reactions to the Rams 2019 draft

They seemed to have picked up players well after their ranking, fwiw.

No DL reinforcement inside or out, and no LB.

I doubt they are going to draft any starters for this season at those positions tomorrow, so they have to hope for better things from Fowler, Ebukam, and Kiser next year. DT seems to be a value FA signing sometime in the next couple of weeks, I guess.

No idea about these guys.

I think my favorite two picks are Henderson and Long.

I hope they all develop into all-pros.

Rams came in determined to trade down and acquire picks. They did it.

The draft has become a bloated monster. The NFL really knows how to drag out a show.

We knew there would be value throughout the second and third rounds. I give Snead credit for getting an extra pick out of the trading. Instead of 3 good players, we have 4 good players.

I am looking for them to draft a TE and ?LB

Rams 2019 draft:
Round 2: S Taylor Rapp, Wash
Round 3: RB Darrell Henderson, Memphis
Round 3: CB David Long, Michigan
Round 3: OT Bobby Evans, Okla
Round 4: DT Greg Gaines, Wash
Round 5: OT David Edwards, Wisc
Round 7: S Nick Scott, Penn State
Round 7: LB Dakota Allan, T Tech

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) April 27, 2019

In general, with all kinds of contingencies afoot and in play, your first three rounds should yield starters now or in the future. If you get that from your 4th rounder too, that’s a good draft. Beyond the fourth round? Tremendous draft.

Of course, the better a team is, the more difficult this becomes. The best teams in any given year may not get any starters from their drafts, period, and they may still draft really, really well.

The Rams are, as we all know, a really good team. But they do have holes. The draft still should bring them starters, upgrades, etc. etc.

I think they got a likely future starter in Rapp, Gaines (he might start sooner than later), Long (nickel) and Henderson (if Gurley falters). Evans and Edwards appear to offer solid O-line depth, which every team needs.

I’m betting Scott gives them an immediate “starter” on special teams, and will contribute heavily as a rookie. Finding someone like that in the 7th round is a coup. Dakota Allen, despite his awesome name, strikes me as a likely cut. We’ll see.

All in all, a pretty good draft, though I would have preferred a different safety instead of Rapp. If his forty was impacted by his hip injury, I feel better about the pick. But even then, I think the Rams had better options. He still should start for them when Weddle leaves, which is a good thing.

Overall, a solid B.

Rapp is a pure baller if I may use the parlance of the day.

I like any Olineman from Wisconsin.

The kid from Penn State is a ST Ace and has huge upside.

Don’t like what I read somewhere about Henderson having poor vision and being easily knocked off his feet. Reminds me of another back with gaudy collegiate numbers…Lawrence Phillips.

Billy_T wrote:

nittany ram wrote:

Rapp is a pure baller if I may use the parlance of the day.

I like any Olineman from Wisconsin.

The kid from Penn State is a ST Ace and has huge upside.

Don’t like what I read somewhere about Henderson having poor vision and being easily knocked off his feet. Reminds me of another back with gaudy collegiate numbers…Lawrence Phillips.

Do you have any special insights about Scott? From the reports, he’s very athletic, and he tested that way as well. Fast, quick, agile. Apparently, not that good yet at reading plays as a safety, but he won’t have to worry about that as a special teams whiz.

Do you think he can end up being more than a special teams warrior? Again, it’s an excellent pick even if that’s all he ever does. But if he contributes as a DB too? It’s a steal.

I don’t have any special insights. From what I’ve seen and read he has everything you want in a player from an ability standpoint. I think he has a chance to become a very good safety. He has a higher ceiling than Rapp. He just lacks experience.

However, as you know having potential and achieving it are two different things. What he’s able to become depends on how far behind the learning curve he is, how fast he can pick things up, how much he wants it, injuries, luck, etc.

nittany ram wrote:

Don’t like what I read somewhere about Henderson having poor vision and being easily knocked off his feet.

i read that too. but in the highlight video he didn’t seem to get knocked down too much.

of course it’s a highlight video so….

I saw something else somewhere.

Paraphrasing: He can hit holes when they are there, but lacks the ability to anticipate where they are going to develop.

yeah. trung was a straight line hit the hole and just run.

this guy is shifty. he’s got decent speed, but it’s his shiftiness that stands out.

plus i read somewhere that he’s the ideal back for a wide zone running attack.

Just a rough guess. Most NFL linebackers are in the 4.7 range. A bunch run faster, in the 4.6 range. A smaller bunch in the 4.5s. Very rare to find them faster than 4.5.

Both Devins this year are in the 4.4 range. Doesn’t happen often. Pittsburgh drafted one of them to replace Shazier, who may have been the fastest linebacker in the NFL before his devastating injury.

In the 4.3s.

Another thing I’ve noticed about draft reports: They can be all over the map. I’ve forgotten their names, but I looked at some of the UDFAs online, and a few of them had comments ranging from “below average athleticism” to “freakishly athletic.”

As in, the same guy was described in wildly different ways.

I think that wide range is more frequent for the lesser known players. Another guess. The guys with the relatively consistent grades — Top 100, give or take — seem to provoke a more narrow subjective response.