zn wrote:

Rookie sack leaders each season since 2016

well we’ll find out how much was due to playing next to ad. how much of a leap he can make in his sophomore season. i like the kid.

need bobby brown iii to step up too. lots of youth and potential still on that dline.

mohamed kamara and chris braswell also up there.

dallas turner notably not quite up there.

zn wrote:

Notable EDGE prospects career pressure rates and weighted pass rush grades. We’re in a pass protection epidemic but this draft class still has some juice.

well i notice chop robinson is near the top there… whatever the case i guess i should just trust that snead and company make the right decision on this. i’ve seen articles note that guys like danielle hunter and chandler jones had similarly low production in college and went on to flourish as pros. even micah parsons. actually chop has outproduced all three in sack totals although parsons missed his last year due to the pandemic.

https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2024/4/6/24122892/rams-draft-needs-edge-rusher-defense-chop-robinsin

thought this was a good article explaining the case for chop robinson.

zn wrote:

Blaine Grisak@bgrisakTST The difference drop off after the top-5 edge rushers to that next tier and the depth at DL is why the Rams have to prioritize EDGE over DL in round 1. Huge drop off between Chop Robinson, Latu, etc. and Trice, Kneeland compared to Murphy to Fiske, Orhorhoro, etc.

ya know. if they ended up getting latu in the first round and fiske or orhorhoro in the second i’d be over the moon.

i suspect though that latu will be gone by that point. maybe rams trade down and get robinson or verse? i don’t like either of those guys at 19.

well that’s kinda what i mean. certainly front seven needs to be addressed but not necessarily with the first pick. it could be corner. it could even be oline. front seven could come in the second and third rounds.

or it could be trade down.

the more i see of latu the more i like him. looks so fluid. so athletic. maybe doesn’t test as well as the other edge prospects but looks more natural more instinctive maybe… him or chop robinson maybe. verse looks a little stiff to me. turner won’t be there at 19.

rams should just draft best player available. trying to replace like with like seems like a mistake to me. and there should be plenty of talent available as long as they don’t tie themselves to one position.

zn wrote:

I’ve been doing more reading around on him. I am not so sure he checks out medically (?)

well reports are that he cleared medical exams at the combine. but who knows? he lost a year to the neck injury. they thought his career was over. he transferred to ucla and had two great years. otherwise he’s a surefire first rounder looks like.

it freaks me out a little bit but it also depends on what the doctors say. i could see him slipping. sounds like the most pro-ready edge rusher though.

i remember that play against ap.  it’s funny because when i saw it i thought the same thing as donald.  this kid could be special.

even with the rams signing white, i might still draft defensive back in the first round if i were the rams.  i could see cooper dejean fitting into this secondary.  maybe at first as a safety and then moving to cornerback in a year when white is a free agent again?

apparently the rams’ team doctor is the one who did the achilles surgery on white.  so the rams may have had some insight other teams did not.

i don’t know. at first glance i don’t like this rule. i don’t want players to get hurt, but what are defenses supposed to do now?

i’m still in disbelief that the rams were able to sign a player the caliber of curl at the price they were able to sign him. i really haven’t ever seen him play but what i read sounds incredible. sounds like another under the radar signing the rams seem to be known for lately.

this is a real bummer. i think the rams are still in contention for making the playoffs but that’s it. superbowl i think is out the door. you’re not just trying to replace a hall of famer. you’re trying to replace a guy against whom all others at his position and likely even other positions will be compared. i do think it’s useless to try and debate best defensive player ever. there’s just too many variables and it’s too subjective an argument. but the fact that he’s even in that realm to have such a discussion.

how in the hell do you replace him? yeah with multiple players sure. but the odds of that in one year are nigh impossible. i’m happy for him. i certainly don’t want him walking away from the game physically and mentally a shell of himself. for that i am actually truly proud of him. it doesn’t surprise me either. i partially expected him to do something like this. he just strikes me as that type of guy. but it is a bummer from a selfish point of view.

i’ve said it before but i really like this signing. i don’t really know much about football, but he looks really aggressive on tape. and the things i’m reading about his versatility and intelligence. i don’t think he’ll be another ramsey. but he brings similar traits. and then if the rams drafted a guy like cooper dejean who also has similar traits. that’d be a helluva secondary.

Zooey wrote:

Conspiracy theory on the net: AD will come back for the stretch drive like Eric Weddle. Me: Nah. That isn’t the way the man operates. He never took a shortcut in his life.

i do hope he changes his mind before the season starts. i won’t fully believe it until maybe 2 years post-retirement. haha. call it denial i guess.