 90 45.2 7.36 Daryl Williams 6’4 312
4.134 Greg Gaines DL12 121 40.2 6.29 David Parry 6’1 312
5.169 David Edwards OT17 167 10.0 4.78 Roderick Johnson 6’6 308
7.243 Nick Scott S28 372 95.0 9.21 Joshua Kalu 5’11 200
7.251 Dakota Allen LB19 197 65.0 6.03 Alex Anzalone 6’0 232
PFA Brandon Hitner OC11 285 64.9 n/a Jon Toth 6’6 305
PFA Keenen Brown HB5 321 26.2 3.96 Clive Walford 6’2 250
PFA Boogie Roberts DL30 342 8.4 1.64 Ken Bishop 6’0 298
PFA Vitas Hrynkiewicz OC15 358 33.6 4.69 Brandon Vitabile 6’3 303
PFA Marquise Copeland DL33 364 18.1 5.98 Joey Ivie 6’2 281
PFA Kendall Blanton TE19 383 12.3 5.28 Rico Gathers 6’6 262
PFA Landis Durham ED36 394 16.7 4.57 Kasim Edebali 6’2 249
PFA Matt Colburn II RB44 490 22.2 6.68 Khalfani Muhammad 5’8 204

Like the Saints, the Rams didn’t have a ton of draft equity to play with. But they made of what they had, snapping up a value pick basically every time they submitted a card.

My favorite pick was Michigan CB David Long at 3.79. A highly-underrated player, Long looks poised to outplay his draft slot.