WRs in the draft: Cooper, White, Perriman, Parker .

Agamemnon wrote:

I don’t really believe in trading up. The cost is almost always too high and who knows the player might drop. I would have traded up for two players, Jackson and Green. Green never got close enough for me to really consider, though. Or you could consider trading up like for a red chip or blue chip player if you aren’t in the range, maybe. Short answer, NO, I am not trading up for Cooper. Mostly cause I am happy to draft Collins. Although I take Cooper if he drops.

i would give it serious consideration. if i could pull it off with just a fourth rounder, then i’d look to draft offensive line in the second round.

but i’m also a guy willing to trade down and pick gurley. and i know we’d disagree on that as well.

i think amari cooper has the potential to be a bigger faster version of isaac bruce. that’s why i try and trade up to get him. i really like this guy.

I have a lot of respect for LA’s “player evaluations.”
Ive paid attention to his evaluations over the years
and he’s awfully good at them.

w
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Laram — Stedman Bailey can do what Amari Cooper can do

Its a duplication.

Stedman is good in man and zone of getting open in the short to immediate areas, they don’t need Cooper.

The Rams *might* need a receiver that can turn a game in one possession.

That’s IF Quick doesn’t comeback healthy and Ta doesn’t develop in the offense.

There is NO WAY I would Take Amari Cooper at 10.

Its dump, and a waste of a pick when you have that already on the roster.

Rams stay at 10, take o-line or move out!

Agamemnon wrote:

laram

There are at least 3 other lineman that I like as much if not more than Scherff.

Cooper is not a top 10 wr in MY book.

He scares nobody.

He doesn’t have great size, he doesn’t have great speed,he doesn’t have great quickness, he doesn’t have great hands.

My top 10 wr you better have to gameplan for him. With Cooper I’d put my #2 corner on him and call it a day.

He’s overvalued in MY estimation.

I’d take a trade down, get an extra pick and better value.

i don’t think i’d agree with that. i think cooper will be better than bailey. i see him as an isaac torry type receiver. doesn’t wow you with the measurables but will be extremely productive. and the rams don’t have that right now in the wr corps.

but i also see the value in drafting a quality lineman there too.

i’d take collins over scherff personally. or trade down and pick erving.

Ten for No. 10: Amari Cooper

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/17577/ten-for-no-10-amari-cooper

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Today we continue our series of 10 for No. 10, a look at 10 players who could be in the mix for the St. Louis Rams with the 10th overall selection.

For the purposes of this exercise, it’s a little more difficult to peg who will be available and who won’t, but out of the 10 we evaluate here, there is a good chance that some will be on the board when the Rams pick. Based on early returns, we’re going to eliminate Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams and Florida defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. from the conversation. Those three, above all else, seem all but certain to be gone when the Rams pick.

We’ve already looked at Iowa offensive lineman Brandon Scherff.

Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama

Why the Rams should consider him: Perhaps the most polished prospect in the draft, Cooper seems to be the rare player with very little bust potential. Already a crisp and seasoned route runner, Cooper did nothing but make plays in his time with the Crimson Tide. In 2014, he had 124 catches for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns and was widely regarded as one of the best players in college football. The Rams managed to re-sign Kenny Britt and have a group of young receivers they insist they like moving forward, but Britt only signed a two-year deal and Brian Quick is coming off a major shoulder injury and due to be a free agent after the season. Cooper is good enough to become the No. 1 receiver the Rams have been missing since the days of Torry Holt.

Why they shouldn’t: Some might wonder why a team that doesn’t seem too concerned with building a dynamic passing game would spend the No. 10 overall pick on another wide receiver. Likewise, the Rams traded up to No. 8 to take Tavon Austin in 2013, and Austin hasn’t produced at the level of that choice yet. At this point, receiver looks more like a want than a need, though the argument to get a true difference-maker is hard to ignore. Cooper doesn’t have many holes in his game, but he is a shade under 6-foot-1 and that lack of height might make it more difficult for him to win the jump balls in the NFL that he did in college.

Chances he’s available at No. 10: Of the players we’ll go through on this list, Cooper and Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota are the two that seem most likely to be gone. We went ahead and listed Cooper here because the Rams have shown interest and brought him in for a pre-draft visit. Also, there aren’t many teams in front of the Rams that have pressing receiver needs, but Cooper is a top-five talent so it’s still hard to imagine him tumbling all the way to No. 10. Jacksonville, Oakland, the New York Jets, Chicago and even the New York Giants could find a player like Cooper too good to pass up.

WR Kevin White set to visit Bears, Rams, Jets and Giants

By Chase Goodbread

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000484489/article/kevin-white-visit-tour-set-to-begin?campaign=Twitter_nfl_cfb

It was only a matter of time before Kevin White started piling up frequent flier miles.

The former West Virginia wide receiver could be a top-five pick in the NFL draft in three weeks, yet entered the week having not visited a single NFL team. But with his first visit, to the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday, now behind him, White revealed a busy schedule of more upcoming trips.

The New York Jets, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams and New York Giants are all arranging to host White, according to Ross Tucker of the NBC Sports Network. Between those and perhaps a few other visits or private workouts, White’s calendar for the next three weeks should be very full.

The Jets hold the No. 6 pick of the draft, but with the club’s uncertainty at the quarterback position, a wide receiver wouldn’t figure to be the right first-round move for Gang Green. By contrast, the Bears are in need of a wide receiver and White could be an ideal fit for an offense that could use another dynamic target to pair with Alshon Jeffery.

Presumably, quarterback Jay Cutler would approve. The Bears traded wide receiver Brandon Marshall and a seventh-round draft pick to the Jets for a fifth-round pick earlier this offseason.

White and Alabama’s Amari Cooper are expected to be the first two wide receivers chosen in the draft, with the first possibly going to the Oakland Raiders with the No. 4 pick.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/25143384/nfl-draft-notebook-why-you-can-pencil-in-the-patriots-to-take-a-receiver-early

Jason La Canfora
CBS Sports
NFL Draft notebook

Jason La Canfora
CBS Sports NFL Insider
NFL Draft notebook: Why you can pencil in Patriots to take a WR early
April 10, 2015 11:49 am ET

It’s difficult to make too many declarative statements three weeks out from the NFL Draft, given all the subterfuge and misinformation floating around, to say nothing of the innate unpredictability of the three-day event itself. But I will say this: I can’t imagine the Patriots don’t come away with a wide receiver fairly early in the draft.

Here’s why.

Their presence at Pro Days that featured receiver prospects was clearly noticed by their counterparts around the league, and head coach Bill Belichick himself attended several of them – and not just those featuring players deemed to be first-day prospects.

New England is putting considerable resources into scouting this position and while this group isn’t as top heavy as last year’s record receiver crop, it has plenty of intriguing possibilities and several instances in which beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Scouts from other teams told me they were told by several college coaches about Belichick’s presence around their Pro Days, putting receivers on the board, grilling them if he got the chance, being very hands-on in this pursuit. It wasn’t uncommon at all for New England to have a contingent of three people at some of the visits, including personnel chief Nick Caserio, a former Division III college quarterback who threw to receivers at some workouts, including Maryland’s.

The Pats have other needs for sure – the exodus of their top corners in free agency for one left a void, especially with Darrelle Revis now back in New York – and that may be a position they address first. Belichick will always be in the market for defensive linemen he sees value in, but the Patriots want to add weapons for Tom Brady, realizing they still don’t have a true outside presence beyond tight end Rob Gronkowski, when is split out there.

Bill Belichick has been spying on wideouts this spring. Bill Belichick has been spying on wideouts this spring. (USATSI)

The receiver who I hear scouts gush quietly about the most is Louisville’s DeVante Parker. A year ago around the combine I wrote what several evaluators I really trusted were telling me – that Odell Beckham, Jr. was to them the top receiver in the draft and would be a steal. I’m hearing some similar buzz about Parker and I am sure the Pats are on him, but if so it would likely take a considerable trade up to land him.

I’m not sure he gets past the 10/11 range, where the Rams are looking long and hard at him and, at 11, the Vikings have spent considerable time scouting him in the regular season (their top personnel people attended several games), and, with Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a Louisville product, there are too many obvious connections to ignore.

Parker has pretty much everything scouts are looking for. People rave about his hands and route running. I know some evaluators have him ranked higher than Kevin White, for instance, and while Amari Cooper is seen by some as the safest of the receivers, Parker might not be that far behind. “Parker is the kind of kid who could go to the right spot and put up 1,200 receiving yards as a rookie,” one personnel man said. “He’s that good.”

I’ve heard some differing opinions on Central Florida’s Breshad Perriman, with some who have been around his college team closely believing he is merely a fly pattern, deep ball guy with just straight-ahead speed who drops too many balls. But another evaluator I trust thinks that Perriman is more polished than White in terms of route running and could be a better player. Both are burners, for sure, but I have heard a few teams pumping the brakes on Perriman and preferring some other options, particularly because they don’t trust his hands .

If three receivers go in the top 10, then several others will continue to be pushed up the board as well (I have a hunch USC’s Nelson Agholor, who is flying somewhat under the radar, cracks that late first round group). If the Patriots end up staying at pick number 32, I can’t help but wonder if troubled but talented receiver Dorial Green-Beckham comes into play. Adding a 6-6 target for Brady might help take that offense to another level, not that the Super Bowl champs aren’t already quite good to start.