Oh how far the mighty have fallen. The Los Angeles Rams were in the Super Bowl a little over a year ago. Remember that? Now they are competing with the Arizona Cardinals for third place in the NFC West, as the 49ers and the Seahawks are head and shoulders above what the Rams are right now. Things are rapidly falling apart for this team and they need to have one heck of a draft in order to turn this thing around, something that is complicated with no first-round picks at their disposal thanks to the trade for CB Jalen Ramsey. I’ll use the Mock Draft Simulator from TheDraftNetwork.com to try and rebuild this roster so they can compete within the division in 2020.
The Rams offensive line is weird dude. They have so many bodies here and so little quality it is maddening. OT Andrew Whitworth is their best lineman and he is 38 years old. Andrew Blythe was re-signed by the team to start at one of the interior line spots and time will tell which one. Meanwhile, starting RT Rob Havenstein is coming off the worst season of his career. Outside of that, there is just a bunch of stuff. Brian Allen, Austin Corbett, David Edwards, Bobby Evans, and Joe Noteboom are all competing for starting jobs and I am not convinced any of them are any good. It is getting to the point where the Rams probably should draft a high-end line prospect but they just have so many bodies here that maybe they should focus on the other holes on the roster. The skill positions are pretty well set, so protecting overpriced QB Jared Goff should be the priority as far as offense goes.
S Eric Weddle and CB Nickell Robert-Coleman have departed the secondary, though the Rams may feel they have replacements ready in second-year corner David Long Jr. and S John Johnson, who is returning from injury. Secondary depth may be a focus in the later rounds. A failed physical ousted a potential contract agreement between DL Michael Brockers and the Baltimore Ravens, paving the way for him to return to the Rams, so the defensive line remains intact. The linebacking crew behind them is where this defense needs an infusion of talent. EDGE players Clay Matthews and Dante Fowler, in addition to LB Corey Littleton have all left in free agency. Los Angeles did sign OLB Leonard Floyd, but he has had an inconsistent career and is only playing on a one-year deal. The rest of this unit needs a severe upgrade and that was the main focus of my draft:
Round 2, Pick 52: Josh Uche, LB, Michigan
I wanted to give the Rams an EDGE rusher here and I thought I did, until I took a closer look at Josh Uche. Uche was moved all over the place in Michigan’s defense, as they used him both off the edge and off-ball linebacker. I just wish I saw more from him off the edge. Uche is an exceptional athlete who wins with a quick first step and nice rip and long arm moves. It’s just that his wins at the edge are few and far between. I understand that he was not an every down player and he was moved to other spots around the defense, however, he was held to a stalemate far too many times for my liking in his EDGE reps. His athleticism really pops in his off-ball reps. He flashes speed downhill and sideline to sideline to bring down ball carriers and his zone drops are excellent. Check out this pass break-up against Penn State:
Obviously this pass is under thrown, but the fact that Uche was able to keep up with WR K.J. Hamler, one of the fastest receivers in college football, downfield and break up the pass shows exceptional speed and awareness for a guy that does not play off-ball full-time. Just because Uche is a tweener does not mean he would be a bad pick for the Rams, as they need help at both inside and outside linebacker. Uche possesses all the skills to be a rangy linebacker who can also provide some juice off the edge situationally. He is a really fun, versatile player.
Round 3, Pick 84: Saahdiq Charles, OT, LSU
Saahdiq Charles is an extremely athletic lineman who is worth developing at left tackle. Charles has nice play strength in the run game, where he shows a prowess for moving defenders off the line with tenacity. He is incredibly light on his feet and is able to mirror even the twitchiest of pass rushers. Where Charles struggles right now is his technique. His hands are very inconsistent right now and that creates problems with getting beat around the edge. Sometimes he will be able to run the defender up the arc but most of the time he just gets grabby, which could create penalty problems. While technique is certainly fixable, this makes Charles much more of a developmental prospect, which is fine considering he will get to play behind Andrew Whitworth initially. His athletic profile is absolutely tantalizing, just watch this screen play where Charles (# 77) runs stride for stride with the ball carrier and makes several blocks to help spring an explosive play:
Round 3, Pick 104: Troy Dye, LB, Oregon
Troy Dye is a crazy athlete at the linebacker position. His speed really pops on tape when he gets opportunities to play downhill, shoot gaps and blitz. He is really fluid in zone drops and looks really good in pursuit, flowing from sideline to sideline easily and showing the type of range that always puts him near the ball. My biggest issue with Dye is that there are too many “almost” plays on his tape. He is just a tick slow in his processing and that often puts him a step behind a play. He will often be slow to recognize play action fakes, route breaks and angles taken by running backs. For these reasons, Dye will most likely not be an immediate starter in the league, but more experience will likely help him in recognizing what is going on in front of him better. His athleticism makes him a worthwhile developmental prospect for the Rams. Here is a good example of it against Washington:
Dye initially gets sucked in by the play action fake, but recovers well, drops fluidly and quickly into his zone, recognizes the incoming pass and makes a play on the ball. This play speed is worth betting on.
Round 4, Pick 126: Alton Robinson, EDGE, Syracuse
Josh Uche turned out to be more of a hybrid player than I expected, but luckily, I did give them a pure EDGE here. Robinson is a good developmental speed rusher that could turn into an impact pass rusher with time.
Round 6, Pick 199: Nevelle Clark, CB, UCF
Clark is a savvy corner who needs to bulk up to stick at the next level. He is a player worth developing and he can help address the lack of depth in the secondary.
Round 7, Pick 234: Rodrigo Blankenship, K, Georgia
Replacing Greg the Leg with Hot Rod. Former Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein inked a deal with the Dallas Cowboys, creating an opening for the best kicker in college football to step in here.
I hate that I could not give Los Angeles more immediate starter help with these picks, however, I love the high upside that all of the prospects have. It may take some time, but I like this group a lot long-term. The Rams are a bit of a long-shot to be contenders this season, especially with the lack of premium draft picks, and yet I would not count out any group coached by Sean McVay. Time will tell if 2020 will be as bad for the Rams as their new logo, or whether they will shock the football world.
Comments
Post a Comment