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Jrry32 Second Mock Off-Season


jrry32

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With Raheem Morris joining as DC, we have some idea of what our defense might look like. Although, I can't say with total certainty that I know. I'm projecting base personnel that are similar to Pete Carroll's scheme (and also similar to Staley's). Basically, it's a hybrid between the 4-3 and 3-4 (it's a multiple scheme). Without knowing what the cap is, I'm just speculating on what we can do. I'm guessing a cap of around $190 million. With some restructures, we should have the money to do what's necessary. The one small positive of the cap not increasing this year might be that mid-tier FAs are much more affordable and more interested in one year deals. The top guys will still get paid. It's the mid-tier guys who will be looking at a lesser market. Finally, I'll note that if he's in shape, Larry Warford is still at the top of my wish list, but I already included him in my last mock, so I'm going to offer a different scenario.

Departing Free Agents

OLB Leonard Floyd

SS John Johnson III

CB Troy Hill

OL Austin Blythe

HB Malcolm Brown

TE Gerald Everett

WR Josh Reynolds

DL Morgan Fox

OLB Samson Ebukam

Resignings

LS Jake McQuaide

CB Darious Williams

ILB Travin Howard

OL Coleman Shelton

TE Johnny Mundt

Trades

Rams trade Round 2 Pick #25 and Round 3 Pick #24

Patriots trade Round 2 Pick #14 and Round 4 Pick #39

We trade up for an offensive lineman.

 

Rams trade Round 3 Pick #39

Vikings trade Round 4 Pick #14 and Round 4 Pick #38

We trade back with one of our two third round comp picks. 

 

Rams trade Round 4 Pick #38

Ravens trade Round 5 Pick #28 and Round 6 Pick #27

Ravens trade up into the fourth round.

Free Agency

usatsi_14463168-e1594616886880.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1

Tarell Basham EDGE

The Colts drafted Basham in the third round in 2017, but he only lasted two years there before they cut him. The Jets claimed him off waivers, and he has shown flashes of good play with them. We add him as a relatively cheap rotational player on the edge. He'll play behind Terrell Lewis and compete with Ogbonnia Okoronkwo for that backup spot. If Lewis gets hurt (which, unfortunately, seems likely), Basham and Okoronkwo can step in for him. I considered re-signing Samson Ebukam, but I think Basham has more upside.

GettyImages-1287081277-775x465.jpg

Alex Smith QB

I want to make the point that this only makes sense if Alex is willing to accept a very cheap deal. Essentially, Alex comes here to mentor Goff, learn McVay's system, and start the transition to a coaching career. We gain from having an experienced backup who can be trusted in a pinch and can mentor Goff. @The LBC, I am stealing your idea.

NFL Draft

Round 2 Pick #14 - Alex Leatherwood OT/OG Alabama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tQQgJZtsPE

Analysis: At 6'5" 315 pounds, Leatherwood can play any position on the OL outside of Center. He offers legitimate tackle/guard versatility. He has the potential to be Whitworth's replacement and the potential to be a rookie who could start at OG and provide quality play. Leatherwood is a good but not great athlete at OT who is extremely technically proficient and possesses very good power. He has the ability to generate movement in the running game and the athleticism to make blocks on the second level and in space. In pass protection, he's difficult to beat because of his consistent technique, well-timed punches, and good anchor. To the extent he can improve there, he sometimes leans into his punches, which leaves him open to being pulled off balance or swam over. As a run blocker, he's a good positional blocker with the power to generate some movement. I wish he had more of a mean streak, though. Ultimately, Leatherwood is a polished OL prospect who lacks dominant traits but is a good all-around player.

Round 3 Pick #37 - Tony Fields II LB West Virginia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa0tmRtxMJk

Analysis: Let me preface this by saying that Ohio State LB Pete Werner is the guy I want most in the third round, but I think he's likely gone at this point. Fields is an undersized LB at 6'1" 220 pounds, but he possesses outstanding athleticism, four years worth of starting experience, and impressive physicality for his size. Due to his smaller stature and lack of length, he'll have trouble defeating NFL blocks, but he doesn't lack the willingness or physicality to try and play through blocks. He also has the quick-twitch athleticism to work around blocks. His instincts are quite good. Although, his lack of height occasionally causes him to take longer to find the football. He has the potential to be a starting Will LB who racks up a lot of tackles and covers well. He's a true sideline-to-sideline player. The one big area where I think he can improve is in taking better angles. He occasionally runs himself out of plays by being too aggressive.

Round 4 Pick #14 - Malcolm Koonce EDGE/SLB Buffalo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_33HfMjsrM

Analysis: At 6'3" 250, Koonce will likely spend his rookie year as a rotational pass rusher and working on getting stronger to better defend the run. Koonce has the speed and flexibility to threaten the corner off the edge. He has a fairly diverse set of pass rush moves for a college player and a lot of savvy. He has long arms and active hands that he uses well to shed blocks and soften the edge. He also has the quick-twitch athleticism and footwork to win with inside moves and to get the OT out of position using stutter and jab steps. As a run defender, he has shown the ability to shed TE blocks and to set the edge against TEs, but he'll need to get bigger and stronger if he's going to set the edge against NFL OTs. Adding more power to his game also could unlock speed-to-power rushes, which would add another pass rush move to his toolbox.

Round 4 Pick #37 - Tre Nixon WR Central Florida

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_S0u-2B9Do

Analysis: We need some speed at WR, and that's exactly what Tre Nixon brings to the table. At 6'1" 180 pounds, he has a thin frame, but he's tough to jam at the LOS due to his quickness of the LOS and varied releases. He's a skilled player who shows the agility, twitch, and loose hips to run routes at a high level. His route tree at UCF has been fairly limited, but the routes he does run look good. He is also a fairly surehanded kid who tracks the ball well over the shoulder. But the big selling point with him is that he can flat out run by CBs. He's a major deep threat. His biggest weakness is that physical CBs can knock him off his game due to his lack of strength and thin frame.

Round 5 Pick #28 - Grant Stuard LB Houston 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJH_5gpjNac

Analysis: Stuard only recently moved to LB for Houston. In 2019, he played as a box safety of sorts. In 2020, he moved to LB because it was how he could best help the defense. I like him a lot as a developmental LB and a core special teamer. Stuard is a fast, twitchy athlete who tackles well, brings endless energy to the field, and clearly loves football. He was the guy who got the defense lined up at Houston this year. His weaknesses (misreading his keys, taking false steps, and struggling to get off blocks) are at least partially due to his inexperience at LB. At 6'1" 225 pounds, he's a guy who has the upside to potentially develop into a starting LB and immediately brings speed, tackling, and energy to our special teams units.

Round 6 Pick #25 - Matt Bushman TE Brigham Young

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6TlaNZohBE

Analysis: Bushman is an intriguing TE prospect. He was considered one of the top prospects in the Draft coming into the year but suffered an Achilles injury before the season started. He's a little older (25 years old) due to him having done a mission. He has the size (6'5" 250 pounds) to play inline, but he needs to get stronger and show more physicality as a blocker. In college, he seemed content to get his hands on the defender and execute the block, rather than try to bury his man. His real value comes from his receiving skills. He's a very good athlete who has the speed to stretch the seam and the separation quickness to work underneath. But his best traits are his strong mitts and body control. He also understands how to create separation using his body and pushing off (legally). 

Round 6 Pick #27 - Shawn Davis DB Florida

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBHKAn8bgSI

Analysis: Davis is a gifted athlete at safety who can play split, single-high, or come into the box and cover the slot. He's a tad undersized at 5'11" 190, which has led to some durability issues due to his physical play. He also needs to learn to tackle better, as he tends to go for the big hit over the wrap-up tackle. Fortunately for us and unfortunately for Davis, he was misused by Florida's incompetent defensive coordinator. Had he played in a better scheme and received better coaching, he might have gone in the third or fourth round. This is a kid who will bring energy, athleticism, and hitting power to special teams. But he also has the potential to be a starting safety in the NFL. 

Round 7 Pick #25 - Blake Proehl WR/PR East Carolina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7XjArGfiFc

Analysis: The name should sound familiar to all of us Rams fans. He's one of Ricky Proehl's sons. Ricky, a former NFL WR Coach (a highly respected one at that), has clearly done a lot to coach Blake. At 6'1" 186 pounds, Blake has a thin frame, but he also possesses great quickness/twitch, solid speed, and outstanding hands. ECU, for some odd reason, decided to play him outside this year. I think Blake can be a lethal slot WR in the NFL. His quickness, hands, and intelligence should play quite well inside. Additionally, he's a guy who offers a lot of special teams value and should be a reliable punt returner for us. I think we'll quite enjoy developing him and Nixon behind Kupp, Woods, and Jefferson.

Projected Starters

QB: Jared Goff

HB: Cam Akers

WR: Robert Woods

WR: Cooper Kupp

WR: Van Jefferson

TE: Tyler Higbee

LT: Andrew Whitworth

LG: Alex Leatherwood vs. Joe Noteboom vs. Bobby Evans vs. Tremayne Anchrum

😄 Austin Corbett

RG: David Edwards

RT: Rob Havenstein

 

SDE: Michael Brockers

NT: Sebastian Joseph-Day

UT: Aaron Donald

LEO: Terrell Lewis

WLB: Travin Howard vs. Kenny Young vs. Tony Fields II

MLB: Micah Kiser v. Troy Reeder

SLB: Justin Hollins

CB: Jalen Ramsey

CB: Darious Williams

CB: David Long Jr. vs. Terrell Burgess

FS: Jordan Fuller

SS: Terrell Burgess vs. Taylor Rapp

 

K: Matt Gay

P: Johnny Hekker

LS: Jake McQuaide

KR: Raymond Calais

PR: Blake Proehl

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36 minutes ago, rocky_rams said:

I actually like most of this. I don’t know how I’d feel about Alex Smith though. I think that’s still investing in and coddling Goff.

 I don’t think he’d light a fire under Goff as much as a younger QB who can also develop into the QB of the future

 

Issue is that if we trade up for a good OL like Leatherwood, we're not going to have the picks to grab one. And frankly, it's not like there's a QB outside of the first round in this draft who is going to put a lot of pressure on Goff, at least in the short term.

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16 minutes ago, jrry32 said:

Issue is that if we trade up for a good OL like Leatherwood, we're not going to have the picks to grab one. And frankly, it's not like there's a QB outside of the first round in this draft who is going to put a lot of pressure on Goff, at least in the short term.

I see your point. This off-season will arguably be the most interesting in the McVay era.

wonder what he will do 

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5 minutes ago, rocky_rams said:

I see your point. This off-season will arguably be the most interesting in the McVay era.

wonder what he will do 

I can say with confidence that I have no idea. Could see them trading some big name guys. Could also see them only making a few minor moves and trying to go at it again with much of the same team.

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5 minutes ago, jrry32 said:

I can say with confidence that I have no idea. Could see them trading some big name guys. Could also see them only making a few minor moves and trying to go at it again with much of the same team.

You’re right. I think it first starts with what he plans to do with Goff. I think everything hinges on that. 
 

keep in mind, next season should be the first season where fans get to experience Sofi. So I don’t think they’d want to put out inferior product. 
 

I think they’ll try to stay competitive, as usual, but it first has to start with McVays approach with Goff. 
 

it doesn’t look good for a team when your star DB is actively recruiting another QB to the team. It may not mean much, but when the coach is not standing behind his QB unconditionally, and the star player has wandering eyes towards other QBs, that certainly isn’t confidence for the teams future at that position 

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3 hours ago, jrry32 said:

Issue is that if we trade up for a good OL like Leatherwood, we're not going to have the picks to grab one. And frankly, it's not like there's a QB outside of the first round in this draft who is going to put a lot of pressure on Goff, at least in the short term.

Frankly, I look at it this way, as well: The success-rate of hitting on a QB as a long-term option in the 1st round is already limited as it is.  That success-rate declines notably outside the 1st round.  I understand the concept of taking an annual lottery ticket - though that's typically something a team does when they're cemented into their long-term option and you're looking at that lottery ticket - barring them evolving into something of historical quality - as a "flip-for-ROI" investment (draft inexpensively, develop, flip to a QB-needy team for substantial return on investment).  The guys that are going to "put pressure on Goff," are the guys who already hold a quality floor, while also at least tickling the type of ceiling that makes them appear as more than just a routine backup.  Unless the guy has serious character and/or injury concerns (and arguably not even then), those guys don't slip past the 10th pick of the 2nd round anymore.  They just don't.  Cousins was the last one, if you even consider him to have the necessary ceiling, and he's an exception, far from the rule... and that was nearly 10 years ago.

If this team opts to give up on Goff, it's almost for certain that they'll do it while investing a 1st round pick into another QB (seeing how Les has operated in the past, it's almost likely that they'd move up in the 1st to secure a specific guy, rather than settling for who happened to be available).  With the contracts we're carrying on the books, the only way I could see us bringing on a big-number free agent QB (and that's assuming one worth it even hit the market) or trading for one would be if we'd already, to that point, succeeded in drafting a successor to Whitworth AND had the guy with at least 2, if not more, years remaining on a rookie deal (it's the one outstanding premium position that we don't have a premium 2nd-contract sunk into).

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3 hours ago, rocky_rams said:

keep in mind, next season should be the first season where fans get to experience Sofi

It's easy to say that now.  Call me a skeptic, but if people in SoCal don't start acting responsibly, I won't be surprised in the slightest if COVID hasn't been tamped down sufficiently enough by August (even with dissemination of a vaccine) to make it safe to have 70K+ person events.

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17 minutes ago, The LBC said:

Frankly, I look at it this way, as well: The success-rate of hitting on a QB as a long-term option in the 1st round is already limited as it is.  That success-rate declines notably outside the 1st round.  I understand the concept of taking an annual lottery ticket - though that's typically something a team does when they're cemented into their long-term option and you're looking at that lottery ticket - barring them evolving into something of historical quality - as a "flip-for-ROI" investment (draft inexpensively, develop, flip to a QB-needy team for substantial return on investment).  The guys that are going to "put pressure on Goff," are the guys who already hold a quality floor, while also at least tickling the type of ceiling that makes them appear as more than just a routine backup.  Unless the guy has serious character and/or injury concerns (and arguably not even then), those guys don't slip past the 10th pick of the 2nd round anymore.  They just don't.  Cousins was the last one, if you even consider him to have the necessary ceiling, and he's an exception, far from the rule... and that was nearly 10 years ago.

If this team opts to give up on Goff, it's almost for certain that they'll do it while investing a 1st round pick into another QB (seeing how Les has operated in the past, it's almost likely that they'd move up in the 1st to secure a specific guy, rather than settling for who happened to be available).  With the contracts we're carrying on the books, the only way I could see us bringing on a big-number free agent QB (and that's assuming one worth it even hit the market) or trading for one would be if we'd already, to that point, succeeded in drafting a successor to Whitworth AND had the guy with at least 2, if not more, years remaining on a rookie deal (it's the one outstanding premium position that we don't have a premium 2nd-contract sunk into).

Yeah, that's why I like Davis Mills. His rare circumstances (only 11 starts on a mediocre team) might allow him to fall further than a guy with his skillset (prototypical size, functional mobility, strong arm, quick release, good ball placement, pro-style experience, and no major flaws outside of a lack of experience and durability questions) typically does. But with all the needs we have, it's still tough to find a spot for Mills if we trade up for an OL.

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1 hour ago, LeotheLion said:

In a perfect world, I'm hoping for a day 1 starting guard or center. Like how this also addresses a few other problem areas like PR.

I think Leatherwood has the goods to be an immediate starter at LG. He's big, strong, athletic (especially for an OG), and very polished. The only question will be his capacity to get the scheme down pat.

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1 hour ago, jrry32 said:

I think Leatherwood has the goods to be an immediate starter at LG. He's big, strong, athletic (especially for an OG), and very polished. The only question will be his capacity to get the scheme down pat.

There's actually a fairly solid track record for Bama guys digesting playbooks fairly quickly.  While I know it's something that we need, continuity is always a concern league-wide by coaches with regard to OL's, and there always seems to be concern (unless you're punting part of a season as a "growing/learning season".. which I seriously doubt we would do) about deploying two new starters side-by-side on an OL - which shifting Corbett to center would technically constitute.

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24 minutes ago, The LBC said:

There's actually a fairly solid track record for Bama guys digesting playbooks fairly quickly.  While I know it's something that we need, continuity is always a concern league-wide by coaches with regard to OL's, and there always seems to be concern (unless you're punting part of a season as a "growing/learning season".. which I seriously doubt we would do) about deploying two new starters side-by-side on an OL - which shifting Corbett to center would technically constitute.

Eh, we don't really have a choice there. I think McVay is more likely to do that than start a rookie Center, frankly. 

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2 hours ago, btfd16 said:

I worked for Arizona. Tony Fields' (grad transferred to WVU when it seemed Pac wouldn't play) assessment is spot on. Seems slightly high, but spot on assessment.

This is a weird draft. It's hard to project the mid rounds. And it's going to be harder than normal because of the lack of Combine. I think Fields is a guy who will run well at his Pro Day. It seems like NFL teams will take chances on athletic but undersized LBs like Fields in the late 3rd to 4th range. (In 2020, Davion Taylor and Akeem Davis-Gaither were drafted at picks #103 and #107.)

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