New Rams DT Bobby Brown, of his game, says simply “Disruptive.”

Also, Aaron Donald is his favorite player and he really can’t wait to “be a sponge” and learn from Eric Henderson, who was his main contact in the draft process.

— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) May 1, 2021

Maryland Football said “No thank you” to the new Rams logo for their graphic. 😂 https://t.co/cEPQ0X7Gsc

— RAMS REPORT🗯 (@RamsNFLReport) May 1, 2021

Positives: Nice-sized corner who flashes next-level ball skills. Displays good instincts and awareness, is very effective facing the action, and possesses a closing burst of speed. Keeps the play in front of him, engages receivers at the snap, and stays with assignments. Nicely times pass defenses and quickly closes to the action. Solid special teams player who makes a lot of plays on coverage units.

Negatives: Slow flipping his hips in transition. Hesitates when he turns to run with opponents. Not a physical run defender. Inconsistent with his fundamentals and techniques.

Analysis: Rochell is an athletic corner with excellent size who has flashed ability. He comes with scheme versatility, and Rochell’s special teams’ ability could help him find a roster spot as a No. 4 cornerback.

Rams stay at No. 57, pick WR Tutu Atwell from Louisville on Day 2

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/2556778/2021/04/30/rams-stay-at-no-57-pick-wr-tutu-atwell-from-louisville-on-day-2/#:~:text=Oklahoma-,Rams%20stay%20at%20No.%2057%2C%20pick%20WR%20Tutu%20Atwell,from%20Louisville%20on%20Day%202&text=When%20they%20traded%20for%20quarterback,deep%20ball%20%E2%80%94%20would%20be%20fixed.

When they traded for quarterback Matthew Stafford in January, the Rams made it clear that some of the things they weren’t able to do with their offense in 2020 — like throwing the deep ball — would be fixed.

Enter Tutu Atwell, the light-framed, lightning-fast wide receiver out of Louisville, for whom the Rams stood pat at No. 57, their first pick of this year’s draft Friday.

Atwell was a bit of a surprise move for the Rams’ first pick because centers Creed Humphrey and Quinn Meinerz were both available at the time (perhaps hinting that the Rams would seek Stanford’s Drew Dalman with a later pick), as well as a bevy of cornerbacks. But NFL Network said that Rams coach Sean McVay referred to Atwell as “DeSean Jackson Jr.” (the Rams also signed Jackson this spring on a one-year, incentive-heavy deal), and there’s no denying the bond McVay shared with a younger, similarly skilled Jackson during his Washington days. In fact, Jackson’s presence on the roster won’t preclude Atwell from being worked into the rotation, as Atwell is versatile enough to align from a variety of places (including from the backfield on sweeps and reverses) and will certainly compete at punt and kickoff return.

In recent days, McVay repeatedly has cited Stafford’s ability to activate all of his eligible wide receivers by the way he operates inside and outside of the pocket. The Rams also finished 29th in the NFL in passes of 15-plus air yards, and Jared Goff was 27th in completion rate on those same throws. Turnover issues that kept popping up and a lack of a true “deep threat” didn’t help the Rams’ cause. The offense moved toward higher-probability, shorter-yardage plays that should have made it easier to take care of the ball and help the offensive line not have to pass-protect as long as teams brought more creative blitz packages against Goff, who struggled against that pressure.

There will be some questions as to whether this pick could have been made either at a later point or via a trade back. General manager Les Snead has been open about his desire to trade at least one of his Day 2 picks.

Big Board ranking: Atwell was No. 95 on Dane Brugler’s list of the top 300 prospects.

Introduction: “Atwell has sudden feet and playmaking speed to separate before and after the catch, racing by coverage to consistently take the top off the defense,” Dane Brugler said. “However, he is a small target with obvious play-strength limitations and durability concerns. Overall, Atwell has a skill set very similar to Marquise Brown: vastly undersized with more drops than ideal, but his speed stresses every level of the defense. He projects as a home-run-hitting option outside or in the slot.”

How he fits: Atwell could see more time than initially expected if Jackson’s injury issues pop up. Atwell probably will be used for situational reps when aligned as a wide receiver and also run a variety of gadget plays out of the backfield. McVay likely will use him on a lot of pre and at-snap motions to stretch a defense widely, and of course, the Rams hope he can stretch a defense horizontally.

Second guess: We can’t second-guess Atwell’s speed (he ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash), but his 5-foot-9, 155-pound frame is a bit worrisome.

Rookie impact: Situational snaps at wide receiver (or plays in case of injury to Jackson), punt and kick return specialist.

Depth chart impact: WR4(b)

Fast evaluation: Clearly the Rams had Atwell ranked higher on their board than analysts did. His speed and the emotional connection of reminding McVay of the success he had with Jackson probably were big influences. I’d like to actually see him get some snaps as a rookie.

LIVE BLOG: The latest from the NFL Draft
ROUND 2-3 PICK BY PICK: Dane Brugler’s analysis
DRAFT GRADES: Sheil Kapadia’s report cards
BIG BOARD: Best available players remaining
ROUND 1: Brugler’s analysis | Kapadia’s grades

(Photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

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Jourdan Rodrigue writes about the Rams after spending four years as an award-winning beat writer covering the Carolina Panthers. She froze during Pennsylvania winters as a Penn State football beat writer before that. A 2014 graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State, she’s on a never-ending quest for trick plays and the stories that give football fans goosebumps. Follow Jourdan on Twitter @JourdanRodrigue.
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from https://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/story/2021-04-30/rams-first-pick-nfl-draft-louisville-receiver-tutu-atwell-round-2

ERNEST JONES, linebacker

6 feet 2, 230 pounds, South Carolina, Round 3, Pick 103

Notable: Jones started two seasons at middle linebacker and was the leading tackler in both.

Last season: Jones made 86 tackles in nine games. He recorded more than 11 tackles four times and had a season-high 19 tackles against Louisiana State.

Why the Rams drafted him: The Rams return all of their inside linebackers from last season — Micah Kiser, Kenny Young, Troy Reeder and Travin Howard — but several are in the final year of their contracts. Jones can serve as backup and contribute on special teams.

Despite losing many defenders, Rams start NFL draft by picking a receiver

GARY KLEIN

https://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/story/2021-04-30/rams-first-pick-nfl-draft-louisville-receiver-tutu-atwell-round-2

The Rams lost five players and a coordinator from a defense that ranked among the NFL’s best in 2020.

But on Friday, they used their first pick in the NFL draft to add to coach Sean McVay’s offense.

The Rams selected speedy Louisville receiver Tutu Atwell in the second round with the 57th pick and then traded the 88th pick to the San Francisco 49ers for the 117th and 121st picks in Saturday’s fourth round. The Rams chose South Carolina inside linebacker Ernest Jones in the third round with the 103rd pick.

Barring more trades, the Rams’ have five remaining picks, including Nos. 117, 121 and 141 in the fourth round, 209 in the sixth and 252 in the seventh.

The Rams went into the draft having made two major offseason moves to improve an offense that slipped the last two seasons.

They traded quarterback Jared Goff and two first-round picks to Detroit for quarterback Matthew Stafford. And they signed veteran receiver DeSean Jackson to give Stafford a deep threat.

Now Stafford has another potential one in Atwell, “a big-time gift,” McVay said, for an offense that includes receivers Jackson, Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson, a second-round pick in 2020.

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“The more weapons you can surround yourself with offensively, especially around a player like Matthew Stafford, that’s very important to us,” McVay said.

McVay said that Jackson was “one of the all-time deep threats.” He said the 5-foot-9, 155-pound Atwell had some similarities, in his ability to stretch the defense.

“I see a player that plays a lot bigger than,” his physical size, McVay said.

Rams general manager Les Snead conducted the draft from his home because he tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. He said Atwell had “this rare, unique ability to explode off the ball and keep running fast the longer the down went.”

Atwell played quarterback in high school in Miami. But he moved to receiver at Louisville and scored 21 touchdowns in three seasons.

In 2019, he led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 1,276 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns, and he caught four passes that resulted in gains of 70 yards or more.

Last season, Atwell caught 46 passes for 625 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games.

Atwell said during a videoconference with reporters that Rams receiver coach Eric Yarber told him, “Don’t be surprised if I don’t let you go past the second round.”

Atwell was happy the Rams followed through.

“Coach told me I would be a good fit for their offense and how they’re going to be able to use me, so I wasn’t surprised,” Atwell said. “Coach kept his word and I appreciate that.”

Though he has a small frame, Atwell said he overcomes that with skill and attitude.
“I just come with a chip on my shoulder at all times no matter what the situation is,” he said. “And I’m a go-getter.”

How McVay deploys Atwell remains to be seen. In 2017, McVay used Tavon Austin almost exclusively as a decoy. Austin was traded the following offseason.

Atwell sounded confident that he can contribute.

“I’m a great receiver,” he said, “and when the ball’s in my hands I know what to do with it. The thing is I just need the ball in my hands, and I’ll show you everything else.”

Peyton Manning was a role model when Atwell played quarterback, but he said he began to emulate NFL receivers when he switched positions.

“When I started getting into the receiver thing, I started watching the fast receivers and who I could be like,” he said.
He is looking forward to playing with Jackson, one of the league’s premiere deep threats.

“It will be awesome to pretty much play beside him and everything like that,” Atwell said.

Deadpool

Tutu Atwell

– this felt like a forced pick, I think (I have no inside info) they wanted Eskridge, and the Seahawks once again sniped the Rams. That said, Atwell IMO was a reach. He is not actually a deep threat. He is an explosive threat with his ball in his hands, but is once he has the ball in his hands. Screens, jet sweeps, rub routes. Basically manufactured touches. Any kind of contact and he is off his feet. Thats in a route or after the catch. He is not going to out physical anyone. He has a small catch radius and his route tree was extremely limited and he is not a nuanced route runner to say the least. But if McVay wants explosives, he can manufacture them. I would have preferred Dyami Brown, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Jaelon Darden, Seth Williams or oh my goodness Terrance Marshall, a guy that wins deep, wins contested balls and has plenty of field stretching. As others have noted, this feels like Trung, where McVay is pushing this explosives idea into his draft. And he’s at best a 5th option this year. Humphrey beats every OC on the roster. So does Meinerz. Missed opportunity IMO

Mike Tannenbaum@RealTannenbaum
Ernest Jones scored as the 3rd highest ILB in the class in the Athletic Success Indicator (ASI) by @The33rdTeamFB, ranking just below former 21st overall pick Jarrad Davis

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
We’re on with new Rams ILB Ernest Jones, who is just beaming Pleading face. He says he did have a clue that the Rams would come get him in the draft. Sounds like they were very high on him throughout the process.

Jones says Chris Shula was largely his contact throughout the process and the two developed a good bond. He prides himself on preparation and study. Had a monster last two seasons as a tackler and adds, “I don’t feel like it’s right if the MLB doesn’t lead the team in tackles.”

Jones says “I woke up today with the Rams on my mind.”

On Jones, Brugler writes: Tough, great length to shed blocks, sometimes seems athletically limited in coverage but quick to react and has great instincts.

Jeremy Fowler@JFowlerESPN
Something to watch Day 2: A potential run of centers in the 50s up to the Texans’ early 3rd (No. 67). Steelers, Packers, Rams and others all need one.

Dodging a cash-in-transit robbery. The man has balls of steel from nextfuckinglevel