Invader,

It is weird. Now click on his name, over there on the left, next to his pic.

It will say 23.

Quite the mystery. Where is The Thin Man when you need him?

I wouldn’t spend an early pick on TE, either. But they should use one of their 5th or 6th rounders, IMO.

Personal preference would be for a true TE type, not an H-back. So someone at least 6’4,” 250. Good blocker, solid hands, some speed.

Draft boards will shift a dozen times before the big day, but a way-too-early look at (possible) late-rounders to watch for:

Dallin Holker,  Colorado State
Ben Sinnott, Kansas State
Theo Johnson, Penn State
Trey Knox, South Carolina

Soon after the Combine, sports media will make things easier for us by compiling lists of small college standouts, too. Folks we likely didn’t get a chance to see at all on TV, but pundits did, etc. That will change things yet again. I’ve always liked the idea of rolling the dice on small college players late in the draft. I’d generally rather take a size/speed wonderkind from Western Apple Valley State than a smaller, lesser athlete from Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, etc.

InvaderRam wrote:

Billy_T wrote:

Speaking of age: Nacua is listed as 23 on the official Rams site, but 22 elsewhere. Wiki has him with a 2001 DOB and 22. A few other sites do as well. Weird that they can’t get a consensus age for players.

he’s listed as 22 on the official website. it might not be the worst idea to trade down. just add volume and see what sticks. i would like to see them make one major fa signing outside bringing their own players back – preferably a pass rusher.

I may be mistaken in considering this site “official,” but it’s the one that lists him as 23. No big deal, one way or another. But in my nerdy way, 22 seems better than 23, when it comes to finite peak years/contracts, etc.

https://www.therams.com/team/players-roster/puka-nacua/

Have been playing around more with the Mock simulator. It was giving me too many ridiculously good trade offers, so I stopped using them. Did manual trades instead, and stuck to the old value chart. No way to really get all the spots upgraded that need ’em. So it’s gotta be triage. I’m probably on the same page as most fans in putting corner, edge, tackle at the top, but the Rams need another receiver and running back, too, plug a big, athletic guard to play opposite Avila, if they can’t re-sign Dotson.

If I had the picks, I’d double up on corner, edge, safety, and guard, and make sure I found a legit starting LT. Also want a hogmolly at DT. This draft is deep in freakishly athletic D-linemen, wideouts, and corners, especially. So far, looks weak on tight ends, which the Rams need too.

Too early to get solid reporting on player intangibles, so the tie-breakers for me tend to be age, size, (estimated and recorded) athleticism, and being on Bruce Feldman’s “freaks” list. If players are rated roughly in the same block, I’m gonna take the youngest, biggest, freakiest athletes available.

(I’m also swayed by the potential of “value.” Finding a player late who was rated much higher, for instance.)

A good thing about Feldman’s list is he usually includes GPS data, plus stuff you really can’t “train” for at the last second, like strength metrics. It takes time and tenacity to build up to that. And we learned how important GPS is with Kupp a few years ago, and especially now with Nacua. He topped 21mph in NFL games, and that kind of playing speed is exceptional. Going by just his Combine 40 time is one of the reasons so many teams passed on him. Injuries, too.

Speaking of age: Nacua is listed as 23 on the official Rams site, but 22 elsewhere. Wiki has him with a 2001 DOB and 22. A few other sites do as well. Weird that they can’t get a consensus age for players.

https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2024/1/16/24040519/rams-cap-space-matthew-stafford-contract-cooper-kupp-aaron-donald

Should Rams restructure contracts of Stafford, Donald, or Kupp to save cap?

Rams have contract decisions to consider with Aaron Donald, Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp
By Kenneth Arthur

The Los Angeles Rams faced difficult contractual decisions in 2023 and not only did they manage to survive the fallout, Sean McVay coached them into the playoffs and a top-5 offense in the second half of the season. Now that the season is over, the Rams have more financial decisions to make and specifically with their big-3 stars:

Should the L.A. Rams restructure Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, and/or Cooper Kupp to save money now but pay these over-30 NFL stars more money later?
2024 salary cap

OvertheCap.com projects $41.3 million in cap space and $25.8 million in “effective” cap space for 2024. That ranks 12th in the NFL.

But with free agents like Kevin Dotson, Ahkello Witherspoon, Carson Wentz, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Fuller, and John Johnson, the number could evaporate quickly, not to mention L.A.’s probable desire to add more marquee talent.

Les Snead must be itching to do that after he was hamstrung from making moves last year. If the Rams want to create between $10-$50 million in additional space there’s opportunities to do that…but not without impacting 2025 and beyond.

Matthew Stafford

Stafford has a $31 million base salary next season, but the Rams could turn that into a signing bonus and save up to $19.8 million in 2024 cap space by restructuring. Though Stafford reportedly rejected the Rams advances to change his contract last year, they do not have to get his permission to restructure his deal. They can do that any time they want to do that.

What it would do, however, is change Stafford’s 2025 cap hit from $50 million to $60 million. He will be 37 in 2025.

Aaron Donald

Donald has a $34.1 million cap hit next season, when he will be 33.

The Rams can convert his $10 million salary into a signing bonus and save up to $13.6 million against the cap, at least according to OvertheCap. However, Donald is entering the last year of his contract and only has void years left beyond 2024. That means he will be a free agent in 2025 and the Rams can’t give him the franchise tag. It’s hard to imagine that Donald will play anywhere else and we’re not sure yet what his plans for the future even are.

Donald says he didn’t contemplate retirement after last season, but where is his head for next season and beyond?

Cooper Kupp

Kupp has a $29.8 million cap hit in 2024, but the team can save up to $12.5 million with a restructure. However, did Kupp play well enough this past season—or was he healthy enough—for the team to risk tying themselves to the 31-year-old receiver for additional years? A restructure now would increase his 2025 cap hit to $36 million.

The Rams will not cut Kupp this year because it is financially impossible due to the restructure last year. It’s possible he says his body isn’t in it for another round of football, who knows? Trading him isn’t feasible because of his age and the wear and tear and his $20 million guaranteed salary.

But a restructure seems unwise and unlikely.

What will the Rams do?

The most likely move, if the Rams need one, is to restructure Matthew Stafford for up to $20 million in cap savings. Though his $60 million cap hit in 2025 would be extraordinary, it’s not even quite the highest in the NFL anymore and a quarterback is the one position where it’s worth it.

The team might also look into extending Aaron Donald in order to bring down his cap hit.

As for Kupp, they might need to just sit on his deal this year and see what happens with him as the offseason progresses. Is his body in it or is he feeling like he’s given the NFL everything he can give?

The team has other cap savings opportunities, like with Joe Noteboom and Brian Allen, but these are the three contracts that matter the most. I wouldn’t expect all three to be exactly the same and intact when we get to training camp.

 

Rams game aside, I like the way the playoffs have gone so far. Tampa winning helped the Rams in the draft. Moved them up to 19 from 20. And I think Mayfield will make enough in bonuses now to move his comp pick from the 6th round to the 5th, but am not sure. Pittsburgh losing also kept the swap of picks from the Dotson trade closer.

No real preferences from this point on, but I’d like to see a Green Bay/Detroit NFC final, and a Buffalo/Baltimore AFC final. A Lions/Ravens Super Bowl would be unique. Lions/Bills, too.

It would be even better if the two conferences went back to CBS and NBC, like in ancient times.

My guess is that the league execs want SF versus KC. Might have the biggest audience, etc.

As Canadaram mentions, yeah. They need another wideout or two, and this looks like an exceptional draft along those lines. The Combine, interviews, Med evals, and Pro Days will shake up the order several more times before the draft hits, but a coupla tall, freakish wideouts are likely available for the Rams in the 3rd or 4th rounds: Jerry Rice’s son, Brenden Rice (USC), plus J.Michael Sturdivant (UCLA). Both guys are on Bruce Feldman’s Freak list. Sturdivant has a 23.2 GPS time, at nearly 6’4″.

Also: Not sure about this, but I think if Tampa wins, Baker Mayfield’s 6th round comp becomes a 5th rounder, and it may help Rams slotting in the draft, too. They might go from 22 to 19. Worse case is 20 now, if this site is correct:

https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2024/1/14/24038547/rams-draft-order-2024-first-round

And, of Morris is hired as HC this go-round, the Rams get a 3rd round comp in the upcoming draft, and in 2025. That would essentially take the place of their lost 4th rounder, and fill in the large gap between their third and fifth round picks (84 to 153 and 154).

As others have already mentioned, this is basically all gravy at this point. I didn’t think the Rams would have a winning record, much less get into the playoffs. So a win tonight is cherry-on-top stuff. Which also makes me think this is a toss-up game.

On paper, the Lions are better, and they’re playing at home, so they should win. But the Rams have been surprising everyone for most of the season, so anything can happen today.

Yep, it’s gonna come down to turnovers. Team with the most takeaways wins.

Oh, and one more thing: Just getting into the playoffs helps the Rams with free agents this off-season. They’re going to be more attractive to players cuz of what they accomplished in 2023 — win or lose tonight. As in, it’s all good.

I’d put George Allen in the top three, at least in my lifetime. He helped turn a basement-dweller program into a league powerhouse. They had just one winning season in the ten years prior to his tenure, and were 4-10 before he took over.

But Allen’s methods probably couldn’t work in one locale for long. He tended to tick off the FO. Kinda like Martz. Which makes me wonder how good that pairing might have been — if we could time-travel a bit: Allen as HC/Martz as his OC.

Another thing to consider: McVay’s route to HC basically skipped over the usual process of spending years and years moving up the coaching ladder. Unlike any previous Rams coach, he didn’t log umpteen years as assistant/position/unit coordinator, etc. So he’s done a hell of a lot of OJT. The vast majority of coaches his age are still climbing that ladder, etc. But McVay likely won’t be coaching beyond, say, 40. Allen was 48 or so before he got the Rams’ job.

Merlin was the man. A true gentle giant. But I’m really surprised that Lou Creekmur isn’t at the top of the list. I mean, who has ever been more revered in the history of the NFL than Lou “Muddy” Creekmur?

Bad luck for me. If Washington plays in the same time slot as the Rams, the Rams aren’t on. They usually don’t, so I sometimes get to see them for late games. Not this Sunday. Will have to wait until the playoffs.

I’m conflicted about Nacua. It’s great that he has a shot at the rookie record, but I think I’d rather they sit him for the entire game. He plays too hard, and with abandon, so it’s always risky for him to be on the field at all.

The Rams, IMO, have had too many misses on Draft Days through the years, but this last draft class is otherworldly. Don’t think they’ve ever done better, especially given the absence of a 1st . . . not to mention past years when the Rams have had multiple early picks. Throw in Dotson, Robinson, and Witherspoon, and one could argue it’s their best offseason, evah. Can they make it rain hidden gems in 2024?

Zooey wrote:

wv wrote:

Ram fans know all about Ernest

And we understand the Importance of being that.

Pretty wilde that you chose now to say that.

wv wrote:

Billy_T wrote:

Trying to boil this down into a Hack-sized post: Don’t want them to trade or cut Kupp, and I think he still holds a great deal of value for the Rams. They’re stronger with him than without him, and an off-season to regain health and focus may do wonders. But it wouldn’t surprise me if the FO decides to move on from a 31-year-old receiver, who’s taken his share of hits, all too many of them “cheap shots” in my book.

I would think it depends on what their expectations for next year. If they think they have a shot at another ring next year or the year after that — then they keep Kupp and Nakua and Higby together for a couple more years. Just looks like now, they only need to really work on the defense. Probly have a solid two year window on offense, I’d think. w v

Makes sense, WV. Two years sounds about right, especially for Stafford, Kupp, and Higbee meshing well with the youngins.

Find a granite-block LT, re-sign Dotson, keep Williams healthy, and — my own preference — find a battering Ram to join him, and they’ll be golden.

Agree about the D. They need a lot more speed, especially at DB. Obviously, an edge who scares OCs would be great, and Bobby Brown could use some help at the nose. You can usually find good run-stuffers late in the draft . . . So it’s doable.

In short, I was wrong about this team, going into the year. Thought they were several players (and years) away from contending again. After seeing them the last three games, especially, I think they’re really close. Should grab a Wild Card this year, and with the right decisions and player development, it’s not a stretch to think of them in the hunt for the Lombardi in 2024.

Hamburger, as in Hamburg, Germany. I knew that even before a refresher from Wikipedia. Lots more to it, of course, and all kinds of zigzags along the way. But that’s the gist of the name.

Too many people are easily fooled by the appearance of confidence and certainty. Those two things are the essence of successful sales in all fields — politics, media, sports, religions, the corporate world, etc. Project them, and move mountains. The stronger the projection, the bigger the audience, and so on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_hamburger

ZN,

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying they should trade him, much less cut him outright. I’m saying I don’t think he’s a part of their “core” any longer, which he certainly was after the Super Bowl. I also think he holds more value for the Rams than they’d likely get for him in trade, but that hasn’t stopped the Rams in the past from trading away players. IMO, they’ve done that several times at fire-sales prices, and it’s frustrated me as a fan. I may be misreading the tea leaves, but Kupp’s body language on the field tells me he’s not happy, and that, along with his age and injuries, may well trigger a move by the Rams this off-season. They have (IMO) a bad habit of trying to please players when it comes to finding them new homes if they want them. It would have been unthinkable after the Super Bowl. It won’t surprise me if it happens in 2024.

This season has surpassed all fan expectations, and I’d bet McSnead’s, too. Have enjoyed watching their resurgence tremendously. It’s actually been a lot of fun and hope-filled. But I still think they’ve made some unforced errors along the way. Looking from the outside in, I wouldn’t have let Wagner go, for instance, nor would I have traded Ramsey for so little, or let Lewis and Burgess walk for nothing. So I’m in agreement with Invader regarding this FO. It’s really not alien for them to make a move like that. Ramsey, for instance, was a “core” guy too and they traded him for peanuts.

I don’t want them to move on from Kupp, and I’d hate for them to do a fire-sale or cut him. But if a team offered them a 1st — not gonna happen now — I’d have to take it.

Jourdan was right, in my view: The time to have made major moves was after the Super Bowl, while they were flying high and their players held serious value. It’s kinda too late now, unless some team just blows them away with crazy offers, including taking on salary, etc. Better to keep this rebuild going via strong drafts and smart FA pickups, etc.