Here are the best places on Earth that don't look real – a thread🧵👇

1. The eye of the Earth, Croatia 🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/RmXuM453al

— OThingstodo (@othingstodo_com) May 5, 2024

PFF’s full report:

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-grades-16-nfc-teams-nfl-2024

LOS ANGELES RAMS: B+

• 1 (19): EDGE Jared Verse, Florida State
• 2 (39): DL Braden Fiske, Florida State
• 3 (83): RB Blake Corum, Michigan
• 3 (99): S Kamren Kinchens, Miami Fl.
• 5 (154): EDGE Brennan Jackson, Washington State
• 6 (196): DI Tyler Davis, Clemson
• 6 (209): K Joshua Karty, Stanford
• 6 (213): WR Jordan Whittington, Texas
• 6 (217): C Beaux Limmer, Arkansas
• 7 (254): IOL KT Leveston, Kansas State

Verse — The Rams desperately needed edge help, and they select arguably the best power rusher in the class. Verse burst onto the scene over the past two years at Florida State, ranking second among Power Five edge rushers in pass-rush win rate. The Rams use their highest selection since 2016 to reset their pass rush after Aaron Donald‘s retirement.

Fiske — Los Angeles gives up significant draft capital to move up and get their Aaron Donald “replacement,” pairing Fiske back up with college teammate Jared Verse. Fiske has limited length (31-inch arms), but he’s a very good athlete who has the quickness to get into the backfield regularly. Fiske’s grading profile did take a step back after transferring to Florida State, with his 73.9 PFF grade a dip from the 88.6 PFF grade he put up in his final season at Western Michigan in 2022.

Corum — After racking up 27 touchdowns and earning an 83.4 rushing grade for Michigan last season, Corum should push for significant touches right off the bat in the Rams’ multiple run schemes. Corum offers elite vision and change-of-direction ability, two things clearly valued by head coach Sean McVay, as Kyren Williams brings a similar skill set.

Kinchens — Kinchens’ 11 interceptions since 2022 are the most at the position. Kinchens is a well-rounded athlete with good awareness and instincts at the safety position. While he’s on the lighter and smaller side, Kinchens’ ball skills enable him to profile well to a deep free safety role in the NFL. His 90.0 grade in 2022 ranked fifth in all of college football.

Jackson — Jackson tallied 83 total pressures over the past two seasons with an impressive 16 sacks. He also showed an ability to bat passes down, notching seven during his career at Washington State.

Davis — Davis was a monster against the run in college. His 90.8 run-defense grade in 2023 was the best of his career, and his 91.1 run-defense grade over the past two seasons was the third-best among interior defenders in this draft class.

Karty — Karty graded higher than Alabama’s Will Reichard (who was drafted a few spots before him) since 2021. His 97.0 PFF grade on field goals and extra points since 2021 led all of college football, and he went 24-of-27 on field goals of at least 40 yards over the past two seasons.

Whittington — Whittington is one of PFF lead draft analyst Trevor Sikkema‘s favorite late-round receivers. His 27 missed tackles forced after the catch since 2022 ranked third among Big 12 receivers in that span.

Limmer — The Rams get solid value in Limmer here in the sixth round. He earned a 74.0-plus PFF grade in each of the past three seasons. He is a better run blocker than a pass blocker and is coming off a season where he led all draft-eligible centers in PFF run-blocking grade on gap plays (77.4).

Leveston — The Rams continue bulking up their trenches with the selection of KT Leveston out of Kansas State. He allowed 18 pressures on 430 pass-blocking snaps at left tackle in 2023, but his frame and movement skills likely make him a guard at the next level.

wv wrote:

InvaderRam wrote:

i’m still holding out hope donald pulls a brady and decides to come back… the thought of playing next to fiske and verse has to be running through his mind a little bit. a little bit.

I have wondered that, too. Wouldnt shock me if he showed up for the playoffs, if the Rams made it. w v

Yeah, I’m gonna say “Nah” to that.

I nursed that hope a little back when I was in one of the 5 stages of grief: what is it? Denial?

Here’s the thing: Aaron Donald knows as well as we do that the Rams are in the hunt this season. If he was driven by the allure of a second ring, he wouldn’t have retired in the first place. He has to know that the table is set for a legit run this season. The thing about Donald, the thing that separates him from all the other greats, is that he really was truly driven internally. Not that he didn’t care about about the DPOY awards, the Super Bowl, and all the externals. But I think that – at his core – he was simply driven to be the absolute best he could personally be. And he did it. For 10 years.

He has the knowledge that he did his best, that he was one of the best to ever do it, and he has awards, a championship, $100 million, and a couple of cute kids. And it’s time to move on.

zn wrote:

Zooey wrote:

Brugler rated the Falcons draft as the worst, and he seems to share the consensus opinion that drafting Penix was a mind-bogglingly dumb pick.

How did the Daily Bugler rank the Rams draft?

24

Brugler rated the Falcons draft as the worst, and he seems to share the consensus opinion that drafting Penix was a mind-bogglingly dumb pick.

I guess I’m the only one who differs. Now, I should say that I don’t know anything about Penix other than that he was spoken of as one of the top 5 or 6 QBs in the draft class, and apparently throws darts. But the criticism is less about Penix than it is that the Falcons just signed Cousins to a 4-yr enormous deal.

But as I understand it, Cousins’ contract is front-loaded, and they can unload him after 2 years. Cousins will be 36 this season.

So I think this is a great pick by Atlanta. Cousins is good enough that he will probably lead the Falcons to worse draft positions the next two years. And if I’m the GM of Atlanta, that’s MY plan. To get better. So in a couple of years, you could be looking at an Atlanta team in a bad draft position that needs a starting QB. What’s better than having a good QB that’s had a couple years to sit and learn, and spot start some games, and is ready to take the reins? I mean…look at how drafting Jordan Love turned out for GB. It’s a good strategy. We often see teams draft a highly-touted QB and sign an old vet to be the placeholder and mentor, and that’s generally acknowledged to be smart. So why is it different if they signed the vet first, and then drafted for the future? Looks to me like Atlanta set itself up for a pretty solid 5+ years at the most important position on the team, and frankly, I hope the Rams draft a QB next year pretty high.

He hopes to be back sometime this week.

canadaram wrote:

CONCERNS There are concerns and 1st on the list is medical. Number two on the list is his style of tackling and how that style leads to injuries. He is not a sure tackler, going head first to tackle and looking for the big hit. When he comes from deep to make a tackle it’s impressive but it is also disturbing. I think he has the athletic talent to cover but his mental makeup to make the big play, will not allow him to stay with the receiver down the field long enough without leaving them to make a big play on another receiver. If I’m right, he will be taken advantage of if used as a cover safety unless he can learn that he is not the only player on the field.

Well, unless the guy has a IQ of 50, that’s coachable. All of it.

I will say…and this is kinda funny…I watched a reel of Verse late last night, and I kept thinking, “That 55 guy sure is in the mix a lot.”

That’s kinda funny.

In fact, on the first coupla plays, I thought Verse WAS #55, cuz it was 55 that seemed to blow it up.

zn wrote:

Rams first three Draft picks contributed to championship teams that combined to go 28-1 last season.

Well, that’s sumthin.

On Corum, I don’t remember seeing his name pre-draft, but “Blake is a strong multi-talented running back who reminds me a lot of former Giants Joe Morris.”

I’ll take Joe Morris with a 3rd round pick.

wv wrote:

I will say though that if I’m not mistaken the combine does not measure ‘power’.   It measures agility and speed, etc.   I’m not sure its quite accurate to say Verse is not very athletic.   Power and relentlessness seem to be important athletic traits to me.

Well, you wouldn’t confuse Kevin Greene for Von Miller based on his agility, but dude made some QBs’ nightmares. I don’t know if that’s a fair comparison or not (Greene), but I’d spend a #19 on Kevin Greene. But just remember it was zn who staked his reputation on that comparison. Said he was Kevin Greene but with more speed and power, I believe.

I don’t know how Verse compares with the other guys – Turner, Robinson, Latu – but I’m not surprised to see this:

“You can tell he cares about football.”

I think Donald left behind that perspective as a parting gift to the organization. I don’t expect McSnead to ever draft a potato farmer.

wv wrote:

They need to draft a DT named Vice, now.

I was thinking a guy named Chapter.

The radio talkers this morning mentioned that the draft drops off more than usual after the first 150.

My first football hero.