Zooey wrote:

I saw something else somewhere.

Paraphrasing: He can hit holes when they are there, but lacks the ability to anticipate where they are going to develop.

So what we’re getting is the typical mess of comments. I have to say that the negative ones are in the minority.

The guy was very productive. To me that’s not someone who can’t anticipate developing blocking.

To pick on something that was said, from what I can tell at this early stage, this guy is not Trung, and to be honest I protested the Trung pick the minute it was made. (Not that I was a draftnik then or now but Trung was nobody’s idea of special before that draft.) Trung was a straight line runner without any creativity. Henderson led all of college football in yards after contact. People talk about–and in the vids you can see—his toughness, decisiveness, contact balance, physicality, burst, acceleration, and vision. The physicality is part of it–he may be 5’8 but he’s also 208 pounds.

See to me, Martz/Armey WOULD draft a Trung in round 1. I don’t think Snead/McVay/Kromer would draft one even in round 3.

Anyway, it’s early and we’re just comparing impressions. …

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I saw here that a couple of people are concerned about Henderson’s vision. What I read in the Henderson thread was just one comment to that effect–it says he “doesn’t have great vision,” which is a little vague but isn’t the same as saying it’s bad. Could be that that comment is trying to say it’s average, and even then that’s one comment.

That comment is contradicted by others (it’s all in the Henderson thread):

Henderson possesses excellent vision, subtle shifts and has an effective stiff-arm to weave his way through defenses.

Demonstrates good vision and burst, along with strong upper body, which makes for a powerful stiff-arm.

I just added this one to the thread:

Henderson’s vision is incredible. He has the innate ability to read the second level before he even gets across the first.

The next comment doesn’t mention vision per se but is in the general area of addressing the issue, and IMO gets us closer to an idea of what DH’s combined traits add up to:

There is a natural feel and knack for finding space that will translate at the next level, albeit he won’t be and every down player. Decisive and quick-footed that can adjust at the final moment to miss the meat of a hit from a defender. Contact balance is a plus with the kind of hunger that can be a weapon in and of itself.

Here’s a similar comment:

Henderson possesses elite balance and is able to “pinball ” his way through contact and stay on his feet on his way to big gains

I went and found a gif that might address that.

And so everyone mentions contact balance. That is, DH is tough. From what I have seen he slides off of contact constantly. PFF addresses that. The result is high yards after contact.

Henderson’s 2018 season (on 214 attempts) ranks first in yards after contact per attempt (6.16). His 2017 season (on 128 attempts) ranks second (5.60).

Short version–

only one comment criticizes his vision, others praise it, and he has a very interesting combination of skills that make him a significant threat.

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Draft grade roundup: How experts view the Rams’ class

Draft grade roundup: How experts view the Rams' class

The 2019 NFL Draft is officially in the rearview mirror. It was a hectic few days for the Los Angeles Rams, who made a flurry of trades. When the dust settled, the Rams had made eight selections. Analysts began giving out their grades for how each team did, and we’ve compiled what they thought of the Rams’ haul below:

Luke Easterling, The Draft Wire

Easterling gave the Rams a B+. He didn’t elaborate too much, but he only gave six teams higher grades so he clearly thought pretty highly of what Les Snead was able to do.

Pro Football Focus

The team over at PFF gave the Rams an ‘above average’ grade for their work. They liked the drafting of Taylor Rapp in the second round, calling it a “value selection,” and saying Rapp is a “high-floor” player.

“Michigan cornerback David Long, another PFF favorite, was a steal for the Rams,” they write. As for the Rams’ other Day 2 picks, they write that “Darrell Henderson and Bobby Evans weren’t as favorable as Rapp and Long, but both players still bring a lot to the table.”

On Day 3 they liked the pick of defensive tackle Greg Gaines, writing that “he was one of the best run defenders in college football but flashed some pass-rushing chops at the Senior Bowl, where he had the third-best win rate among interior players in the 1-on-1s.”

Doug Farrar, Touchdown Wire

Farrar gave the Rams a B grade overall. Farrar was a big fan of each of the Rams’ first three picks, writing that “adding Washington safety Taylor Rapp and Michigan cornerback David Long to a defense already full of super-smart and hyper-aggressive defenders doubles down on both attributes. And in Sean McVay’s offense, it’s hard to imagine a better fit than third-round running back Darrell Henderson, who lit up the NCAA last season with an 8.9 yards per carry average.”

A lot of people have pointed out that Gaines could help fill some of the void left by Ndamukong Suh’s departure, and Farrar agrees. He also highlighted third round pick offensive lineman Bobby Evans as someone who plays with a “real nasty streak.”

Mark Maske, Washington Post

Maske also gave the Rams a B. He writes that the Rams did “extremely well” by getting Rapp in the second round. Like many other observers, he considers the drafting of Henderson in the third round to be a sign the Rams are concerned about Todd Gurley’s knee.

Chad Reuter, NFL.com

Reuter gave the Rams a B+ grade overall. Specifically, he gave them a B+ for their moves on Day 2 and an A for Day 3. Reuter liked the Rapp pick, and writes that “I suspect he’ll be a long-term starter once Eric Weddle retires (or if the veteran can’t stay healthy this year).”

Count Reuter as another fan of the Gaines pick, as he too thinks the defensive tackle can offer something on passing downs beyond just his run-stuffing. “Gaines is a top-notch nose who won’t just stand there on pass plays — quarterbacks will know he’s there,” he writes.

The bottom line:

Experts seem to be pretty much united in their belief that the Rams had a very good, if not great draft. Every analyst we tracked that gave out letter grades gave them at least a B. That’s not too shabby considering the Rams went into the draft without a second rounder thanks to the Marcus Peters trade. Snead made some shrewd moves, and overall everyone seems pretty happy with the Rams’ weekend.

Deadpool

Long story short, I liked and disliked day 3. I am not a fan of Gaines, preferred a guy like Willis or Russell more, but who am I to argue with the Rams. Loved the Edwards pick. That pick was a HR imo. But then again, I did have him rated way higher then most. Nick Scott is a confusing pick and not my favorite, but I see the upside. Dakota Allen is a pick I liked.

Greg Gaines – NT – 6′-1″ 312 lbs.

Positives:
strong as an ox
Natural low center of gravity
Great motor
doesn’t get pushed backwards – like ever
showed some pass rush at SB

Negatives:
lacks ideal length
built like a fire hydrant, moves like a fire hydrant
sluggish athletically

a 2 down NT that will just stack up blockers and allow others to make plays and will come out in passing situations

David Edwards – OL – 6′-6″ 308 lbs

5. (51) David Edwards – OT -Wisconsin – 6′-6″ 308 lbs. – Another strong, mobile OT from Wisconsin. RT or possibly RG, he is well coached but lags a bit behind because he is still transitioning from TE.

So he is my #5 OT and my #51 player overall, so I obviously over-valued him or the Rams got a steal. Either way, he is a former TE that moved to OT so plenty of upside and is highly athletic for the position, and he comes from Wisc., so while behind the curve, was coached well.

Positives:
a great athlete for the position
excellent mover in space
can and will maul you
strong hands with nice pop
light feet
strong

Negatives:
raw skill set
can get caught off balance
too upright at times

I think he is a perfect fit in a OZS and will need a year and maybe a move to OG is in the cards for him, but I love his upside.

Nick Scott – S – 5′-11″ 201 lbs.

I don’t get this pick at all. I know its the 7th round near the end, but he is a RB turned safety for 2 years with only 1 year of starting experience. Raw as sushi. But interesting upside. I have little in the way of notes. Sorry guys, I hope Alyo helped you out.

Positives:
fast
aggressive
nice burst
he’s a thumper

Negatives:
Raw
takes bad angles
double moves work against him
not ideal size

His aggressive demeanor and raw skill set has worked against him with his reading plays and double moves. He’s going to need patience IMO and I see a practice squad player unless he really shows out on special teams (and he very easily could)

Dakota Allen – LB – 6′-1″ 232 lbs.

I liked the pick, though I thought he would run faster at the combine then a 4.77.His jumps were also horrid. But then he goes and posts a sub 6.9 3 cone, so I have no idea what to make of his tests.

222. Dakota Allen – LB – Texas Tech – 6′-1″ 232 lbs. – Sideline to sideline playmaker with some steam when he gets there. Less tactician and more bull in a china shop. Upside player with ST written all over him.

Positives:
heat seeking missile
goes hard sideline to sideline
He has an attack plan – attack
ok against the pass, a few ints in his career

Negatives:
needs to read first, react second
trouble shedding blocks
lacks MLB instincts

I think he fits the Rams well because they will tell him to fill x gap and he will with gusto. A special teamer with a little coaching could be a nice ILBer.

Rams succeed in exploiting value of draft’s middle rounds

RYAN KARTJE

link: https://www.ocregister.com/2019/04/27/analysis-again-rams-succeed-in-exploiting-value-of-drafts-middle-rounds/

THOUSAND OAKS — Here they were again, wading through the middle rounds, scraping up value wherever they could find it. An All-American safety with a slow 40 time. An All-Pac-12 nose tackle with iffy measurables. An offensive lineman who struggled through injury. An athletic linebacker who’d once been expelled.

Over the first two drafts of Coach Sean McVay’s tenure, when a series of big trades left them barren of picks, this value shopping approach to the draft had become the Rams’ standard out of necessity. But this time, armed with a first-round pick for the first draft in three years,they’d arrived at this strategy by choice.

And who could blame them? They’d found gem after gem in the uncertain muck of the draft’s middle rounds, mining for prospects who might’ve been mistakenly undervalued, for one reason or another. All seven of the third- and fourth-round picks from McVay’s first two drafts are expected to play major roles next season, and by any measure, that’s a staggering rate of success.

“You can always go back to John Johnson and Cooper Kupp,” Rams general manager Les Snead said on Saturday, the final day of the draft. “They didn’t test well, but we thought they were really good at football. It worked out.”

Only time will tell if they’ve found a similar treasure trove in the middle rounds of this draft. The Rams made a point to pick four times in the draft’s top 100, moving around the board five times in the first two days, then one more time on Day 3, to ensure they nabbed the specific prospects they’d sought all along.

The elation of their first selection, Washington safety Taylor Rapp, suggests he’s well on his way to joining other Rams who outperformed their draft slot. McVay said on Saturday that the team considered taking the former All-American with the 31st pick, before they dealt back twice, only to find him still sitting there at No. 62 overall.

They used their remaining picks to move up and down the board with a purpose, targeting specific prospects that they felt fit their system. It’s that specificity that made this draft stand apart from the previous two, when the Rams were less comfortable with what they wanted from their personnel and schemes.

With their first pick on Saturday, Snead moved up to take a prospect who fit perfectly into the team’s gaping hole at nose tackle. Since watching him dominate first-round offensive linemen at the Senior Bowl, the Rams scouting staff had become enamored with Washington’s Greg Gaines. Drafting him on Day 3, Snead said, was the team’s “first priority”.

Gaines ultimately fell to the fourth round (134th overall), which was much further down the board than the Rams had him listed. They packaged two fifth-round picks to assure he became a Ram, and now, judging by their initial praise, Gaines may have the fast track to the vacated starting nose tackle spot.

“We have a vision for all of those guys, and you can see a fit,” McVay said. “That’s a credit to where we’re at, going into our third year, we have a much better feel for our personnel, the guys we’ve brought in from free agency, the things we want to do specific to the scheme.”

That scheme seems primed for changes, no matter how successful it proved a season ago. McVay hinted the instinctual Rapp could play an immediate role in three-safety dime and nickel sets, adding more speed and athleticism on later downs. The drafting of explosive “change-of-pace back” Memphis’ Darrell Henderson might seem like a red flag for Todd Gurley’s health, but it also points to an evolving scheme that could utilize a pass-catching back alongside — not instead of — their workhorse.

Without many major holes on the roster, the Rams could afford such a luxury. Their most obvious vacancy was filled with the selection of Gaines on Saturday. They added depth along the offensive line, drafting two offensive tackles, including one on Saturday, Wisconsin’s David Edwards, who saw his stock plummet after playing through a shoulder injury as a senior.

Their final choice of the draft, linebacker Dakota Allen, may not have been on the draft boards of some teams. Allen was expelled from Texas Tech after he was charged with second-degree burglary in 2016. The charges were eventually dropped, and he ultimately returned to the school following a junior college stint that was captured on the Netflix documentary series, “Last Chance U”. But on Saturday, it was uncertain if Allen would get a chance in the NFL because of the incident.

“I honestly can’t believe I’m an L.A. Ram,” an emotional Allen told reporters on Saturday.

But Allen’s selection fell in lockstep with a strategy they’ve become adept at exploiting over Snead and McVay’s three drafts together. Allen, like Gaines and Edwards and Rapp before him, had fallen down draft boards for reasons outside of his production on the field.

The Rams had already mitigated those concerns with all their picks. They’d seen Rapp’s preternatural instincts and witnessed Edwards, sans shoulder injury. They’d watched Gaines plow through top competition, in spite of his measurables, and they’d seen Michigan cornerback David Long excel in spite of his size. With Allen, they spoke at-length about the incident and came away impressed with how much he’d learned.

The same could be said of the Rams, who after three years spent deep in the middle rounds, seemed to have learned a thing or two about how to exploit the draft board.

Taylor Rapp, S, Washington, 2nd round, 61st overall: An All-American safety, Rapp is a first-round talent who only fell because of an especially slow 40 time at his Pro Day (4.77). The Rams aren’t concerned and expect him to have an immediate impact in three-safety sets.

Darrell Henderson, RB, Memphis, 3rd round, 70th overall: With the health of Todd Gurley’s knee in question, the Rams traded up to nab an explosive, “change-of-pace” back, who averaged 9.15 yards per carry last season.

David Long, CB, Michigan, 3rd round, 79th overall: Long may be undersized, but his stickiness in man coverage should help him step into the Rams secondary rotation early on.

Bobby Evans, OT, Oklahoma, 3rd round, 97th overall: The Rams have done well with raw, developmental offensive linemen, and Evans, who could play guard early in his career, fits their usual bill.

Greg Gaines, DT, Washington, 4th round, 134th overall: With a huge need at nose tackle, the Rams draft a huge defensive lineman, who, at 6-foot-2, 316 pounds, was voted by opponents as the Pac-12’s defensive lineman of the year last season.

David Edwards, OT, Wisconsin, 5th round, 169th overall: A shoulder injury was the main reason Edwards fell as far as he did, and in L.A., he’ll have time to develop behind another former Badger right tackle, Rob Havenstein.

Nick Scott, S, Penn State, 7th round, 243rd overall: A favorite of special teams coach John Fassel, Scott will contribute on all special teams from the jump while polishing his game as a safety.

Dakota Allen, LB, Texas Tech, 7th round, 251st overall: One of the stars of Netflix’s “Last Chance U”, Allen was expelled from Texas Tech following a burglary charge, but returned to become an All-Big 12 linebacker.

Agamemnon wrote:

We had a good draft. We got some seriously good players.

Yeah like you I am posting a lot on it–evals, reactions, vids, and so on–so there’s all this info, as usual.

Having had gone through a good sized chunk of that stuff, I have to say, the vibe from this draft is as good as any I can remember. Outsiders are impressed, the Rams themselves just have this confident feeling. Picks look good.

3rd year, you can hit your stride. Maybe they did. Feels like it.

Agamemnon wrote:

Rams @ 8:50.

Who is this guy? He actually knows the Rams. That was good. Thanks for posting it.

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