1st and 2nd round draft picks

[ksudodger]

You must be reading old mock drafts then. CBS projects him between 1-2, with Rang having him go #8 to the Titans. Walter football has him going #17 to Arizona. He's starting to shoot up everyone's draft board and when scouts get to interview him at the combine, they'll see how mature he is and that he is a natural leader and will be a great QB in the NFL.

Yeah, I see Walter football updated, but Rang and Brugler still don't show him in the 1st. Carr is moving up, you are right. Not sure if he gets in the first, but I can see him in the 2nd. Personally, I am a huge fan of Mettenburger but who knows.

 

[Silas]

Silas our D started off bad, but has gotten better and is just as good as it was last year If not Better. Look at the past few games and the opponents we have played.

If you look at stats sure maybe they are not as good as last year because of the early blowouts. But the past few weeks have been clinics.

Our front 4 maybe one of the best in football. The rest of our team is Jekyll and Hyde/ young.

I think you're right that the Rams are playing better Defense. It seems they can be very inconsistent at times and give up a big play or two that are game changers. Today was a different story, however.

I also agree that our Front Four is outstanding and should only get better.

Today showed what the Rams can do when they add Offense to their Defensive capabilities. They have some tough games left, so we need to see more of what we saw today against what is otherwise a very good Indy team.

 

[demiurge]

We've been weak against the run, Finnegan was awful the first quarter of the season, Ogletree flashes ability but is soft in the run, and we missed Mikell. Its a REALLY young team, and its taking them time to come around.

They've looked good the last couple of weeks, but this was Seattle with both starting tackles out and the Colts line is weak and they were without their #1 OL, RB and WR. So much of it is about health on any given week.

But these successes should breed confidence, and the young players are rounding in to form. If we had our #1 QB we'd have a pretty good shot at a wild card and be a team no one wanted to face in the first round because of our pass rush.

As it is, we'll probably win just enough to drop our draft pick to the middle of the pack.

 

[SJ76]

I believe we allowed 17 yards rushing at Indy.

 

[ksudodger]

Let's be realistic though SJ, Forte is going to be a bit tougher to stop than T Rich or Brown.

 

[SJ76]

Yes of course. No one suggested otherwise. But locking down anyone's rushing attack on the road is good. Chicagos Oline is better tho.

 

[Retroram52]

I want to see Kyle Long versus Brockers and sometimes his brother. This will be interesting.

 

[demiurge]

Even with one great game, we are in the bottom half of the league in D. 20th vs pass, 22nd vs run. We do a little better at the most important stat, points per game. Our D is middle of the road there, 16th.

Its gone from a pretty bad to pretty average D. Let's hope it keeps improving.

We won't sit on the Bears running game like we did the Colts. But if we keep it to 50-70 yards I think we'll do pretty well, and that would be a really big indicator that we've finally plugged up a porous front 7 from the first 6 games of the year. The last couple of games we faced weak O-lines, mostly due to injury.

 

[Jermaine133]

Trumaine Johnson has been playing decent ball here as of late and he tends to get a few PI calls going against him but I can deal with that as he tends to play physical. However, JJ seems to get burnt for a long TD or a big play every other game so I wish he would make better decisions when the ball is in the air. You don't always have to have an INT, a good deflection will do just fine.

 

[Retroram52]

Janoris Jenkins is so good he is taking more risks, ones that he does not necessarily has to take. He is learning that big risks pay big dividends if they succeed but if they don't, in the NFL, you can get spanked in a hurry. He'll get more selective but I like his grit and intestinal fortitude. Plus the guy is flat out talented as is Trumaine Johnson.

 

[SJ76]

D is playing really good lately. Anyone who doesn't think so, clearly is not watching the games. We're not going to be a top 10 or 15 D soon because we gave up so many points/yards early in the season.

Another reason stats do say shit!

 

[SJ76]

Do not say shit

 

[ksudodger]

Ok, now Draftsite.com has gone a little cuckoo!!

They have the Rams drafting at #6 and #13 and they have us selecting Johnny Manziel at #6 and..wait for it.... Brett Hundley at #13. So not one but TWO 1st round QB's. I suppose I would be ok with one or the other, but we must get one of the OT's slotted to go in the upper part of the first as well.

 

[ksudodger]

Taking a further look at draftsite I see where Seantrel Henderson, Cyril Richardson, Antonio Richardson and Lael Collins would all be there in the 2nd round. If we drafted QB and WR in the 1st, I could see us taking OT in the 2nd round.

 

[demiurge]

I think we are largely set with a large number of young players with promise. QB is in play, but only because of Bradfords contract. We'll see how that goes, but I'm fairly certain Sneed will keep him as long as he isn't completely cost prohibitive.

If he is gone, we go QB and we go early. And we pray - 50% of all QBs are busts in the first round. If we lose Sam and go for someone that doesn't hit, the Rams continue to be a mediocre at best team for another 3-4 years.

If we keep Sam, then we simply go best player available. There aren't many impact players that are UFA next year to lose - Saffold, Stewart, and Dunbar. Saffold is probably the most likely to go, as he'll demand LT #s and someone will pay him more than we are willing to. Dunbar probably won't have much interest. Stewart is playing well this year, but safeties aren't at a premium and we have some potential starters behind him. Of them all Dunbar probably hurts the most if he goes - and because of his suspension there won't be a ton of interest. We are pretty well set there.

So best available - about the only thing we don't need is DE, but we don't really have any glaring areas either. Slight preference for OT, RB and LB, maybe S (though we can probably get a decent free agent pick up there ourselves - S help is cheap). I think there's lots of talent at WR, TE, DL, and CB.

Another thing we see is that the grades now are meaningless. Its going to depend on the Rams internal grades, and there we've gone from a decade of complete incompetence to an average evaluation. Pead is the only real bust we've seen in this crew.

We aren't going to have the 1974 Steelers draft. These guys are young and need time to develop. We need stability in the coaching staff for that to happen. But this is the most talent I've seen on the team in quite some time, and I for one think they are going to be something when it all comes together.

 

[ksudodger]

We'll see how that goes, but I'm fairly certain Sneed will keep him as long as he isn't completely cost prohibitive.

You don't think 17.5 million per year for the next 2 seasons for a QB coming off an ACL injury is NOT cost prohibitive?? Bradford is gone unless we get him down to under 10 million per year...period
Had he not gotten hurt, we obviously would not be having this discussion (at least not as furvently)

 

[demiurge]

We'll see how that goes, but I'm fairly certain Sneed will keep him as long as he isn't completely cost prohibitive.

You don't think 17.5 million per year for the next 2 seasons for a QB coming off an ACL injury is NOT cost prohibitive?? Bradford is gone unless we get him down to under 10 million per year...period
Had he not gotten hurt, we obviously would not be having this discussion (at least not as furvently)

Yes, I think it is, and Sneed will tell him he has to restructure his contract. The question is whether or not that will happen. He made $12 million this year - I think he'll accept that for next year.

2014 is the most expensive the current salary is against the cap. He'll be the 4th highest paid player at his position because this is the back end. But overall according to Overthecap.com he's paid as the 14th highest QB with an average of $13 million a year.

If it were me I'd try to get him down to that range rather than take my chances with a rookie. Of the breakout stars last year, RGIII, Luck and Kaepernick, only Luck appears to be a complete NFL QB. The wholes in RGIII and Kaepernick's games you could drive a truck through.

 

[ksudodger]

Of the breakout stars last year, RGIII, Luck and Kaepernick, only Luck appears to be a complete NFL QB. The wholes in RGIII and Kaepernick's games you could drive a truck through.

I would put Russell Wilson up there with Luck. But I understand where you are coming from with that. This is why I am more apt to go after a proven winner and a proven consistent performer like McCarron then to roll the dice with Manziel,Hundley or Boyd. I think honestly if we come out of the first 3 rounds of the draft with Watkins,Kouandjio,McCarron and either a safety or DT, I would be EXTREMELY happy.

 

[SJ76]

Ok so it's still fairly early in the drafting process but scouting is where it's at anyway. There is some good news and some bad news that I saw.

I looked at a few "mocks" and the good news is there is a pretty good crop of OT's coming out. But hasn't the past 5 years been pretty solid anyway for OT's? Jake Matthews, Taylor Lewan, Cameron Irving (Florida St), Cyrus Kouandjio (Bama) all are being picked in the top 20.

And say what you want about Taylor Lewan, but look at the success of Big 10 O-lineman. He's got size and will be a good NFL player.

Bad News: Jax, Hou, Minn, TB ALL could take a QB and ALL of them are picking in front of Washington (STL). So that tells me we will not get a top ranked QB. The question is: Will David Carr light up the defense in his bowl game AND will he light up the combine? For Carr to go top 10, he will need to do both because he's played very cush defenses thus far, but then again it depends on who's picking and what they need.

The other question is where will Cleveland and Oakland end up picking? They could also go QB and are currently at 9 & 10. Washington is picking 6th.

More good news is: there are 3 OLB's also being picked in the top 20. Anthony BArr (UCLA), CJ Mosley (BAMA), and Kahill Mack (Buffalo) who alot of "experts" are picking him to go to the Giants at 8th overall.


Alot can change and will change. But the more I see these mocks, the more I would take Sammy Watkins and 1 of the top OT's, along with Taj Boyd or Hundley (UCLA QB) in the 2nd.

 

[SJ76]

Or if you want to get really cute:


Sammy Watkins 1a
CJ Mosley/Anthony Barr 1b
Antoinio Richardson 6'6 327 OT - Tennessee in the 2nd

Find a QB in round 2 or later? Will Hundley be there? Can we find a Russell Wilson here is my question? Many mocks have Hundley and Boyd going in the 2nd. But I can see the Raiders getting one of these guys if they don't pick Carr.. If Hou or Tampa do not pick QB's in the 1st then there will be many solid QB's available. But it all depends on the first few picks.

Stephen Morris in the 4th or Hundley/Boyd in the 2nd. When I look at value and what QB's are left, that's who I see that has tremendous upside in the NFL.