Lamarcus Joyner, Sammy Watkins are top candidates to receive franchise tag from Rams

RICH HAMMOND

link: https://www.ocregister.com/2018/03/05/lamarcus-joyner-sammy-watkins-are-top-candidates-to-receive-franchise-tag-from-rams/

In their ideal offseason world, the Rams already would have signed safety Lamarcus Joyner and receiver Sammy Watkins to new contracts. Now it seems they might have to make a choice.

The NFL’s deadline for applying a “tag” to a player will take place at 1 p.m. Tuesday, and the Rams are expected to utilize that option, likely on one of two players who otherwise might leave via free agency.

If the Rams apply the exclusive-rights tag, it guarantees that player will stay with the team in 2018. A non-exclusive tag is another option, but that would allow the player to sign an offer sheet with another team, and the Rams would have the right to match the terms of that offer sheet.

Given the circumstances, an exclusive tag seems more likely, but will it be applied to Joyner or Watkins?

Any pending free agent who isn’t tagged still can be signed to a new contract before (or after) the signing period opens on March 14, but the tag is a way to guarantee a player comes back. Given the importance of both players, it’s likely not an easy decision for the Rams’ front office.

At the end of last season, it seemed more likely that the Rams would sign Joyner to a new, multi-year contract and use the tag on Watkins. That’s based on how 2017 worked out for both players.

Joyner, who struggled to find a role under the Rams’ previous coaching staff, thrived under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Joyner, in his fourth NFL season, moved from nickelback to free safety, started a career-high 12 games and recorded the first three interceptions of his NFL career.

So while Joyner exceeded expectations, Watkins never really got going. He arrived during training camp, in August, after a trade that sent cornerback E.J. Gaines and a second-round draft pick to Buffalo.

Watkins, a former 1,000-yard receiver, seemed slow to develop a connection with quarterback Jared Goff and finished fourth on the team with 39 receptions and 593 yards, but he did catch eight touchdowns.

It wasn’t all about the stats, though. Watkins’ field-stretching speed forced opponents to account for him at all times, which opened up the field for other offensive threats. The Rams also believe that, with a full offseason, they could better incorporate Watkins into their offense.

The question of which player to tag might depend on who the Rams believe is less replaceable, either internally, through the draft or on the free-agent market. The Rams are deeper at receiver than at safety, but lack players who have the specific skill set to replace either Joyner or Watkins.

A tagged player is in line to receive a one-year, guaranteed contract. Last season, a tagged receiver made approximately $15.6 million while a tagged safety made almost $10.9 million. This year’s values will depend on the NFL’s 2018 salary cap, which has yet to be announced.

Teams also can continue to negotiate with their tagged players. So if Joyner or Watkins is tagged, the Rams have until July 16 to complete a new deal that would override the franchise-tag contract.

The Rams used an exclusive tag on cornerback Trumaine Johnson in 2016 and 2017, but per league rules cannot use it on him again this year. Johnson is expected to leave this month as a free agent.

Deadpool wrote:

Some combine notes and thoughts

Im in the middle of a blizzard and am finishing up the combine. So I thought I would share some thoughts before Im busy digging out.

I will update with the CBs after I am finished with them. But some early winners were:
Josh Jackson running a 4.49
Jaire Alexander @ 5′-10″ 196 lbs running a 4.38 (i thought he was smaller then that)
Carlton Davis running a 4.53 (he still plays slower then that)
Fitzpatrick running a 4.46 @ 6′ 205 was very good.
Oliver @ 6′ 200 4.51 was good.
Justin Reid – 4.40 at 6′ 207 was nice
Davontae Harris measured and ran very well

Some CB losers early on:
Kam Kelly was slow 4.66
Tarvarus McFadden – showed why he had a bad year – 4.67 was not good. he’s losing money every day.
Kevin Tolliver didn’t run but he has the arm length of a 5′-9″ CB not 6′-2″…Maybe only interesting to me?

As far as possible Rams targets:

OL:
Kolton Miller – LT – UCLA – He had himself a weekend. Tested out of his mind and looked smooth in drills. He was one of the guys I needed to see more of and I came away impressed. His sub 5 40 with a 6′-9″ 310 lb frame with a 1.67 10 yard split was impressive. 24 reps @ 6′-9″ showed strength and his 34″ arms are good for a LT.
Braden Smith OG – Auburn – as a middle round guard had a good weekend. Tested well but looked real smooth in drills.
James Daniels – OC – Iowa – looked very good in drills. With Price’s injury, he should be the top drafted OC.
Billy Price – OC – Ohio State – torn pec, will be ready by training camp, drops into the 2nd round IMO
Mike McGlinchy – LT – ND – Did what he needed to do IMO to remain in the 1st round.
Orlando Brown – fat, slow and was actually yelled at for lack of effort. RT only and I wouldn’t touch him until late day 2.

LB:
Sam Hubbard – Let me get him out the way first. I just don’t see him as a standup OLB in a 3-4. Maybe in a run support roll like Barwin, but he isn’t getting home. I like him as a 4-3 DE like a poor man’s Chris Long.
Harold Landry – he measured in just fine and looked as smooth as anyone in drills. I was concerned about his size, he answered those questions. I like him as a top Rams target now that the Rams need an edge rusher.
Marcus Davenport – I think he is too raw to go top 10, but he is athletic as all get out and looked smooth in drills. I think he would work as a 3-4 Edge.
Dorance Armstrong – slower 40 time, but looked good in drills – I think a 2nd rounder.
Leighton Vander Esch – New leader in the clubhouse at ILB, unless you count Tremaine Edmunds ( I would) He was impressive in drills.
Roquan Smith – I think he ends up being a 4-3 Will or a 3-4 ILB. A tad undersized @ 6′-1″ 235.
Rashaad Evans – See Smith, Roquan. He was as good in drills as any LBer. Solidified a 1st round grade IMO.
Josh Sweat – man did he perform, makes you wonder why he was so pedestrian at FSU doesn’t it. – Day 2 pick.
Lorenzo Carter – He was lights out and I thought he was a 2nd to early 3rd round pick. I he did nothing to change that.
Josey jewell – Can be had in the 3rd or 4th round (so 3rd for the Rams)
Shaquem Griffin – Not a Rams target, but some 4-3 team is gonna get a heck of a 4-3 will. 1 note, his 4.38 was impressive, but you have to remember whose record he broke – Jon Alston, so 40 times re not everything.
Arden Key – measured in well, I am still leary of him.

DL:
Vita Vea – tweaked hammy – no big deal. Top DT/NT in draft.
Da’Ron Payne – He was an animal out there with a sub 5 40 and looked great in drills.
Taven Bryan – Another outstanding combine performance. I liked late in the 1st. I said it before, if you want to move Brockers back inside, he is your DE.
Tim Settle – had a rough weekend. 3rd or 4th round steal.
Harrison Phillips – I had him higher on my top 5 pre-combine board then anyone. He justified his position. looked very good.
Breeland Speaks – He made some money IMO. Scheme flexible. 3-4 DE later day 2.

TE:
Mike Gesicki – has me rethinking my position of Goedert as the top TE (not really) but he closed the gap. He’s a 2 round TE.
Hayden Hurst – also solidified his 2nd round status.
Mark Andrews – I like him – late 2nd early 3rd. had a decent showing.
Durham Smythe – Slowest TE that ran and short broad jump. Rough weekend. Day 3 for sure.

RBs – If the Rams are serious about a RB – there should be a good one drop to them later in the draft. One guy that could provide a nice change of pace was Chase Edmonds – 5′-9″ 205 lbs – looked really athletic in the position drills. Caught the ball really well.

As I have repeated over and over – I do not get to gaga on the combine. I use it as a tool inmy toolbox. Its there to reinforce what I think I have seen or makes me go back and take a second look at someone, or makes me look at someone I overlooked.

wv wrote:

Rams have had some good ones.

Merlin, Deacon, Lundy, Grier, Bacon, JYB, Dryer, Little, Donald, Quinn.
I’m sure I’m leaving some out.

w
v

Brooks. Though he was dinged up a lot.

Carter.

Kennedy.

….

What do Snead, McVay Look for in Combine Interviews?

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/What-do-Snead-McVay-Look-for-in-Combine-Interviews/9468e9fa-5597-403b-ae1c-c85675e85340

INDIANAPOLIS — The public-facing portions of the NFL Combine are important. The 32 teams all notice how the incoming rookies address the media, and the on-field testing can make a difference.

But what happens behind the scenes can sometimes leave the most significant impression.

That’s especially for the top 60 interviews. Each team may select up to 60 of the 300-plus players in Indianapolis for a chance to get to know them in a more intimate setting — a hotel room at the Crown Plaza, Indianapolis. All 32 franchises have a room for these meetings. It’s not the biggest room, so the individual player will meet with select team officials. And these meetings occur at night, often going from around six to 11 p.m.

However, these interviews last only 15 minutes.

“Fifteen minutes — who’s an expert in 15 minutes?” Rams general manager Les Snead joked in an interview with therams.com on Sunday morning. “We always laugh about that.”

Still, Snead, head coach Sean McVay, and the rest of Los Angeles’ staff assembled in Indianapolis do their best to get the most out of that time.

“What we try to do is — hey, let’s talk football,” Snead said. “If we’ve got any hard questions to ask, we’ll do that at another time, in another setting, another environment. But let’s talk football. And a lot of times it’s geared toward sitting down and doing what we do — put on their college film.”

“I think the first thing is, it’s all about football. And I think you want to be able to assess their ability to communicate what’s going on,” McVay said. “So we’ll have tape involved in those meetings — might be some good plays, might be some bad plays. And you want to see how they’re able to echo and articulate what their role, what their responsibility is within the framework of that individual play. And then see if they can take some accountability if there is a play where maybe they could’ve done better.”

According to McVay, the accountability aspect of the conversations can be particularly important in an evaluation because L.A. is trying to assemble a team of players with strong football character.

“I think that ownership is something that some guys naturally possess, and others might not do that,” McVay said. “But we’re looking for guys who do take that accountably, that ownership, and aren’t afraid to be coached, because we’re just trying to help guys reach their highest potential. But if you can’t be receptive to what you might be able to do better, then that’s a concerning thing. And, fortunately, that hasn’t really been the case with the guys we’ve talked to. It’s been a pleasant experience with all the guys we’ve brought in so far.”

Going back to last year, wide receiver Cooper Kupp was one player whose interview stood out to McVay. The head coach has said a number of times since L.A. drafted the former Eastern Washington standout how well he came across in those 15 minutes.

“It was pretty quick that you realize this guy’s different,” McVay said. “When you meet him, you look at the way he was able to play in the Senior Bowl, and then obviously the consistent production he had throughout the course of his career. So it was kind of a combination of all those things. But specifically in the meeting, just his command and his overall presence and ability to communicate the game and what was going on on his tape. You could see that he was a special person and that he has a special understanding of the game.”

With the Combine being such an important part of the pre-draft process, many of the incoming rookies have done a lot of preparation for these interviews. Sometimes, that can make the prospect come across a bit rehearsed. Both McVay and Snead have found that the best way to cut through that exterior and really get to know the player — as best as one can in 15 minutes — is through watching film.

“Everybody’s going to come here intentional and prepared — as they should be, it’s an important interview. But you try to take that guard down. Not necessarily for them to make a mistake, but just to get the real personality,” Snead said. “I think once you get about three or four plays in, if you’ve got a scripted answer, you’ve run out. And then you get to get those guys more comfortable.”

“Just like when we’re coaching players, our philosophy isn’t to try to create an uncomfortable atmosphere,” McVay said. “Certainly you like to stress guys, but not in a manner where you like to be negative. But it’s just about seeing how they handle their ability to look at the game of football. And then it kind of demonstrates how willing they are to be coached as well.”

And with players going through so many different interviews in such a short amount of time, the Rams do have an appreciation for the toll the process likely takes on each individual.

“I give them credit,” Snead said. “You think about it, depending on your background, where you’re from, your personality introverted or extroverted — you might have 15, 16 interviews, or maybe even more. And you go back to back, and then all of a sudden you’re sitting in a chair and there’s [Patriots head coach Bill] Belichick staring at you. Or in another room there’s [Hall of Fame quarterback and Broncos EVP of football operations] John Elway staring at you.

“And you just feel for the kids, you’re like, ‘You know what, this is pretty impressive that each one of those guys can come here and get through this,’” Snead added, “because I know that’s got to be tough.”

Peter Schrager@PSchrags
Robert Quinn. …Multiple teams were in the hunt until hours ago. @nflnetwork @gmfb

TRANSCRIPT: Los Angeles Rams General Manager Les Snead’s combine press conference

https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2018/3/2/17072550/transcript-los-angeles-rams-general-manager-les-snead-2018-nfl-scouting-combine

(Opening statement)

We should probably just do this on March 14. I’ll be able to elaborate. But since its March 1st well get 15 minutes in.

(On long snappers)

There’s probably only one at the combine because none of us really knows what it takes to be a long snapper, right. But I think it is interesting, it’s very specialized. I can say that the special teams coaches do a really good job. Because that’s their world. They know the intricacies of that position. And whether you’re at the combine, I think you get to the combine because there’s kickers and punters here and you definitely need a snapper. But there is going to be snappers that played in college football this year that aren’t at the combine that will snap in the NFL.

So, like you said, it’s just a specialized, very very specialized position. It’s interesting, you know, having a kid that plays high school football, and their snapper on the team is going to end up going and playing in college football. But all the camps he attends, it’s almost like a golfer. So they live a specialized life.

(On the biggest challenges in earliest stages of process in getting QB Jared Goff synchronized with HC Sean McVay in new offense)

I think the biggest challenge in the early stages is dealing with the rules in the offseason, and Jared can’t come to work, and he wants to come work and Sean wants him to come to work. So you got a new staff, their putting in a new offense and you can’t do is ASAP. Which in most transitions in life, guess what, if there’s a transition you start immediately on it. So I think that’s the biggest hindrance is just the working within the rules and the timeframe.

Once they started working together how to do you stimulate that and get it accelerated so that you can play catch up a little bit? I think it takes, in their cases, Jared was itching to come back to continue getting better. Obviously, Sean was itching to install his offense and do his part in helping Jared improve. But it was really two human beings that were passionate about getting better. Once that occurs I don’t know if they took any time off. So Jared was then working weekends per se.

(On why a good cover cornerback is so important to a Wade Phillips defense)

Wade does a lot of, and most offensive coordinators would know this, he has a lot of man principles. Some really good defenses have a lot of zone principles. Now, nowadays in the NFL, whoever you are as a coordinator you can’t just do man or zone, you’ve got to mix it up. But I think when you’ve got a lot of, your coverage is based out of man and you’ve got someone that you can put on a very good man on the other side of the ball, it does allow you, it frees you up to do other things with the other 10 players and get creative with blitz packages and all of that.

(How different things feel this year compared to last year)

It’s interesting that there’s a difference. Obviously, we’re division champs, so that’s different but you still have the same motivation because you moved the needle per se. You got to this level of the video game but you want to go farther. So whether you were here last year trying to get to this level or here this year trying to get to that next level, it’s the same. The same desire to wake up every day and go ‘OK, how do we get better.’ Because yesterday was successful but not where we want to be.

(On the evaluation process when you look how DB use has changed, with five or six the standard now and guys in college playing various positions)

It is interesting. I think for the good of football there’s probably more defensive backs available in terms of, let’s call it a pool to select from. Because starting in whatever league, you’re 7 on 7s, they don’t bring the DL or the linebackers to 7 on 7s. A lot of times it’s five or six DBs so there’s more players playing that position. But it’s interesting in college too it gets specialized as depending on the conference they’re in, the offenses they play against, you might have a corner who’s built to play on the outside but it was best for his college team to play on the inside based on who they were playing and what other teams’ quarterbacks can do and things like that. And you don’t get a chance to see the guy play on the outside. So, it poses some difficulties. But I think all in all, it is nice. Because I think John Lynch was up here earlier and I heard him say, this is a spacing game. So there’s a lot of athletes that can play in space in college football.

(On a guy who might be in the wrong position and just has the traits you’re looking for in a cornerback)

Yeah, you have to look at those traits and then you have to predict that you can, and the coaching staff, can develop him to play out there. Obviously, any time you’re doing it, you’d love to say, ‘OK we saw him do it.’ But it was interesting. I was talking to one college coach who has a corner in the draft. He had a great story in that he played at a high school, they were basically, let’s call it played a deep-zone coverage. The conference he was in didn’t throw the ball a lot. But you got this big athlete. So he ended up watching him as vice on punt team, because that’s when he’s up pressing the gunner on the punt team. He says ‘OK that’s when I saw him press, flip his hips and things like that.’ So it was interesting how he said how he found this particular corner. But you got to do those type of things.

(On the difference between now and last year at the combine when Snead characterized Todd Gurley’s season as a maybe a bit of a sophomore slump.)

I don’t know if I have a good term for junior but let’s call it Hey he was offensive MVP for reason. Special, special player. Did it a lot of different ways. Running the football. Catching the football. Scoring touchdowns. So he’s one of those guys where not only does he help your football team, he’s just you know. He’s one of those guys, if I was paying to go see a game, I’d say let’s go to see Todd Gurley and one of the Gurdles – that’s what we’ve nicknamed the hurdle, the Gurdle – so it’s just fun to watch him and but I can tell you this, he really helps the Rams offense and he won the MVP of the offense in the NFL for a reason.

(On the value of a running back)

Good question. I think is it the value of the running back but sometimes, especially the last few guys they’re just, guess what, they’re really talented human beings. So if they had played something else maybe the value of that position would have gone up. So it probably depends on the person that’s actually putting on the helmet. And I think the value of the running back gets more valuable when that player actually is one of your more important offensive weapons and how a coach can use it. But it’s interesting, going back to when we were in high school: who touched the ball the most? The running back and it’s probably still that way in the NFL, so I think it’s always been a very important position.

(On how much has that valuation has changed now that you have pass catching running backs like Gurley, New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara, Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey)

Now you put genres on running backs. Are they, hey are they more in line, first and second down type running backs? Are they more change of pace? Can they catch? And the really good ones can do both where, hey you can run between the tackles but also send him out. And that way when this running back is in the game at least the defense is on its heels a little bit in terms of ‘All right what is he going to do?’ Where if you get specialized defensive coordinator’s going to go, ‘OK so and so is in the game they’re probably going to throw it or block it.’ But I think now in college football it’s hard to be a running back and not catch the football.

(On his early impressions of Penn St. RB Saquon Barkley)

It’s always fun when you’re watching a player and you know there’s no chance he’s getting to you. And we got a good running back so you’re probably not picking him, and he does fall to you, you might trade that pick. But you know he’s not getting there and its fun, you sit back and go, ‘Wow. This guy’s just fun to watch. He did some amazing things.

(On making predraft trades)

It’s an urgency to get better. It’s an urgency to improve. You have things you want to address and there’s a lot of avenues to address them. And then, just like some offensive coordinators, you like to attack. You like to put it in two-minute mode and get things done, so I think that’s the philosophy you take. Just urgently try to get better.

(On drafting a quarterback in the first round and if he should be the starter as a rookie)

I think that’s going to be determined by if he’s ready and just because he’s a first-round quarterback doesn’t necessarily mean he’s ready. And when you’re not ready for that first game doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to be bad. But I do think, as we all know, if you send someone out who’s not quite there for whatever reason, and quarterbacks have a harder time coming in because they’re coming from usually a system where they’re not in the huddle, their getting hand signals, to all of sudden there’s somebody they got an earphone in their helmet and there’s a coach sending in a sentence and now that guy’s got to remember the sentence, get it to the other team, then remember….So you don’t want to send that guy out where he’s still thinking, has a few bad games and that just leads to, let’s call it less confidence going forward. So it’s case by case and not everyone’s going to be ready based on where they played college football and things like that.

(On trend of mid-round WRs outperforming early round receivers)

I hadn’t done that study. When you said that the first guy that came to mind was [New York Giants WR] Odell Beckham Jr., or somebody like that, he was in the first round. But I get what you’re saying. I think similar to the DBs, if you got a lot of DBs on the field there’s a lot of wide receivers on the field. And those guys, there’s a lot of passing now in middle school ball all the way up so these guts are learning to really, let’s call it the intricacies of route running. And I do think that kind of the farther you go back in the draft maybe the less mom-dad God-given physical skills you have. That’s probably the reason you got pushed back a little bit but they are obviously successful and I think because they were less gifted they’ve really learned a craft of how to get open, make catches, move the chains.

(On importance of getting players re-signed)

Like we mentioned, any time we won the division championship so everybody who was on that team for us last year played an important role. So it’s important for us to work through this time. I know we’ve been working at the combine. I see [Rams Senior Assistant] Tony Pastoors over there. He’s taking a slight break but this time of year we’re trying our best to urgently get these things done. But time will tell.

(On whether WR Josh Reynolds could step up to fill in for WR Sammy Watkins)

We were very impressed with Josh. Fortunately we had a deep receiving crew last year that for the most part was healthy but through the year. Just at Texas A&M there was few things that he did in practice and even in games you’re like, ‘Wow. OK that’s the josh Reynolds that we saw go up and make catches against good players in college football.’ So he can wow you with some of those catches. Very excited about him whether no matter who the first three receivers are.

(On what convinced him that WR Cooper Kupp was a good pick)

I was personally probably sold on Cooper Kupp long before last year. You just saw him over the years whether it was the year before, you’re watching Oregon and he plays, he may have had 400 yards catching and you’re like, ‘OK who is this kid? He’s fun to watch.’ I think any time you turned on the film, I know this, other teams knew he was the guy to stop. They just couldn’t stop it. And because he played a lower level of football, but very competitive. When he went to the Senior Bowl he did some of the same things. And I think when you see somebody at the Senior Bowl do it against guys that are going to be playing in this league, OK there’s an element, Ok there’s definitely a chance that what he does in college is going to translate to what he does in the NFL.

(On if Kupp can play outside)

Definitely can be. I think when we lost Robert Woods this year he was able to go out and play outside because he is a bigger kid. I think with us he [fits] exceptionally well in the slot so I think coach McVay would love to keep him there just because he values that slot receiver.

wv wrote:

I guess they can sign Watkins and Donald and Joyner now.

They always could do all that, even with Quinn. Anyone saying otherwise didn’t know the numbers.

No, trading Quinn is about more than that. I expect a big FA signing now.

Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
Rams trading Robert Quinn to Miami for a mid-round pick, and the teams also are swapping late-round picks. So trade looks as it will involve three picks and one player.

With two Pro Bowls and 62.5 career sacks on his resume, Robert Quinn will form a dynamic pass-rush duo with Cam Wake.