McVay, Everett, LaFleur, Kupp, Johnson, Reynolds (5/12) … transcripts + vids

Rams Head Coach Sean McVay – May 12, 2017

(Opening remarks)

“Really getting a chance to get out here with our first rookie minicamp, you see some of the draft picks, you see some of the free agent signings, and then we have got a handful of guys that are tryout players. For the first workout, very encouraged – loved the effort, loved the energy that we had. We expect to see the same thing this afternoon.”

(On if anyone that stood out to him in the first practice)

“Yeah, I think it’s always good to see some of those guys that we drafted that we’re counting on to be contributors, show up. I thought (WR) Cooper Kupp showed why we like him so much – savvy, he’s a polished route runner, good aggressive hands. (WR) Josh Reynolds showed up, and I think (TE) Gerald (Everett) made some good plays as well. (John) Johnson moved around well at the safety position. It was good to see those guys because really, we were limited to just individual (drills) and then we did some seven-on-seven work, where you’re able to evaluate some of the skill players and it was good to see those guys do their thing.”

(On what the rookies have gone through from the time they arrived through the weekend)

“Right now, we’re getting the early stages of our offense taught to them – with some of the mechanics and nuances – you don’t want to get too far in, you just want to see these guys move around and compete. Right now, we’re in the very early stages of what they’ll do with our offensive and defensive schemes, just running a couple of plays on offense and running a couple of coverages and fronts on defense. We’ve got to be smart with some of our numbers that we have to see how much team competition that we can do this afternoon – we’ll be ready to adjust that. It’s exclusive to really an hour and a half of meetings this morning that they’ve been exposed to.”

(On what OL Jake Eldrenkamp’s potential and what the fit might be)

“He’s a guy that’s got good movement. He’s got some flexibility to be able to play on the interior line. He was a guy that (OL) Coach (Aaron) Kromer and our scouts did a nice job of identifying as a player that we feel like could project well with some of the things that we’re looking for. It will be exciting to watch him, didn’t get a chance to watch too much because a lot of that individual (drill) stuff was going on in this practice. Looking forward to seeing him this afternoon when you can get a little bit more of an evaluation with him competing.”

(On if there’s an added importance on college free agent and tryout offensive linemen)

“I think especially those guys that are signed, guys that are currently on our roster, you want to make sure you take a good look at. But, you also want to give the guys that are trying out their due diligence. I think this weekend will offer an opportunity to find who those best 90 players are on our roster and how we can add to some of the depth that we already have in some of those spots like the line.”

(On how many undrafted guys from this weekend’s minicamp realistically have a shot at making the final roster)

“It’s a good question, and I think each situation kind of dictates a different response. My first year in coaching in Tampa, we had a guy, (former Buccaneer’s RB) Clifton Smith out of Fresno State, comes as a rookie tryout, ends up making the team and was a Pro Bowl returner his rookie year. We had (WR) Brandon Banks, was a guy in Washington that came as a rookie tryout player, ends up making the team, was an outstanding returner, he’s still doing his thing up in the Canadian (Football) League. I think there’s examples of it. To put a number on it, I think if you have two of those guys, it might be two, if you have one, it might be one. I think it’s really just predicated on the types of players and if a guy does a great job of showing up, then we’ll give him an opportunity.”

(On what he’s focusing on during rookie minicamp such as the players’ ability to learn, competing while they’re on the field, and talent level)

“I think you want to see just their movement and their ability to go out and compete. Right now, we’re so limited with what we’ve done from a mental approach that you don’t want guys out here thinking. That’s really not how we teach our systems. So, I think to be able to say you got an hour and half of meetings and then we’re just going to throw you out there and if you can’t learn it, I think that ends up slowing guys down. So we just want to see their ability to be able to say, ‘OK, I’m going to go out, compete, work edges, run routes, get into coverage positions, work some of the fundamentals and the techniques.’ That’s kind of the intent and the goal of this weekend as far as our evaluation goes.”

(On balancing targets for second-year receivers that were drafted last year and this year’s new group of receivers)

“Well, I think what we’re going to look to do is we’re looking to find the best combination of guys that can make plays. I think when you’ve got some guys from the receiver, from the tight end spot, some of our backs have some subtleties in the pass game. I think we want to be an offense that you give the quarterback answers. You want to be able to distribute the ball. We’ll ask guys to be versatile in terms of what they’re doing. But as far as the targets are dispersed, the coverage usually dictates where it goes. Now you certainly try to call plays to get certain guys involved, but when you feel like you’ve got a handful of playmakers, I think the idea is to kind of have that quarterback be a point guard and be a great distributor to all your guys. You want to be able to get them touches and get them involved. I’ve been a part of some offenses that we feel like we were able to do that and we’ll look to try and do the same here.”

(On if he’s seen anything on tape that gives him indication that WR Tavon Austincould be a downfield threat)

“Yeah. I think when you look at it, early in his career he’s made some big plays down the field. Even if you look to last year in the Tampa game, I know he’s at the No. 3 spot in the slot, but he’s still running a corner route and catching touchdowns. (QB) Jared (Goff) hits him against New Orleans on the same type of deal. He’s shown he can track the ball down the field. Really, as far as establishing him as a deep threat, I think we’re just looking for all of our receivers to be complete. You want to be able to have a short, intermediate and deep route tree. I think it gives you a little bit more route versatility so people can’t squat on you. You certainly want to be cognizant of accentuating guys’ skill set, but also not being regulating in terms of this is all they do. That’s the thing he’s really embraced and we’re looking to do that with Tavon.”

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Rams TE Gerald Everett – May 12, 2017

(On how practice went for him today)

“Practice went extremely well in my opinion. It’s a change of pace from college, but I felt like it, overall, was a good day today.”

(On if he felt like he got the opportunity to show the coaches what he could do)

“Definitely, you know just processing all this information and the playbook. Being done with college and everything, I came into a completely new offense so it’s a change of pace. But, I felt like I handled it extremely well and cut it loose today. I caught some deep balls and I felt like I was moving pretty well.”

(On Head Coach Sean McVay not wanting the players to overthink and if that is difficult to do)

“It’s definitely hard to just go out and play. You don’t want to mess up. You want to move 100 miles per hour and do the right things every play, but it happens, especially it being rookie minicamp and the first day out here. So I think I had a couple errors, but not too many for my first day. Tomorrow will be better.”