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2015 NFL Mock Draft: McShay Has Rams Beefing Up O-LineJared Wickerham/Getty Images
Half of ESPN’s draft braintrust has started the mock draft train rolling for 2015.
Tweet (7) Share (37) ShareWell, the mock drafts are gonna come fast and heavy now.
With 11 teams already eliminated from playoff contention, there’s enough people on the back of the train to warrant turning to draft coverage to a greater degree. (Note: That doesn’t mean you should be one of those people who say, “Are we talking about the draft already?” Because yes, we are. We always should be. The Rams will have scouts at college games for week one of the college schedule. You can multi-task, I promise. We started talking about the draft before the season started…)
Feel free to bookmark my first mock from back in June, because it’s easy fodder to make fun of but it also sets a baseline for where things have really shifted.
A clear indication that it’s starting to gear up is when ESPN starts jumping in the mock game. Well, today’s the day.
Todd McShay, who along with Mel Kiper makes up the MickeyMothership’s draft duo, has dropped his first mock of the season today (insider only because God hates you).
The first thing to work through is draft position. Right now, the Rams would be picking 12th. Certainly with two games to play, they could slide up or down a few spots between now and the new year. The real craw though is the Rams’ strength of schedule, the third-highest in the NFL. It’s going to hurt as it’ll put the Rams behind every team (save those top two) with the same record at season’s end. Think of it like this. The Rams, at 6-8, slide behind Minnesota who has the same record. If the Rams had won one of those 8 losses putting them at 7-7? They’d drop all the way to 15th in front of San Francisco…unless that win was the Monday Night Football contest in which case they’d be at 16th. What I’m saying is that the Rams could well be picking in the second half of the first round…
In any case, here’s how McShay has the first 11 working out:
# Team Name POS Yr. School
1 Tampa Bay Marcus Mariota QB RS Jr. Oregon
2 Tennessee Jameis Winston QB RS Soph. Florida St.
3 Jacksonville Leonard Williams DL Jr. USC
4 Oakland Randy Gregory DE RS Jr. Nebraska
5 Washington Shane Ray DE RS Jr. Missouri
6 New York Jets Amari Cooper WR Jr. Alabama
7 Atlanta Dante Fowler, Jr. DE Jr. Florida
8 New York Giants Vic Beasley OLB RS Sr. Clemson
9 Chicago Landon Collins SS Jr. Alabama
10 Carolina Brandon Scherff OT RS Sr. Iowa
11 Minnesota Cedric Ogbuehi OT RS Sr. Texas A&MAnd now you see the problem with the strength of schedule issue. In this mock, the Rams miss out on the first two offensive tackle choices. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the best overall tackle prospects or the best fit for the Rams, but certainly you’d rather have all options available. But if offensive line is going to be in the top tier of the Rams’ needs this offseason, you’ve got to like those first nine picks. Six on defense and the QB pairing filling the top two. That may be the Rams’ angle.
So with those 11 gone, here’s who McShay has for the Rams:
Ereck Flowers, OT (Jr.) – MiamiEreck Flowers, OT (Jr.) – Miami
I’ll admit a bit of surprise that McShay had Flowers off his board to the Rams over Andrus Peat (OT (Jr.) – Stanford). More surprising is that in between Flowers at 12 and Peat at 24 to the Bengals, he’s got T.J. Clemmings (OT (RS Sr.) – Pittsburgh). But that surprise is just me coming out of four months of relatively stable draft stock. Things are going to be all over the place as people go back and watch tape and re-adjust rankings.
In any case, here’s his draft card from ESPN/Scouts, Inc.:
Another aspect to consider? Versatility. Consider Greg Robinson’s guard-to-tackle-to-guard-to-tackle journey. It took him a while to adjust to the NFL (or perhaps to have Fisher adjust to him…). Would a first round play on an offensive lineman with similar experience be in the Rams’ best interests? If so, you’ve got two clear candidates: La’El Collins (OT (Sr.) – LSU) and Cameron Erving (OL (RS Sr.) – Florida St.). Collins moved from guard to tackle while Erving started his Seminole career as a DT before flipping over to OT and then sliding inside to center this season.
The rest of the first round isn’t without interest either.
If you’re looking at the rest of the offense, the remaining 20 picks include two running backs, four wide receivers, a guard and no QBs. So that would leave plenty of offense boomeranging into day two for the Rams to begin considering.
The bottom line though is that with playoffs a mathematical impossibility, the road to 2015 has begun, and it runs through the 2015 NFL Draft.
1. La’el Collins OT
2. Cameron Erving OThttp://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1824825/lael-collins
STRENGTHS: Collins possesses a square-ish build that makes him appear better suited to guard. His frame belies his quick feet, an attribute that when combined with his long arms, impressive strength and aggression make him a devastating run blocker. Collins is often the quickest of LSU’s offensive linemen off the snap and he routinely drives his assignment off the line of scrimmage with pure power, creating easy running lanes for LSU’s backs. He’s surprisingly quick to the second level and has good body control to adjust to moving targets.As a pass blocker, Collins shows good initial quickness in his kick-slide and uses his long reach to maintain the arc. When he gets his hands on opponents and remains square, it is generally lights out for the defender.
WEAKNESSES: He does not possess elite balance and can be challenged by speed-rushers. He’ll over-compensate occasionally and leave the inside open for counters.
Collins’ aggression is admirable but also leads to mistakes. Rather than patiently waiting for defenders to come to him, Collins will occasionally lunge, making himself top-heavy and prone to slipping down the body of his opponent. This can lead to his hands getting too low or slipping onto the side and/or back of defenders, which invites them to swim over the top of him to disengage.
–Rob Rang (8/18/14)
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STRENGTHS: Versatile athlete who has transitioned from the defensive side of the ball to start at both left tackle and center. Boasts a pretty remarkable combination of size (6-feet-5, 309 pounds) and athleticism, and blends length with surprisingly light feet and flexibility.As a run-blocker, displays the toughness and aggression that made him an impact performer on the other side of the football as he works to finish opponents with strong hands and impressive natural power in his lower half. Frequently asked to block at the second level. He pulls smoothly, showing impressive initial quickness and acceleration for a man of his size.
Possesses the light feet and fluidity to thwart some of the nation’s best edge rushers at tackle, while also showing the ability to seal off defensive tackles at center.
Shows smooth athleticism in his kick-step to handle speed off the edge as well as the strong hands to latch on and control his opponent. Perhaps most impressive, Erving plays with good knee bend, which helps him win the leverage battle and generally anchor well against bull rushes.
WEAKNESSES: Simply needs to become a more consistent technician. Footwork gets a bit sloppy in pass protection at times and he’ll bend at the waist to catch the rush rather than absorbing with his lower half. Tendency to rely too heavily on his upper body when battling, often stopping his feet when engaged.
Aggression sometimes works against Erving. He’ll drop his head on contact, providing defenders opportunities to wash through him. Fails to adjust when blocking on the move, at times. While he’s quick to the second level, Erving too often loses track of his target, winding up where he thought the play was going to go only to have his assignment run past him. Each is a correctable skill that the athletic big man should improve upon as he gains experience.
–Rob Rang & Derek Stephens (11/20/14)
Player Overview
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vCameron Erving is my guy at first blush. Versatile OL who’s played LOT and C. Can also play DT in a pinch…hah.
Wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t trade down at that point or if we didn’t also go for a QB at that point.
Sports is the crucible of human virtue. The distillate remains are human vice.
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