The 2023 NFL draft for the Rams

[Battlelyon]

Draft grade: B -

 

[Retroram52]

I give it a C-.

 

[shopson67]

The Rams let players like Zavala, Vorhees, and Mafi go to other teams. They do this every year and I never cease to be amazed at why this happens year-in and year- out!

How many guards do they need? They have last years top pick and Avila to add to mix from last season. Both Avila and McClendon have experience at center for positional flexibility. They didn't get an upper tier OT, but the only way to get one would've been with their first pick.

My size concern is at CB. While I like TH-T's drive, he's tiny. What's up with hyphenated names for small CBs? (Robey-Coleman flashbacks)

Not big on the QB or punter picks though. On to the UDFAs!

 

[Battlelyon]

 

[shopson67]

Thus ends another overall ridiculously stupid bullshit draft the Shitfirbrains twins are now so famous for every freaking year.

At least we have a break to enjoy the first round victory for the Lakers and beating down Brooks. We can exhale and relax and watch game 7 tomorrow to see the next opponent.

 

[Battlelyon]

How many guards do they need? They have last years top pick and Avila to add to mix from last season. Both Avila and McClendon have experience at center for positional flexibility. They didn't get an upper tier OT, but the only way to get one would've been with their first pick.

My size concern is at CB. While I like TH-T's drive, he's tiny. What's up with hyphenated names for small CBs? (Robey-Coleman flashbacks)

Not big on the QB or punter picks though. On to the UDFAs!

That has been our biggest weakness the last two years, interior pass protection. No longer liability Brian Allen has the starter position, he has to earn it against two guys that allowed 0 sacks last season and been a force since day 1

The punter has great hang time, the most important thing in punting besides directional.

 

[Retroram52]

How many guards do they need? They have last years top pick and Avila to add to mix from last season. Both Avila and McClendon have experience at center for positional flexibility. They didn't get an upper tier OT, but the only way to get one would've been with their first pick.

My size concern is at CB. While I like TH-T's drive, he's tiny. What's up with hyphenated names for small CBs? (Robey-Coleman flashbacks)

Not big on the QB or punter picks though. On to the UDFAs!

Bruss is coming off a massive knee injury and before that he was get beat badly in the preseason. Anchrum will be the other guard but Zavala would have been a near book-end compliment at guard with Avila and they could have moved Anchrum to Center. The Rams then could have had a very big O-line adding Tippmann or Schmidts and cutting Allen who is useless. If they couldn't get to Tippmann or Schmidts, the move of Anchrum to Center would have been a big O-line for Stafford.

 

[Battlelyon]

 

[Battlelyon]

 

[Battlelyon]

 

[Battlelyon]

 

[Battlelyon]

 

[Battlelyon]

Grading each of the Rams' 14 picks in the 2023 NFL draft

We graded every pick the Rams made in the 2023 NFL draft. How would you grade their draft class?

theramswire.usatoday.com

36. Steve Avila, OL, TCU​

It’s easy to like this pick for the Rams, not only because it’s a relatively safe pick. They needed offensive line help and Avila was one of the two best available, depending which big board you look at. What gives him an edge over a lot of the other offensive line prospects is his versatility.
He played over 1,000 snaps at left guard and more than 1,000 at center, so he has experience at both spots. He also played right guard and right tackle in college, too.
The Rams are getting a bully in the run game and a blocker with a powerful base in pass protection, which allows him to hold up against stronger defensive linemen. He didn’t allow a single sack for TCU last season, showing just how good he is as a pass blocker.
Grade: A

77. Byron Young, OLB, Tennessee​

Young was viewed as the best pass rusher left on the board at No. 77, so the Rams are getting a good value in Round 3. Sure, there are concerns about his limited time at the FBS level after playing just two seasons at Tennessee, and he is already 25 years old, but Young can be an impact player early on.
He’s one of the most impressive athletes in the class, possessing 4.43 speed, a 38-inch vertical and an 11-foot broad jump, all of which ranked among the best at his position at the combine. He’s not the biggest edge rusher at 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds, but he uses his speed off the edge to beat tackles, turning it into power when he does use a bull rush move.
There’s a lot to work with here, which is what makes Young an exciting pick for the Rams. He fills a position of need, has some upside and should help early on. The biggest worry is his age, coming into the NFL at 25.
Grade: B+

89. Kobie Turner, DT, Wake Forest​

Turner should be a good pro after a productive career at Richmond and Wake Forest. However, as promising as he is, there were some other players on the board who may have been able to help the Rams more. Those players include Siaki Ika, Kelee Ringo, Adetomiwa Adebawore and Darius Rush, among others.
Turner was a lesser-known prospect for fans because he didn’t attend the combine, so he didn’t get the chance to show off his quickness or athleticism in Indianapolis. But when you turn on the tape, you see a player who disrupts the offense by using his agility to get into the backfield and reroute running backs in the hole.
There isn’t a clear path to playing time for Turner right now because he plays the same position as Aaron Donald, but he can at least rotate in when Donald needs a breather on defense. In terms of value, the Rams may have been able to get Turner a bit later, but it’s hard to say he would’ve been there at their next pick, No. 128.
Grade: C+

128. Stetson Bennett, QB, Georgia​

Bennett projects as a career backup in the NFL, given his lack of size and advanced age (25). He doesn’t have a big arm and isn’t overly accurate, but he’s athletic enough to extend plays and throws with decent anticipation, which should allow him to stick around as a QB2 for years.
The problem is, the Rams used a fourth-round pick on him, which makes it feel like a little bit of a reach. Most analysts had him going in the sixth or later, with some even believing he could go undrafted. But Les Snead saw his guy sitting there and swooped in.
Bennett and Matthew Stafford already have a little bit of a relationship as former Georgia Bulldogs, so that could help him from a leadership and locker room perspective. But it’s hard to see Bennett as the Rams’ future starter, even if Stafford retires in two years.
Grade: C-

 

[Battlelyon]

161. Nick Hampton, OLB, Appalachian State​

Hampton could end up being a steal for the Rams on Day 3, but he’s not a perfect prospect by any means. He’s slightly undersized at 6-foot-2, which limits his potential as an all-around edge defender, particularly against the run.
However, he’s athletic and has good bend around the corner, which allows him to generate pressure consistently on the quarterback. The Rams absolutely needed pass-rush help and Hampton certainly provides that. He should at least get a chance to rush on third downs as a rookie.
Grade: B+

174. Warren McClendon Jr., OT, Georgia​

McClendon doesn’t necessarily have the length to hold up as a full-time tackle, but he did excel at that position at Georgia. He didn’t allow a single sack last season and gave up just one hit as their starting right tackle, only giving up seven total hurries.
He never played guard in college but he might have to move inside at the next level due to his size. If he remains at right tackle, he could potentially replace Rob Havenstein in a few years.
Grade: B+

175. Davis Allen, TE, Clemson​

A 6-foot-6 tight end with a 38.5-inch vertical and massive catch radius? Yes please. Allen doesn’t have the wheels some other tight ends do, running a 4.84 in the 40-yard dash, but he has good hands and comes down with contested catches fairly regularly.
He’s particularly good in the red zone as a jump-ball weapon in the end zone, more so than Tyler Higbee is at this point in his career. He’s a great value in the fifth round and likely would’ve gone much sooner if this wasn’t a great TE class.
Grade: A-

177. Puka Nacua, WR, BYU​

Nuka struggled to stay healthy in college, playing just six games in his first two games at Washington and nine games last season at BYU. However, he is fairly versatile despite not being a fantastic athlete. He was BYU’s leading receiver in back-to-back seasons and also rushed for 357 yards the last two years, scoring five touchdowns on the ground.
The Rams like to hand the ball off to their receivers on jet sweeps, so Nacua could get some opportunities there. However, he’s not the quickest or fastest receiver, which causes him to struggle against man coverage.
Grade: B-

 

[Battlelyon]

182. Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, CB, TCU​

This is one of the Rams’ best picks in the entire draft. Hodges-Tomlinson is the Jim Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s top defensive back, allowing a completion rate of only 34.6% last season on 81 targets.
He’s clearly undersized at 5-foot-8, but the Rams found a role for Nickell Robey-Coleman in 2018 and he excelled as a slot defender. There’s no reason to believe Hodges-Tomlinson can’t do the same after an excellent career at TCU. He has the speed, athleticism and ball skills you want to see in a cornerback.
Grade: A

189. Ochaun Mathis, OLB, Nebraska​

Mathis doesn’t have the upside that the Rams’ other two edge rushers, Young and Hampton, possess on the outside. He has limited athleticism with 4.74 speed and a 33.5-inch vertical, though his 10-yard split of 1.59 seconds was quite good for a player his size.
At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds with long 35-inch arms, Mathis can set the edge and hold up against the run better than some other edge rushers can, but he has some work to do before he becomes a starter. He only had 3.5 sacks in 12 games last season at Nebraska.
Grade: C+

 

[Battlelyon]

215. Zach Evans, RB, Ole Miss​

Evans has legitimate starter potential, especially in the Rams’ scheme. He has the size and physicality to run between the tackles and shake off defenders with a vicious stiff-arm, but he also has breakaway speed, as evidenced by his 6.5 yards per carry average last season.
In a relatively deep running back class, Evans fell a bit further than expected, but the Rams refused to let him slip any longer by trading up 37 spots to land the Ole Miss back. He and Cam Akers will give the Rams a quality tandem, along with Kyren Williams potentially working as a receiving back.
As a sixth-round pick, the value is good here – much better than the Rams taking a running back in the third or fourth rounds.
Grade: A-

223. Ethan Evans, P, Wingate​

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Evans is a Division II punter. So let’s be honest, none of us have actually watched him, and most of us haven’t even heard of Wingate University.
What I do know is the Rams needed a punter and now they have one, so that’s good.
Grade: C

234. Jason Taylor II, S, Oklahoma State​

Taylor feels like the Rams’ type of safety. He’s a smart, experienced player who can line up at multiple spots. Last season alone, he played 193 snaps in the slot, 234 in the box and 433 in the deep part of the field. That’s the type of versatility the Rams could use in their secondary.
He did have a missed tackle rate of 14.7% and was a tad overaggressive in his pursuit angles, but he only allowed 28 receptions on 51 targets last season with a passer rating of 54.7. PFF ranked him 168th overall and NFL.com gave him a fourth-round grade, so the value is good.
Grade: A-

259. Desjuan Johnson, DL, Toledo​

(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Johnson is a similar size to Turner, who the Rams drafted in the third round. They’re both about 6-foot-2 and 285 pounds, but Johnson has shorter arms and primarily fits as a 3-technique without much position versatility. That position is currently occupied by Aaron Donald, who will play at least one more season with Los Angeles.
Johnson is a powerful player, though, and does make his way into the backfield, which is what earned him All-MAC honors in 2022. He can play, but it would have been good to see the Rams add some more versatility to the D-line.
Grade: C+

 

[Battlelyon]

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

The thing that really pisses me off is the Rams whiffed on another set of very good Centers in this draft just to keep Allen at Center.

Well, Avila has experience playing center, so maybe they will play him there.

I too wanted them to pick a C in addition to Avila, but McVay has a hard on for Allen, and I don’t know why because he is injury prone and terrible outside of the one good season.

 

[Retroram52]

Rams have signed a host of secondary players, a kicker, and a long snapper in the UDFA list.

 

[Battlelyon]

2023 NFL Draft grades for all 32 teams

PFF grades all 32 teams' 2023 NFL Draft classes after three days and seven rounds of selections.

www.pff.com

LOS ANGELES RAMS​

R2 (36): G Steve Avila, TCU
R3 (77): EDGE Byron Young, Tennessee
R3 (89): DI Kobie Turner, Wake Forest
R4 (128): QB Stetson Bennett, Georgia
R5 (174): OT Warren McClendon, Georgia
R5 (175): TE Davis Allen, Clemson
R5 (177): WR Puka Nacua, BYU
R5 (161): EDGE Nick Hampton, App State
R6 (182): CB Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU
R6 (189): EDGE Ochaun Mathis, Nebraska
R6 (215): RB Zach Evans, Ole Miss
R7 (223): P Ethan Evans, Wingate
R7 (234): S Jason Taylor II, Oklahoma
7 (259): DI Desjuan Johnson, Toledo

Day 2: Avila was the model of consistency in pass protection during TCU’s Cinderella run in 2022. He averaged less than one pressure allowed per game last season and surrendered just one pressure to a vaunted Georgia defensive line in a blowout national championship loss.

The Rams have quickly become really thin along the defensive front around Aaron Donald. Young projects as a good fit in Los Angeles’ defense, and he’s one of the most explosive edge prospects in this class off the edge. He is by no means a finished product, as he falls into the 25th percentile in PFF pass-rush grade over the last two seasons, but he has traits worth betting on at this stage of the draft.

The Rams grab one of the most underrated players in the class. After producing at an elite level in the FCS for Richmond, Turner transferred to the Demon Deacons and earned a 92.2 PFF grade in 2022 — the second-best mark in the Power Five, behind only Georgia’s Jalen Carter. Turner plays with excellent leverage and possesses strong hands and quicks.

Day 3: Stetson Bennett comes off the board in the fourth round after helping Georgia win back-to-back national championships in college. He put up an elite 90.9 passing grade when he was kept clean from pressure, and he now lands in a situation where he can develop. This gives him one of the best chances to succeed in the NFL, whether as a future starter or backup.

McClendon wasn’t much of a run blocker in college, though he did grade far better on zone plays than gap plays. He did post 70.0-plus PFF grades in each of the past three seasons while seeing at least 595 snaps on the field in all three years. The intriguing developmental point here is that he recorded an 82.1 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2022.

A solid athlete on the edge at just 236 pounds, Hampton is likely ticketed for a rotational pass-rusher role. He’ll need to add 10-15 pounds even for that role. He is explosive enough to disrupt quarterbacks though, as evidenced by his three sacks and 82.8 grade against North Carolina this past year.

The Rams needed reinforcements in their secondary, and they've done well to get the most out of smaller defensive backs like Darious Williams over the years, and Tomlinson can hopefully be the next in line, falling because of his 5-foot-8 stature. The TCU product earned a 78.4 grade in 2022 with five interceptions and has three years of starting experience, projecting as a solid slot option for the Rams. He plays like he's 6-foot-2 and if he can overcome the lack of size in a zone-heavy Rams scheme this could be a steal.

Mathis is an experienced prospect with four seasons with at least 500 defensive snaps in his college career — three at TCU and one after transferring to Nebraska. Mathis is a long edge rusher at 6-foot-5 with 35-plus inch arms and is coming off a career-high 77.6 PFF pass-rushing grade in 2022.

A former five-star recruit, Evans never quite lived up to that billing in college. He was still productive, though, and earned an 84.5 PFF rushing grade on gap plays in 2022. He averaged at least 6.5 yards per carry in each of the past three seasons.

Evans is a Division II punter, although he was the top punter on PFF’s big board.

This is the stage of the draft where it makes sense to take chances on athletes. Taylor fits into that bucket with 90th percentile results or higher in the 10-yard split, vertical jump and broad jump as a 204-pound safety. And Taylor pairs that with a decent grading profile, including 72.0-plus PFF grades in each of the past two seasons as a starter.

Mr. Irrelevant of the 2023 NFL Draft! Johnson was on the field for 726 snaps in 2022 and produced PFF pass-rushing and run-defense grades above 85.0. A little undersized, he won 17.6% of his pass-rushing attempts and registered a tackle resulting in a defensive stop on 8.7% of his snaps in run defense.

DRAFT GRADE: A-​