Questions about Next year’s Rams

I’m actually hoping Whitworth retires, for his own health, and for the cap. But if he goes, the Rams need to re-sign Noteboom, or (obviously) find an upgrade from another team. If the latter, it’s optimal to find a young FA, one in their prime, and sign them longterm.

I’m cheered to see they have A’Shawn Robinson under contract, and Gaines, so if AD decides to come back, they’re still in great shape along the line. Though I’m pounding the table for them to make it even better and re-sign SJD. To me, that foursome (in a 3/4) is tops in football, easily. They found a gem in SJD, a steal in Gaines, and perhaps the best run-stopper in football in Robinson.

Miller isn’t gonna come back, but they’ll be fine. Lewis should be better, Hollins is good, and they have Floyd. Find another edge in the draft, and they have a first rate front seven.

DBs are gonna be fine, even without Williams. I’m hoping they find a bigger corner to take his place. I’d move Nick Scott into that place, personally, and draft another safety and slot.

More thoughts on the offense later . . .

wv wrote:

JackPMiller wrote:

2. Will McVay leave?

• I doubt he does. But if he does. Who ends up as the Head Coach? Raheem Morris? Brian Flores? wv ram? zn? someone else?
• What kind of offense would we run?
• What kind of defense would we run?

?

=========== I have not decided whether I am going to coach the Rams or not. I’m still ‘blessed’ and ‘living in the moment.’ I can reveal that I ‘am’ working on a new helmet design. I’m incorporating hints of anarcho-communism into the new uniforms. Still trying to work out the helmet logo. A blend of hammer, sickle and horn is in the works. w v

If it’s anarchist-communist, shouldn’t he find something from William Morris?

Just a guess: the pandemic has really altered the way people think of their jobs, and that work/life mix. I think we’re likely to see a lot more early retirements from our Rams, and most teams around the league. Brady was an aberration before the pandemic. He’s a unicorn now.

Brave New World, etc.

These 20 Rams players will become free agents in March, including Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. https://t.co/TtkneigaZg

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) February 17, 2022

#Rams will make a concerted effort in resigning Von Miller – knowing full well his market will be robust – source says. I’m told the team is open to both a one-year and multi-year extension for the future Hall of Famer. Key bonus: Aaron Donald and Miller are great friends.

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) February 16, 2022

my hope right now.

that ernest jones uses his rookie season to as a launching pad for a stellar sophomore season from start to finish.

that robert rochell can grab the starting corner spot opposite ramsey.

and that bobby brown emerges and plays some serious and important minutes on the dline. brown has serious physical abilities. i hope he can elevate the mental part and be a contributor.

Rochell is a freakish athlete with good size for a corner. Just shy of 6′ and nearly 200 pounds. I think he’s a potential upgrade over Williams, faster, quicker, more explosive. Surprising that he lasted until the 4th. Likely was seen as a bit of a “project,” etc. If any team can speed up that timetable, it’s the Rams.

Going into 2022, I think the starting four DBs might be better than this past season. Feeling comfortable with Ramsey, Rochell, Fuller, and Scott, and Long seems to be much improved. Solid 5th DB. Rapp is decent, but not great. After that, though, I’m not so sure.

They’re gonna need to work some late round magic again, and find some bargains in FA. But, overall, that seems to be a solid position room.

From a strictly cap point of view, Whit’s retiring would help a great deal. I think it takes 16 million off the books. They should be able to find a young replacement for less than half that. Not sure if they can afford Noteboom, though. I have no idea what his “market value” is .  . . and we also don’t really know if he can translate his solid spot play to 17 games and beyond.

Is there anyone ready beyond Noteboom? They likely need to look elsewhere for FAs . . . plus, the general rule of thumb is that you won’t find quality LTs after the 2nd round — with rare exceptions. Some would say you don’t after the 1st round. Guards and centers tend to be a different story. I think they’ll probably use their 3rd on that position group.

My all-too-early draft targets (need based): guards, centers, inside backers, safeties, tight ends. I’d like to see them find a seriously speedy running back, too. Henderson has good speed, but not “elite.” If they keep Callais, he does as well, but he can’t seem to stay on the field.

Also, if they can’t re-sign OBJ (plus, injury concerns), they’ll need another speedy receiver with decent size. That’s not Tutu, though McVay is likely to integrate him into the offense a lot more in 2022. I’d love to see that rare combo of a 50/50 jump ball guy, who can stretch the field. Aside from OBJ, he’s not currently on the roster.

etc.

Good rundown, Zooey.

Their first pick is a 3rd round comp for the Brad Holmes signing, I think. As far as I know, additional comps haven’t been awarded yet. Tried to duckduckgo for answers, and it’s basically an absence of evidence kinda thing. Some sites project a 4th, and two 6th rounders for the Rams. The 3rd for Holmes I’m pretty sure is already designated for them.

Brandon Powell’s the punt returner. They should re-sign him. I’d like to see Jake Funk return kickoffs, though. He has quicks and speed and guts. Good hands, too.

“Ironhands Skowronek.” That’s pretty good.

;>)

He’s got the size to win contested catches. But appears to lack the hands. Agree about Jefferson. He needs to beef up and get more aggressive. The former Ram, that great British painter of yesteryear, Joshua Reynolds, was much more physical.

Zooey wrote:

The Rams obviously have no shot at any blue chip draftees, and maybe no red chippers, either. I don’t know when they first pick, or how many picks they have. They will be looking to add a lot of bodies, and sift through them in camp. That strategy made them champions, so I’m on board with the McSnead train.

Interestingly enough though they get real value out of the lower rounds. Think how many of their guys were low picks. Which is of course the way they have to go with a team that is built around a handful of stars who take up half their cap.

The only high pick they spent on their OL, for example, is Havenstein (2nd round). They have a FA plus   a 3rd (Noteboom), a 4th (Allen), 2 5ths (Edwards and Corbett),a 7th (Anchrum), and 2 UDFAs (Shelton and Jackson). (Corbett was a 2nd rounder they traded a 5th for).

It’s possible that next year’s safeties are Scott (7th) and Fuller (6th).

Sign OBJ to a 2-3 year deal and hope he can some back for the playoff run in the first year.  Kupp, Woods, Johnson and the rest are plenty good enough for the regular season.  I don’t keep Johnson past his rookie season because he never fights for the ball and won’t be worth what others will pay.

I believe we are good enough at TE and RB, although you probably draft both and see if you hit.

Imo, they have no choose but to pay noteboom the going rate and at least one of the free agent interior lineman.

draft secondary help, another project linebacker and another project dlineman.

They should be in good shape next year to be a top team.

zn wrote:

UFAs: Miller, Beckham, Williams, Michel, Corbett, Deayon, Powell, Mundt, Allen, Joseph-Day. That includes 5 or 6 starters. They can’t sign them all obviously. In fact, maybe at best just 1 or 2.

Who would you sign? I’ve seen the “just 1 or 2” elsewhere as well. I hope that’s not true.

To me, prior to his injury, OBJ** would definitely be one of them. The Rams haven’t had a receiver with his combo of speed and hands in a very long time. He battles for the ball, and makes impossible catches. Plus, he’s a legit 4.3 guy when healthy. But his injury really complicates things. It may mean if they re-sign him, he’s not ready until the playoffs. So, if it’s just one or two from that group, I’m conflicted.

The other guy at the top for me is SJD. He’s just hitting his peak years, and gives the Rams two monster run-stuffers, Robinson being the other. Gaines has played surprisingly well, but I’d actually prefer it if he were a part of the rotation, not the guy who has to play most of the snaps.  So I think SJD is one of the two for me. I’m split between Corbett and OBJ after that. As much as I’d love to see Miller come back — he played at All-Pro levels for the Rams — I don’t see him signing for less than a boatload, and that likely impacts all the rest of the attempted signings.

**OBJ said he’d give the Rams a home-team discount, and if memory serves, that was before his injury. So, perhaps they can bring him back and still sign a coupla more from that group.

not that anyone is asking me but von miller and obj.

zn wrote:

I would be happy to get Miller if that’s not the case. Imagine this D with an entire season of Miller and Donald together plus Howard and Jones both at ILB. Scott and Fuller at DB.

yeah. it’d be difficult. but for the reason you just mentioned above is why i want to see it happen.

and if brown were to emerge… that could be quite the treat.

Zooey wrote:

I wouldn’t think Powell would cost more than the vet minimum. The Rams picked him up after he had bounced around, right? And it’s not like he was great; he just didn’t screw things up. I’m happy to have him, but he’s kind of the bare minimum in production, isn’t he?

No he’s more than that I think. And he’s all they’ve got.

My take on this is based on the idea that they will not have a lot to spend. Not when they have to both sign a left OT and extending a qb.

If that turns out not to be the case, I promise not to complain.