our reactions to the draft so far

I feel just ok about this draft. Going into it I was hyper-focused on ILB, and OT. As far as LB goes, despite what some of the mocks said I knew they would not take Campbell if he happened to be available when they picked at 26. Recent history tells us that the Rams just don’t value the position enough to draft an ILB early. Also, Campbell seems 15 pounds heavier than what the Rams prefer in a linebacker. Anyway, figured they’d be going LB today. I thought the trade up in the 4th would be the moment, so I was frustrated with Hunter being the pick even though the Rams drafting a RB shouldn’t surprise anyone. Drafting Pooh Paul eased my concerns though. A day 3 LB who weighs 220 lbs? That’s as Rams as it gets. That’s not a knock on Paul, as he seems well regarded. Hopefully he and Speights can create some havoc together. Although, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Paul take awhile to see any significant playing time on D.

I guess my biggest concern is coming out of this draft without an OT. I really was hoping that they liked Aireontae Ersery enough to take him in the second, but alas they wanted a TE. I‘m not against the Ferguson pick though. Maybe they really like KT Leveston as a backup and everything will be ok if Havenstein gets injured this year. Things could really fall apart if they don’t have a plan at tackle though. My overall concern is the succession plan for Havenstein and I thought Ersery would be a great pick.

Not drafting a CB also bummed me out a bit.

I love the extra first rounder for next year. That was my favourite part of the draft, for sure.

zn wrote:

And one thing every pick has in common. They are all intense players, to the point of ferocious. They don’t all have ideal physical traits for their position (though Ferguson does), but they all play aggressively, like they want to BE the dogs of war.

This is the first thing that comes to my mind. I think that the Rams really have an angle on the draft that is serving them very well, and that is that they ask foremost, “Is this guy a Ram?” The emphasis on character has paid off for them. Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, Matthew Stafford – these guys worked their asses off, and put team goals above personal goals. That is what McVay means by “being a Ram.” Skill and talent matters, obviously.

And it is interesting to me that only ONE of the picks came in a slot the Rams owned originally. Every other guy was picked in a slot they traded for. They had their 7 different pools of players, and they targeted their guys, and when it was time to move, they moved. They don’t just sit there and let the chips fall where they may. They have a plan, and they go do it.

So they got guys. On purpose. They don’t just draft, and then see what happens in camp. They know how they intend to use these guys.

I also agree with wv. We have to add that extra #1 next year to the evaluation of the overall grade the week gets, and I think that’s the biggest W of draft. They may use it to get their future QB, or they may use it to get a Von Miller, OBJ, or Jalen Ramsey if they hit the trade deadline and need a piece to get the hardware this year.

Apart from that sensational trade, I think the Chris Paul acquisition is potentially the biggest steal. We all knew they had to be sifting the draft for a body to plug in the middle, but I didn’t expect it to be a guy with this kind of report, and to grab him in the 5th seems like another Rams’ miracle

A mild surprise is no OT. I noticed that Logan Brown went undrafted. I know him only because Ellenborgen mentioned him in that video wv posted of the Jones pick. I’m sure the Rams are filling in the OL with UDFAs as we speak, though, and the need isn’t dire there, so it’s not really a disappointment.

Anyway. We shall see.