Overall, not happy with the Draft. I think they bypassed a lot of talent and went seriously idiosyncratic. They seemed to draft mostly below average athletes, with the exception of Daniel Hardy. To me, when you draft late, you go for superior athletes you can coach up. Small school gems. Guys wh0 weren’t given a chance on loaded teams, but have speed, explosion, strength, etc. You can’t coach slow kids into being fast, but you can coach up poor technique, and make up for lack of experience, etc. You can coach/correct for “lesser” competition, but you can’t turn a below average athlete into someone who consistently wins matchups, in general.

Boiled down, football is a game of speed, quickness, explosion, and strength. The side with the best athletes will win more often than the side with average athletes. Yeah, ya got your “intangibles” and drive and want-to and all of that. But, speed kills, strength kills, suddenness makes ya miss, etc.

This was one of the deepest and most athletic drafts I can remember, just chalked full of RAS freaks, and the Rams basically grabbed just one of them.

Hoping they can make up for that, at least somewhat, via UDFAs.

JackPMiller wrote:

I gave it a C Not happy trading up for an RB, drafting two Safeties(unless Taylor Rapp is going to get traded),

Rapp won’t get a second deal from the Rams. Better to start grooming a replacement now. And safety isn’t a strong spot on the Rams right now anyway. They had to hire a guy who was retired for two years to come in and play in the playoffs last year. That’s not sustainable.

Billy_T wrote:

Logan Bruss and Daniel Hardy are the only two players in the Rams’ class who scored above an 8.50, making them the most athletic of Los Angeles’ class.

and probably my two favorite picks. although i do like the williams pick. i’m rooting for him hard. but more athleticism and potential would have been nice too.

InvaderRam wrote:

Billy_T wrote:

Logan Bruss and Daniel Hardy are the only two players in the Rams’ class who scored above an 8.50, making them the most athletic of Los Angeles’ class.

and probably my two favorite picks. although i do like the williams pick. i’m rooting for him hard. but more athleticism and potential would have been nice too.

My favorite picks as well.

It’s almost as if they passed on freakish athletes on purpose. That they have something against them this year. And this draft was loaded with crazy-good athletes. Deeper in that area than I can ever remember. Size/speed demons all over the place, but especially at DB, a position they obviously cared about.

One would think picking them would fit right into the Rams overall strategy of — mostly — drafting for the future (next man up), not for rookies necessarily starting, etc. That means they have time to coach up “potential.” When the pick is less than average athletically, that can’t be coached up. They’re not going to win most matchups with the superior athletes around the league. But a freakish athlete, under Ram tutelage for a year or two?

It kinda baffles me. Common sense says that in a game of inches and split seconds, the fastest, quickest, longest, strongest athletes will win the down more often than not. If a QB has 2.4 or whatever seconds to get rid of the pass, who do you want rushing him? The 4.9 guy, with the 1.75 split? Or the the 4.55 guy with the 1.52 split?

Same thing with DBs, going up against the growing array of speedster receivers. I want the DB who can run a 4.3, and has a 1.47 split, defending a Metcalf or a Chase, etc.

And, yeah, I know. Playing speed, in pads, is what counts. But, generally speaking, it translates pretty well to pads-on speed too. Not always. But usually.

Anyway, I’m bummed in general about the draft. Still high from the Super Bowl. But I wanted them to get faster, stronger, etc. etc. I’m a greedy old fan.

An article that tries to slot the eight picks versus where some draft services had them slotted pre-draft.

* https://theramswire.usatoday.com/lists/rams-draft-rankings-prospects-picks-big-board/

I know the Rams have their own board, and it’s often as idiosyncratic as New England’s, which is kind of why the Rams left-handed compliment regarding the Pats’ pick surprised me. So, yeah, they’re gonna do what they want to do (and should), not what those various media scouts and services say they should. And I also know, after researching the rankings pre-draft, that this was one of the strangest drafts, evah, after the first coupla rounds, when it comes to consistent slotting. Not a lot of consensus after the top 100 or so. Maybe even earlier. So many of them were all over the map, and the article indicates that too.

Why does any of this matter to me? Mostly cuz of this: I’m good with the Rams sticking to their guns, and not even trying to make Daniel Jeremiah and Mel Kiper happy. Not. Their. Job. But I don’t think they’re good at maximizing their picks by drafting in the general area that most outfits slot them. If, for instance, there’s a great chance they can draft player X in the 6th or 7th, they shouldn’t draft him in the 4th or earlier. Pick someone else on their board more likely to be gone if they don’t. And if it’s a pretty good bet the player is in the UDFA realm, aside from “priority” players, wait. If he’s not even ranked? Wait.

If they can’t wait, trade down, grab more picks, and then take him, if they find a willing partner.

The Rams did get a couple a round or two after their usual slotting, and that’s always good as far as “value.” The other way around generally isn’t. Not talking about within the round, cuz that can lead to a Bobby Wagner mistake. But a coupla rounds early? IMO, that’s not good draft-day chess.

Hoping I’m wrong, obviously, about this draft, and that the players, coaches, and staff prove me 100% wrong. Plus, of course, we won’t know one way or another for a year, or two, or three. It’s just on paper at this point. It’s not “real” yet.

Billy_T wrote:

But a freakish athlete, under Ram tutelage for a year or two?

one thing i would say is that the rams strategy may have been drafting for now rather than for the future. not on all their picks but for a significant portion of them.

sure they drafted hardy for potential, but bruss, williams, and lake seem to have been drafted more because they could possibly step in right away and contribute.

bruss comes from a program known for development of the oline. lake has the pedigree. he’s been compared to fuller. a guy who doesn’t stand out physically but knows football. fundamentally sound. and fits the scheme. williams is not just a physical runner, but he can catch and pass block.

they know the window is small. even just one or two years of development is too long when they’re trying to win now.

maybe i’m wrong about that. i don’t know.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by InvaderRam.

Billy_T wrote:

I know it’s a personal bias, but I think it’s based on sound thinking.

good point about troy hill.

i am also in favor of high ceiling players. which is why hardy was one of my favorite picks. and i wish they had picked at least one high ceiling player at defensive back too.

i guess we’ll see. the one thing that gives me comfort is that they seem adept at picking secondary players in the lower rounds so those high ceiling players must not have ticked enough boxes to be selected over the more polished players.

I dont have a take, since I dont know anything about any of them,

but how can we not trust mcSnead at this point?

Other than the tutu-debacle, they’ve been as good as it gets

in the NFL.

Looking forward to seeing these kids play.

How do you replace a Hall of Famer like Vonn Miller?

Get better in the secondary and LB units, i guess.

I dunno.

w

v

zn wrote:

wv wrote:

How do you replace a Hall of Famer like Vonn Miller? Get better in the secondary and LB units, i guess. I dunno.

As has been said before, a defense with Von Miller is different from a defense with Wagner. A defense with Wagner and a stocked secondary means less of what we didn’t like last year–those endless long drives by opposing offenses milking the short pass up the middle. (This is admittedly an impression and not the result of dedicated film study.) If that is your defensive strength instead of weakness, you can also script in blitzes, stunts, and tailored 3rd down packages designed to isolate specific guys. Last year the Rams were just 15th in Yards Per Passing Attempt Allowed, 13th in First Downs Allowed Per Game, 14th in Completion Percentage Allowed, and 20th in Opponent Time of Possession Percentage. Just a little improvement in those areas and its a good defense but in a different way. I want to see more punts from the other team (Rams were 15th in opposing teams punting.) Anyway I wonder if Morris’s thing is turnovers more than sacks. It may not go the way I’m saying but it could.

==

In my mind, this next season will show us a lot about Morris.   I know he did well last year, but if you have Vonn, Jalen and AD, I expect any DC would do well.   Vonn and AD on the same line is just nutz.

But this year, will require something different.  More…oh, i dunno the word…more ‘tactical’ or somethin.

Anyway, it will be inter estin.

Last time the Rams had a chance to repeat, the defense was atrocious

as i recall.   It was like they all gave 17 percent of 110 percent.

w

v

The focus on the D this draft might be a direct indication that Morris is far more in control this season. That’s it’s going to be his D now. And while I still wish they had gone for the freakish athletes when they were still on the board, I do like that they look for smart players, “mature,” whether via age or just hard-wired. Their “type” now seems to be guys with Masters degrees, often in the 24-25 year range, team captains, when possible. I don’t think they want to have to back-fill missed years of solid training, if it can be helped.

This also might be in part playing the cards they’ve been dealt. The absence of early picks can often mean that the numbers of players who check all of these boxes are all but gone:

Freakish athletes
Mature wiring, regardless of chronological time
Post-grad accomplishments
Team Captains
Noted history of We not Me ethos

The further the Draft goes, the fewer players remain who have that entire enchilada, etc. But it appears the Rams currently value some of those metrics much more than others. I don’t think they care as much about the athleticism aspect, though that may change as their own reigning super-athletes retire.

Finally, I’m also thinking the advanced age thing may be temporary too. More of a Covid related blip. Having 25-year-old rookies may soon become less common, though the introduction of the Transfer Portal mixes things up further. If I had my druthers, I’d prefer drafting as many mature and self-assured kids in the 21-22 range as possible, who didn’t need extra physical years to “get it together” (like I did!)

.     .     .     .     .

Oh, and I think the 2001 team was better than the 1999 team, as incredible and glorious as it was. By all rights, that should have been their second SB win, and they should have trounced NE.