Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Wagoner mailbag, 5/7-8 … parts 1 & 2
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May 7, 2016 at 10:23 am #43546
znModeratorDoes Jared Goff buy more time for Rams current regime?
Nick Wagoner
LOS ANGELES — The NFL draft is over. Free agency is over. We are now in the clear with nothing really big planned until, you know, football actually begins. For the Los Angeles Rams, it’s a chance to finally come up for air after one of the most eventful offseasons for any franchise in league history.
Still, there are plenty of questions facing this team as we trudge toward the summer and the wait for training camp to start. That’s what we’re here for in the weekly Twitter mailbag. As always, you can find me on Twitter @nwagoner and shoot me questions at any time using #Ramsmail.
Let’s get to your questions:
James Armstrong @jamessarmstrong
Q: common wisdom = you need patience with rookie QB. Does Goff pick earn Fisher/Snead an extension?@nwagoner: I’m not sure that the common wisdom is quite so common anymore. Let’s go back just to last year, when the Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston, respectively, with the first two overall picks. Both teams fired their head coaches after disappointing seasons. The Rams took Jared Goff in part because they believe he can give them more production from a position that hasn’t offered much and he can do it relatively soon. I don’t know that there’s a definitive number of wins needed to secure the jobs of Jeff Fisher and/or Les Snead moving forward, but this is Year 5; they need to win and they know they need to win. I’d also add this: If the Rams go 7-9 or 8-8 or land in the mediocre range that they’ve been stuck in the past four years, but they do it with Goff playing well, it could buy more time. A mediocre record is a mediocre record, but if you do it with a young, promising quarterback like the Minnesota Vikings did a couple of years ago, there’s at least promise of more to come. The Rams haven’t had that in recent seasons.
Michael Habig @BadSpike
Nick, Could the Rams hold on to Foles and let Mannion go? What would be the value to hanging on to either at this point?@nwagoner: I just don’t see that being an option. In fact, if I had to handicap it, I thought there might be a small chance they deal Case Keenum, if only because he might be able to get something more in return than Nick Foles would have. But I don’t think the Rams are interested in giving up on Sean Mannion right now. They invested a third-round pick in him a year ago knowing he’d need a little time to develop. Ideally, he could grow into the No. 2 role behind Goff and potentially even grow enough that he could become a valuable trade asset at some point. Foles simply doesn’t have much of a market in trade, so the Rams might have to just take the hit and let him go. Mannion doesn’t have trade value at this point, either, which makes him more valuable to the Rams than anyone else. They’ve invested the pick and some time in Mannion, so they might as well see that through and hope he becomes someone who can provide some depth.
May 8, 2016 at 9:29 am #43622znModeratorExploring reasons Rams doubled down on tight ends in draft
Nick Wagoner
LOS ANGELES — The NFL draft is over. Free agency is over. We are now in the clear with nothing really big planned until, you know, football actually begins. For the Los Angeles Rams, it’s a chance to finally come up for air after one of the most eventful offseasons for any franchise in league history.
Still, there are plenty of questions facing this team as we trudge toward the summer and the wait for training camp to start. That’s what we’re here for in the weekly Twitter mailbag. As always, you can find me on Twitter @nwagoner and shoot me questions at any time using #Ramsmail.
Let’s get to your questions:
Flipper Anderson @dcfilmninja
@nwagoner was the Hemingway pick the #Rams getting insurance on Higbee?@nwagoner: I actually received multiple questions from fans wondering why the Rams drafted multiple tight ends. Obviously, they needed at least one after letting Jared Cook go before free agency. But to me, doubling up at tight end actually made plenty of sense. First, Lance Kendricks is the only true, proven commodity at the position on the roster. Yes, the Rams re-signed Cory Harkey, but he has evolved into a guy who plays fullback more than he lines up as a tight end. Justice Cunningham is still around, but he’s more of a blocking type and isn’t a sure thing to land on the active roster. That would seem to leave enough space for both fourth-round pick Tyler Higbee and sixth-round pick Temarrick Hemingway to make the roster if they show enough during training camp. And yes, with Higbee’s legal situation still unresolved, it doesn’t hurt to have Hemingway around just in case. But I think the Rams ultimately wanted to add a couple of pass-catching types at that position. It’s also worth remembering we are talking about later picks here. There’s no guarantee either will be ready to contribute so by drafting two, you’ve increased the chances that at least one will work out.
black lemon @lemonjii
@nwagoner rams went from thin to crowded in wr camp depth, safe to assume there will be legitimate competition or things set?@nwagoner: The problem here is the same that it has been for a long time: There’s plenty of “camp depth” but not enough true difference-makers at the position. I haven’t seen any of the undrafted rookies play yet and only small amounts of film of the two players they drafted there so it’s hard to project how they will factor into the mix. But I look at the receiving group as only having two or three true locks to make the roster. Kenny Britt and Tavon Austin are definitely going to be around in 2016, and Pharoh Cooper is probably in good position to land a roster spot as well. After that, I think you’ll see competition for Brian Quick on the outside with Michael Thomas and potentially some of the undrafted guys they bring in. Bradley Marquez is probably still in a good spot because of his special teams ability, but he’ll have to compete as well. With Stedman Bailey’s future still uncertain, that could make it easier to keep both Marquez and Cooper, both of whom project as slot receivers. If they keep six, you’d have to think that Britt, Austin, Quick, Cooper, Thomas and Marquez are the early favorites but if they have any hidden gems coming in as rookie free agents, that’s not an impossible group to crack with a strong training camp.
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