Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
Rams GM Les Snead and his scouting staff continue to chip away at their draft board. Here’s who they might select with their seven picks in April, starting with a replacement for Ndamukong Suh.
The #Rams hope to add a Day One starter with their first round pick next April. Could immediate help be coming on the defensive line?
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Rams Mock Draft: There’s so much work ahead, but it is never too early to project
Vincent Bonsignore
https://theathletic.com/735208/2018/12/26/rams-mock-draft-theres-so-much-work-ahead-but-it-is-never-too-early-to-project/
The Rams still aren’t sure who they’ll play in the first round of the playoffs, let alone whether they’ll skip the Wild Card round by earning a free pass through the first week, so you can probably imagine where they are in the process of finalizing their 2019 draft plans.
Put it this way, we haven’t even gotten to the main course of the college football bowl season, so there is still an incredible amount of scouting, background checking, analyzing and assessing to do before anyone can truly say they’ve got a handle on next April’s draft.
And that doesn’t even account for the self-scouting they’ll do of their current roster to decide what their most pressing needs might be.
(Hint: The Rams will be looking for defensive help, specifically on the defensive line, edge pass rusher, linebacker and safety and there is always room for young cornerbacks and offensive linemen to groom. Granted, some of those areas will be filled through free agency, which precedes the draft by a month, but for every hole that gets filled another is liable to be created.)
Keep in mind, safety Lamarcus Joyner, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and outside linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. are all unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, and how their situations unfold will go a long way in determining where the Rams zero in come April.
That said, while most hands are on deck as the Rams prepare to mount a postseason march they hope reaches Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, an incredible amount of resources and staff hours are being devoted to a future that extends well beyond this season.
Specifically, maximizing the seven picks they expect to have when the draft unfolds in Nashville in four months.
As we sit today, general manager Les Snead and his scouting staff continue to chip away at their draft board. They’ll typically assemble a 150-player big board and, considering the pace of these things, are likely nearing the halfway point of that process.
But there are still a ton of data banks left to tap into as they tweak and tinker and adjust that board over the next few months, including the Jan. 15 deadline for college juniors to decide whether they are declaring for the draft or returning for their senior years. The official infusion of those juniors to the current crop of prospects will certainly change draft boards across the NFL.
Beyond that are big-time scouting events at the East-West Shrine game on Jan. 19 in St. Petersberg, Fla., which features more than 100 FBS Division I players, and the Senior Bowl a week later in Mobile Alabama.
The NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis takes place in late February, at which more than 300 prospects will be poked, prodded and tested at Lucas Oil Stadium and teams can visit individually with a maximum of 60 players. That sets the stage for the additional private workouts teams will invite players to go through to at their team facilities, on top of college Pro Day workouts respective colleges put together for their draft prospects.
Needless to say, there is still a vast amount of work to be done as the Rams set their draft board and identify their needs and role play every imaginable scenario that might play out in the hours and minutes and seconds leading up to their picks.
Four months from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell identifying the Rams top pick at the end of the first round, we’ve put together a blueprint of what we might actually see unfold for them over the course of those three days in Nashville.
The Rams currently hold four picks, with their second-round pick being dealt to the Kansas City Chiefs last March for Marcus Peters and their third-round pick going to Jacksonville at the trade deadline for outside linebacker Dante Fowler Jr.
However, the club will get compensatory picks for losing Trumaine Johnson, Sammy Watkins, Derek Carrier and possible Cody Davis in free agency. The Rams remain hopeful that will mean two third-round picks for Johnson and Peters and either a sixth or seventh-round pick for Carrier.
Let’s assume it’s two thirds and a seventh rounder. That means they’ll have a pick — or two — in every round but the second and seven picks total.
This is how we see them proceeding if that remains the case:
1. Jerry Tillery, DT, ND
The Rams simply have not gotten the production they had hoped for from Suh when they signed him as a free agent last offseason. Whether it’s a scheme issue, a position situation or just the natural erosion due to age, Suh has not been as productive as the Rams expected. And with Aaron Donald hitting his peak years, it’s vital they add a viable, productive complimentary piece next to him that teams must account for and can also take advantage of all the attention Donald gets. The 6-foot-7, 305-pound Tillery has played inside during his four-year career at Notre Dame and could be a Day One starter for the Rams either as a replacement for Suh at noseguard or sliding over to end playing between a tackle and guard. He’s got the power and quickness to excel inside or outside, where his length, speed and pass rush ability can shine.
3. Jaylon Ferguson, OLB, Louisiana Tech
While Fowler has added the dynamic of speed off the edge since his arrival at the trade deadline, he’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, leaving his long-range status in Los Angeles uncertain. Fellow outside linebacker Sampson Ebukam is a first-year starter, and his production reflects his inexperience and how raw he was coming out of Eastern Washington two years ago. Collectively, the Rams have not gotten the push they hoped for off the edge, a component vital to Wade Phillips’ 3-4 defense and one they will certainly be looking for in free agency and the draft. The Rams do have rookie Ogbonnia Okoronkwo on the roster, and the redshirt year he’s essentially taken since breaking his foot in OTA’s should not be taken as a negative on his potential. The Rams remain eager to find out what they have in the Oklahoma edge rusher, especially with a full offseason and training camp under his belt. For that matter, the learning curve for Ebukam was expected, and the Rams still have big hopes for him. That said, grabbing a young pass rusher in the draft is of utmost importance, and if one of the higher rated prospects fall to them at the end of the first round it would shock no one if they went in that direction with their first pick. Either way, Ferguson represents value in the third round as his speed and explosiveness and body type make him a potential fit in the Rams 3-4 scheme.
3. Vosean Joseph, ILB, Florida
Cory Littleton has enjoyed a solid season in his first year as a starting inside linebacker and figures prominently in the Rams plans. But he heads into the 2019 offseason as a restricted free agent, so nothing is guaranteed. Fellow ILB Mark Barron has two years left on his contract but, considering his injury issues and underwhelming production compared to what he’s paid, he’s a potential salary cap casualty. The Rams will be looking for upgrades inside regardless, and Joseph offers an intriguing skill set as an active, instinctual run stopper who can see and play through blocks and, despite is smaller stature, packs a major punch when he meets up with ballcarriers. He also has the necessary athletic ability to develop into at least an average pass defender.
4. Iman Marshall, CB, USC
The Rams are set at cornerback next year with Aqib Talib and Peters expected back, and valuable slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman under contract through 2020. But that peace of mind has an expiration date as Peters and Talib are scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency after the 2019 season. Marshall represents great value at this point in the draft as a rookie role player with the potential to develop into a starter later in his career. Marshall had his struggles at USC but flashed enough playmaking ability and skill to make a case some of his issues can be eliminated with better coaching.
5. Mike Edwards, S, Kentucky
With Lamarcus Joyner’s status uncertain with his pending free agency, the Rams have a definite need to develop a young safety alongside John Johnson, who has developed into a Pro Bowl caliber player in just his second year. Edwards is a sound, productive and tenacious tackler and continues to improve in pass coverage.
6. Drew Sample, TE, Washington
Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee have been more involved in the offense as the season has unfolded, and Everett is a player to keep an eye on moving forward as a big-time target for Jared Goff. Higbee has settled in as a productive blocker and, when called upon this year, more reliable in the pass game. But the Rams will be on the lookout for another tight end they can groom and Sample is a young player whose best football is in front of him.
7. Lanard Bonner, OT, Arkansas State
The Rams are always on the lookout for developmental offensive linemen and Bonner, who has played both tackles during his college career, could have the versatility to move to a guard spot.
