Rams select Clemson TE Davis Allen with 175th overall pick in 2023 NFL draft https://t.co/lKusXUyZ6e

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) April 29, 2023

Nick Hampton THREAD:

Nick Hampton is a 6’2 237 EDGE With 34” arms. He’s a pure speed rusher. His burst is exceptional at the snap and he can quickly threaten the edge with ease. His dip and rip is deadly and he bends the corner with fluidity pic.twitter.com/Py1zaRBZVA

— Koll_0ne (@Koll_0ne) April 30, 2023

I’m still rounding up data but I have impressions.

On offense, the Rams plugged in some pieces to keep an offense going that would have been good last year if it were healthy. Guard, depth at TE, RB, and WR.

On defense, they changed their entire defensive strategy (note: I don’t mean scheme). Previously they had Donald but Ramsey made the secondary the unit of strength. They asked Ramsey to do a lot. Trading him IMO had as much to do with changing that focus as it did with cap space. Now, in this draft, they load up the front 7 and seem to be approaching it this way–the defense should be built around the front 7 and if that works, the secondary will come through, and will have both an easier job and simpler responsibilities. I don’t know how many players they took this draft will work out, but the clear strategy is to attack with a front 7 that lends itself to stunts and games and aggressive play.

In terms of the secondary, they have candidates on the roster already who can play outside at corner but they lacked a nickel/slash/slot corner. And sure enough they take a guy who has the potential to be the best they ever had at the nickel/3rd corner position.

Clamps. 🔒@TreTomlinson 🤝 @TCUFootball pic.twitter.com/Ivij0SqUko

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) April 29, 2023

The Rams are signing Christopher Dunn, who won the Lou Groza Award last season as college football's best kicker

Solid pickup in undrafted free agency https://t.co/ma8gzgMF7A

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) April 30, 2023

That was a good read, thanks.

2023 Rams Draft Class:
14 picks 👀

Steve Avila OL
Byron Young EDGE
Kobie Turner DT
Stetson Bennett QB
Nick Hampton EDGE
Warren McClendon Jr. OL
Davis Allen TE
Puka Nacua WR
Tre'Vius Tomlinson DB
Ochuan Mathis EDGE
Zach Evans RB
Ethan Evans P
Jason Taylor II S
Desjuan Johnson DT

— Los Angeles Rams UK (@LARams_UK) April 29, 2023

Cool to see Jalen Ramsey's message for Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson. He can't wait to see him making plays for the Rams https://t.co/ShJg5Z3Dd8

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) April 29, 2023

Rams draft Stetson Bennett: LA gets its backup QB — ‘He was off the charts’

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/4470276/2023/04/29/stetson-bennett-draft-los-angeles-rams/?source=emp_shared_article

In all of the chaos of their 2022 season, the Rams made one thing clear: They were going to update their backup quarterback position.

Saturday at pick No. 128, they drafted Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, a two-time national champion, by all accounts a fierce (though polarizing on and off the field among evaluators) competitor and the clear new No. 2 in Los Angeles.

There’s a difference, the Rams found last year when they rolled through four quarterbacks and finally stuck with waiver-wire acquisition Baker Mayfield, another competitor who also has drawn mixed opinions throughout his career, between worst-case scenarios. There is the situation in which the starter goes down and there is little chance the backup can come in and give the team a chance to win, and there is the situation in which the starter goes down and the team knows it has a shot to win. Mayfield showed them that, in flashes.

Director of draft management (and longtime Les Snead right-hand man) J.W. Jordan, a leader in Stetson’s evaluation, said that even with all the talent around Bennett on Georgia’s formidable rosters, he isn’t just a quarterback who stands and hands off the ball.

“That’s what you think going in,” Jordan said. “So in a way, it’s like you’ve got to overcome that bias. But when you start watching him, you’re like, ‘Oh. This guy is more than just a cog in the wheel. He’s driving the bus — for better or worse, however good or bad he is, he’s driving the bus.”

The Rams also brought in Kellen Clemens in January to consult throughout their quarterback evaluation process. Clemens, a former NFL quarterback (including in St. Louis from 2011 to 2013), traveled to Athens, Ga., to see Bennett and ran him through protection calls, plays and problem-solving exercises.

“That’s what you have to do a lot of times as a quarterback,” Clemens said. “You’ve got a plan, but the defense can do a variety of things to you, and at some point problems come up. You have to be able to solve them. Over the course of our visit, being able to sit down and watch tape, get him on the (white)board, it was an opportunity to say, ‘Well, here’s the problem. How would you solve it?’ … He was off the charts.”

Bennett, who is 25, was arrested in January on a misdemeanor public intoxication charge. Draft analysts and NFL staffers alike speculated the incident would drop his selection point deep into the draft, if he was picked at all. Bennett accounted for the situation publicly while at the NFL combine this spring and spoke with general managers and coaches across the league about it, including the Rams (though most of their dialogue centered around football).

“I can tell you, the way that he handled it, there was an accountability there,” Clemens said. “There was also a very mature response to how he handled it.”

Big board ranking

Bennett ranked No. 234 on Brugler’s top 300 prospect list and was his No. 11-ranked QB prospect. Of Bennett, he wrote: “Overall, Bennett is a smallish passer who doesn’t have the physical traits that most NFL teams seek at the position, but he is a sound decision-maker with the competitive temperament and make-it attitude that translate to his on-field play. He is ideally suited for a move-based NFL offense in which he can be a No. 2/No. 3.”

How he fits

Bennett is the automatic No. 2 on the Rams’ roster, and that’s not just because they entered the fourth round with only one quarterback — starter Matthew Stafford — on the roster. The Rams did a lot of evaluations on lower-tier/Day 3 quarterbacks specifically for this purpose.

“He’s accurate, tough as nails, highly, highly competitive. He can anticipate throws,” Jordan said. “Throws guys open, that sort of thing. One of the unique things I thought he had to him is a lot of (quarterbacks are) either good at staying in the pocket, climbing the pocket, stepping up, taking the hits, or they’re good at escaping, getting out of the pocket, making something happen off-schedule. Not a lot of guys are really good at both, and he’s one of the guys that I think is good at both.”

Rookie impact

Bennett’s job is interesting once he arrives in Thousand Oaks, Calif., this spring. Unless Stafford is hurt, Bennett won’t see playing time outside of the preseason (head coach Sean McVay doesn’t play starters in the preseason and has usually been slow at pulling starters of those contests even in lopsided games).

But one important role for Bennett, as he also develops as a player in McVay’s system, will be to run a live scout team against a defense that will feature a ton of young players and needs to get good, fast. That is part of why Bennett’s competitive, “make it happen by any means necessary” play style was a popular fit among staffers. Even many of the defensive coaches were thrilled with the selection and ripped some cheers through the Rams’ draft house Saturday when Bennett was officially announced.

Early expectations

In a perfect scenario, we’ll see the most of Bennett in the preseason.

Fast evaluation

It always seemed a given that the Rams would look hard at quarterbacks in rounds 4 and 5. Bennett’s off-the-field situation drew concern from some analysts and teams, but it’s clear by the staff’s reaction to picking him and their subsequent comments that it wasn’t internally seen as a deal-breaker. They need a player who can get their defense competitive reps and develop his craft at the same time, and they can’t take up three roster spots in September with quarterbacks anymore. Bennett might have been drafted too high in the opinions of some analysts, but the Rams seem to think they got him right where they wanted him.