Undrafted Free Agents – Rams

The Rams have signed UDFA guard Jake Eldrenkamp, whose college grades compare favorable to the top guards in the 2017 draft. pic.twitter.com/dq6FklLYUp

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) May 8, 2017

UNDRAFTED OFFENSIVE LINEMAN JAKE ELDRENKAMP HAS A CHANCE TO STICK WITH THE RAMS

https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro-undrafted-offensive-lineman-jake-eldrenkamp-has-a-chance-to-stick-with-the-rams/

PFF’s 35th-ranked undrafted rookie is at an area of need for the Rams, which could allow him to make the final roster. What does the PFF data say?

The Rams signed undrafted rookie guard Jake Eldrenkamp out of Washington.
In 2016, the Rams owned the 24th-ranked pass-blocking line with a collective pass-blocking efficiency of 75.1 and 187 QB pressures combined.
Eldrenkamp’s 80.6 overall grade ranked him 21st out of 324 guards in the nation in the 2016 season.
The nine QB pressures surrendered by Eldrenkamp in 2016 were tied for 23rd in the nation among guards. He also earned a pass-blocking efficiency of 98.2 on 395 pass-blocking snaps, which ranked 33rd.
The Washington Huskies averaged 4.9 YPC running to both the immediate left and right of Eldrenkamp on 95 attempts. They also added seven touchdowns running in that same direction.
Eldrenkamp vs. drafted

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PFF SCOUTING REPORT: JAKE ELDRENKAMP, G, WASHINGTON

https://www.profootballfocus.com/draft-pff-scouting-report-jake-eldrenkamp-g-washington/

The PFF analysis team breaks down the prospects of Washington’s Jake Eldrenkamp ahead of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Stats to know: Eldrenkamp surrendered five (two sacks, three hurries) of his nine pressures (two sacks, seven hurries) in two games against USC and Alabama.

What he does best:

Eldrenkamp pulled on power more than 50 times this season and sprung some big runs for Washington off the right side. Graded positively on 25 percent of his pull blocks Washington gained 7.4 yards per carry on power right with Eldrenkamp pulling.
His highlight block of the year came on a pull block against Arizona pancaking Paul Magloire Jr. to spring a 44-yard gain.
Rarely loses at the point of attack; downgraded on just nine percent of his blocks on runs to the left Washington gained 6.0 yards per carry on runs to the left side.
Eldrenkamp improved his pass protection in his second season at guard allowing zero pressures in six games compared to four games in 2015.
Biggest concern:

Eldrenkamp is prone to lowlight blocks as much as highlight blocks on pulls; positively graded on 25 percent of pull blocks he was also negatively graded on 21 percent of his pull blocks.
Struggled at times on stunts but this was not unique on a Washington offensive line that had difficulty with stunts for much of the season.
Eldrenkamp had limited exposure to outside zone plays in Washington’s offense this season raising some questions of his ability to play outside of gap and inside zone heavy schemes.
His two lowest-graded games came against Washington’s two toughest opponents in their two defeats (45.3 vs USC and 48.8 vs Alabama); can he perform against the best opposition?
Bottom line: When Eldrenkamp puts it all together both on runs to him in gap scheme and when pulling to the playside he can dominate opposing defenders. Consistency though is Eldrenkamp’s biggest question mark, just as well as he can take down a defender on a pull block he can miss the defender from the same spot and disrupt the play as a result. His progress in pass protection in 2016 was encouraging but poor performances against his toughest opposition may raise questions as to whether he can excel at the next level.

Brugler on Penton

32. AARION PENTON | Missouri 5094|198 lbs|4SR St. Louis, Mo. (Christian Brothers) 9/3/1994 (age 22)

BACKGROUND: A three-star athlete recruit out of high school, Penton was an All-State two-way player at Christian Brothers Academy and committed to Missouri as a junior before any other programs had a chance to recruit him. He stayed on defense for the Tigers and saw immediate playing time, starting two games for the injured E.J. Gaines and recording his first career interception. Penton became a full-time starter as a sophomore (12 starts) and posted 36 tackles, 13 passes defended and three interceptions in 2014. He started all 12 games as a junior in 2015 and finished with 59 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, nine passes defended and one interception. Penton started 11 games as a senior and led the SEC with five interceptions, adding 43 tackles and 17 passes defended to earn First Team All-SEC honors. He accepted his invitation to the 2017 East-West Shrine Game before being added to the 2017 Senior Bowl roster.

STRENGTHS: Alert athlete to recognize routes and combos…reads the eyes of the quarterback with a natural feel for what the offense wants to do…quick-footed and moves with urgency…looks to get receivers uncomfortable and not shy to engage at the top of routes…takes advantage of poor decisions with outstanding ball production…tracks the ball well over his shoulder and finished his career with 41 passes defended and 10 interceptions, including a SEC-best five interceptions (and one touchdown) in 2016…looks to sting in run support and throttles down to make open-field stops…competes with a brash attitude and permanent chip on his shoulder…battled tested with 37 career starts in the SEC.

WEAKNESSES: Undersized with a shorter stature and poor length…average overall athlete with poor long-speed, struggling to close the gap once receivers gain a step vertically…has some hip tightness that hinders his body burst…finds himself turned around in coverage with messy footwork, allowing savvy receivers to separate and create plays…bites on play action with inconsistent coverage angles and reaction to movement…lack of functional strength shows when attempting to get physical with receivers…frame presents obvious concerns about his ability to out-position bigger wideouts downfield…reckless tackling technique due to his size and wild technique, allowing ballcarriers out of his grasp…stays glued to blocks…lack of size leads to durability worries.

SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Missouri, Penton played outside cornerback for the Tigers with experience moving inside in nickel situations. He is quicker than fast, showing the initial movements to stick with receivers, but his deep speed is an issue. His chaotic footwork in his transition leads to balance problems, which then leads to receivers being able to separate. Despite his shortcomings, he has a genuine love for the game and his fearless attitude will serve him well at the next level. Overall, Penton has the ball production, especially as a senior, and toughness that will give him a chance, but his lack of size, speed and explosive traits will limit his landing spots in the NFL – best chance will be to earn a nickel role.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 11 months ago by canadaram.

canadaram wrote:

Brugler on Penton

canadaram wrote:

Brugler on Justin Davis

Agamemnon wrote:

Texans check out LB Folarin Orimolade at Dartmouth pro day

You guys are doing a lot of work here.

Thanks, it;s fun to check out all this stuff.

.

from PFF Ranking the top 50 undrafted free agents

With all seven rounds of the draft in the books, PFF looks at the list of the top undrafted free agents.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/draft-ranking-the-top-50-undrafted-free-agents/

4. Jon Toth, C, Kentucky

Toth brings good size to the position, and he ran Kentucky’s offense well, grading among the nation’s top centers for three straight years. He took a slight step back in 2016, allowing 10 pressures and ranking 30th in the draft class in pass-blocking efficiency, but he’s a solid option in a downhill run scheme.

27. Casey Sayles, DI, Ohio

Sayles is undersized for a defensive tackle, but has graded solidly as a run-defender for three straight seasons. In 2016, Sayles improved his pass-rush to the tune of six sacks, four QB hits, 27 hurries, and two batted passes on 359 pass-rushing snaps.

28. Arian Penton, CB, Missouri

While he had the propensity to give up the big play (in 2016 he gave up six receptions of over 30 yards), Penton yielded just a 50.3 completion percentage against on 171 throws into his coverage between 2014 and 2016. He had six break-ups and five interceptions in 2016, one of them coming in a stellar performance against Arkansas that saw him surrender just three receptions for 9 total yards on eight throws into his coverage.

35. Jake Eldrenkamp, G, Washington

With some highlight-reel blocks as a puller, Eldrenkamp can have success in a gap scheme, and his work as a puller was a big part of his 82.6 run grade that ranked 18th in the nation in 2016. He made strides in pass protection last season, but still had his issues against better defensive fronts.

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PARAM wrote:

PFW, Nolan Nawrocki had our UDFA’s ranked this way:

K. Davis (11th ranked ILB)
McMeans (11th ranked OC)
Eldrenkamp (22nd ranked OG)
Orimolade (27th ranked OLB; 5 slot higher than our 4th round pick)
J. Davis (33rd ranked RB)
Penton (39th ranked CB)
Mundt (49th ranked TE)
Tillery (56th ranked RB)
Sayles (58th ranked DT)
Collins (58th ranked CB)

Add Toth to that, 4th ranked OC.

Although there are a lot, if not mainly camp bodies, it wouldn’t be unusual to see a couple of them stick.

It also shows how they went about obtaining talent for the roster. Highly ranked offensive skill guys in the draft. Mid range to lower ranked defensive guys.

On the UDFA front, they supplemented the OL and went with two fairly high ranked (by position) linebackers (Orimolade #27 OLB; Davis #11 ILB). The CBs, DT, RBs and TE were ranked much lower by position.

You only get so many draft picks and in UDFA, some guys sign where they think they have a good chance to stick while others bet on themselves making the stronger roster of a winning team.