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Led by Gurley, Rams’ rookies offer some hope
9 hours ago • By Joe LyonsInitially, the Rams draft of 2015 was greeted with skepticism.
But Rams general manager Les Snead and coach Jeff Fisher came in with a plan and saw it through. And, for the most part, the Rams’ 2015 draft class delivered.
The Rams made nine selections last spring in Chicago, with seven of those players ending up on the opening-day roster. In addition, the team received contributions from a number of undrafted rookie free agents this season.
Running back Todd Gurley, whose career at the University of Georgia was cut short by knee surgery in November 2014, highlighted the 2015 class after being selected at No. 10 overall and emerging as one of the NFL’s more dynamic young players. The 6-foot-1, 227-pound Gurley sat out the preseason and the first two games of the regular season and had just 9 yards on six carries in his NFL debut.
Then he took off. Gurley put together four straight games with 125-plus yards and went on to rush for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns, joining Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson and Jerome Bettis as the only rookie backs in franchise history to surpass 1,000 yards.
Gurley, who sat out the regular-season finale with a toe injury, finished third in the NFL in rushing and tied for fifth in touchdowns.
“It was a good year,’’ the 21-year-old Gurley said. “The team didn’t finish as strong as we would’ve liked, but there were some positives. I don’t really do personal goals. I have to give credit to the guys up front … the whole offense (because) those guys made it possible.’’
Tackle Rob Havenstein, the team’s second-round selection, said Gurley helped set the tone for the rookies.
“He’s a heck of a player, obviously, and I think we just kind of jumped on his back at times,’’ Havenstein said. “The rest of us, I think we did a really good job of stepping up and doing what was asked of us, whether it was as starters, back-ups or on special teams.’’
Havenstein started 13 games at right tackle and did so without committing a penalty or allowing a sack this season. He joined third-round draft choice Jamon Brown, fourth-round selection Andrew Donnal, seventh-rounder Cody Wichmann and undrafted rookie free agent Darrell Williams in combining for 31 starts.
Despite the youth and injury issues along the offensive line, the Rams allowed a league-low 18 sacks — they had 47 in 2014 — and finished seventh in the NFL in rushing, averaging 122.3 yards per game.
Brown, the third-round pick, started the first nine games at guard before going down with a knee injury on an interception return against Chicago. On the same play and just a few yards away, Williams suffered a season-ending wrist injury.
Donnal, who rotated with Williams and Wichmann on special teams to start the season, made starts at left guard and right tackle before a knee injury forced him to sit out the last six games. Wichmann took over for Brown at right guard and started the season’s final seven games.
Fisher said the heavy emphasis on drafting offensive linemen had been in the works.
“Since our arrival here, we’ve been wanting to go ahead and build that offensive line through the draft,’’ Fisher said in his season-ending news conference. “We haven’t had the opportunity because of our other needs. This year, we had the opportunity. This is going to be a good group for a long time with depth.’’
Another potential contributor in that group is rookie Isaiah Battle. Selected in the supplemental draft last summer, Battle spent most of the season on the practice squad.
“I think we got a pretty good start on things,’’ Havenstein said. “We put in a lot of good work, on and off the field, and developed into a pretty close-knit bunch.’’
Linebacker Bryce Hager, the son of former Rams linebacker Britt Hager, was a seventh-round choice who finished fourth on special teams with seven tackles.
The Rams selected Bud Sasser in the sixth round, but the talented receiver from Mizzou never made it to the field because of a potentially life-threatening heart condition. The Rams allowed him to keep his signing bonus and later hired him to work with the team’s community outreach program.
Finding productive players after the draft has been a strength for the Rams under Snead and Fisher, and this year was no exception. Along with offensive lineman Williams, wide receiver Bradley Marquez and linebacker Cameron Lynch earned spots on the 53-man roster and turned out to be valuable special-teamers.
Marquez, who spent two summers playing baseball in the New York Mets’ system, led the team with 16 special-teams tackles and also had 13 catches for 88 yards as a receiver. Lynch had six special-teams tackles.
Another player of note was Matt Longacre, an undersized (6-3, 280) defensive end from Northwest Missouri State who worked his way up from the practice squad to play in five games and contribute 28 tackles, six quarterback pressures and five quarterback hits.
“Starting with rookie camp, it’s been a grind,’’ Longacre said. “But it’s also been a tremendous learning experience, one I hope to build on.’’
Other undrafted free agents who spent time on the roster this season were running back Malcolm Brown (four carries, 17 yards, one catch), cornerback Eric Patterson (one special teams tackle) and defensive tackle Louis Trinca-Pasat.
GURLEY UP FOR HONORS
Gurley, who will join DT Aaron Donald and P Johnny Hekker at the Pro Bowl later this month in Honolulu, is one of five finalists in voting for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year award and is also one of the nominees for the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Year.
Other nominees for the Pepsi Rookie of the Year honor are Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston, Oakland wide receiver Amari Cooper, Kansas City cornerback Marcus Peters and Seattle wide receiver/kick returner Tyler Lockett. Fans can vote through Jan. 28 at NFL.com/Rookies.
Gurley is up against Adrian Peterson of Minnesota and Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin for FedEx honor, which also includes New England’s Tom Brady, Arizona’s Carson Palmer and New Orleans’ Drew Brees for the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year.
Fans can vote in each category through Feb. 4 at NFL.com/FedEx.
Nobody talks about Donnal. I think he will at least be a better version of Reynolds.
Agamemnon
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