Goldfish's Way Too Early Draft Rankings 2021 (All up)

[DawgX]

Hard to recall a team in years that has had a worst offseason than the Texans have had.

[Apparition]

4 minutes ago, DawgX said:

Hard to recall a team in years that has had a worst offseason than the Texans have had.

Maybe the 49ers in 2015?

[SBLIII]

Caserio is terrible. 

[LTF]

48 minutes ago, goldfishwars said:

Okay

Be humble. You ought to know as someone who puts this much time into the draft that you’re going to be wrong a hell of a lot more than you’re right. 

[goldfishwars]

16 minutes ago, LTF said:

Be humble. You ought to know as someone who puts this much time into the draft that you’re going to be wrong a hell of a lot more than you’re right. 

The thread title isn't implying that already?

[Jakuvious]

1 hour ago, LTF said:

 

Kevin Dotson has an argument for being the best rookie offensive lineman in the NFL last year. I'd definitely put him up there with Wirfs and Bechton for impact and level of play. He gave up maybe 2-3 pressures and 0 sacks in over 350 snaps. 

Highsmith was the best rookie pass rusher outside of Chase Young. Both look to be long-term starters and both made PFF's All Rookie Team.

Did you watch them play last year? What are your thoughts? 

I think Dotson played well but is a G with only ~5 games worth of game tape in the NFL, and Highsmith only has any kind of claim as a pass rusher relative to the draft class because it was a draft class that thoroughly did not produce last year from a pass rushing productivity perspective. Like, the other rookies in a similar place from a a pass rush productivity perspective were like, Mike Danna, Yatur Gross-Matos, D.J. Wonnum, etc. A bunch of guys that played 300-400 snaps, got a couple sacks, around a dozen pressures. That's that tier of guys where, they showed enough for the fans to be optimistic, I'm sure the coaches and FOs are excited about what they can do going forward, but what they've shown so far is still limited. And you may be right, that he was the second best rookie pass rusher last year. I didn't watch enough of all these guys to say for sure either way. But even if that's true, he's far closer to the 3rd and 4th and 5th and 6th best pass rushers, than he was to Chase Young, last year.

Like, I'd compare them to like a Deandre Swift, or a Donovan Peoples-Jones, or even maybe a Jalen Hurts, with the huge caveat of a positional value difference on that last one. Guys that, once they got their shot, were they productive? Absolutely. Should there be optimism about that? For sure. But with the crucial caveat of a small sample size. Plenty of rookies played a good 16 game season last year. Most of them guys who had a brighter pre-draft outlook in the first place. Now, PFF doesn't care about sample size. A 67 grade player on 300 snaps is going to rank higher in their list than a 65 grade player on 1000 snaps. Sometimes that's right. Sometimes it's not. And with rookies, where there is a lot of volatility and projection going on, where those could be the best 4 or 5 games they ever play, or the worst, teams would see it differently.

[CWood21]

Texans at 32 is no surprise.  LA Rams at 31 incoming.

[Jakuvious]

Man, I don't think I even really noticed the Texans draft until now, given the lack of picks. Taking a QB with your first pick just doesn't have the same oomph to it when it's in the third round.

[y*so*blu]

I look forward to this as much as the draft itself. 🙂

[NVRamsFan]

Rams should be here pretty soon to visit  Thanks for these they're always a good read. 

[candyman93]

Houston fans are tough, but they’re going to be watching the equivalent of an expansion team.

 

I really like Nico Collins for them. He will be a bright spot.

[minutemancl]

I actually like the Texans draft more than the Rams draft. 

[DutchFalcon]

1 hour ago, LTF said:

Be humble. You ought to know as someone who puts this much time into the draft that you’re going to be wrong a hell of a lot more than you’re right. 

Be proud. You ought to know as someone who can't keep his homerism in his pants that you're going to get attention with your sizzling hot takes.

[goldfishwars]

31. Los Angeles Rams

This Class In One Sentence:
An arrogant draft by a bored staff which prefers to build its roster via free agency 

Pre-Draft Needs 
IOL, LB, CB, EDGE, DL, OT, WR, S

Selections
2. 57. Tutu Atwell - Louisville | WR |
3. 103. Ernest Jones - South Carolina | LB |
4. 117. Bobby Brown III - Texas A&M | DT |
4. 130. Robert Rochell - Central Arkansas | CB |
4. 141. Jacob Harris - UCF | WR |
5. 174. Earnest Brown IV - Northwestern | DE |
7. 233. Jake Funk - Maryland | RB |
7. 249. Ben Skowronek - Notre Dame | WR |
7. 252. Chris Garrett - Concordia–St. Paul | DL |

Picks Heading In
57.
89.
103.
141.
209.
252.

What I Liked

Nine picks spent, with only six heading into the draft – the Rams gave themselves more dart throws without a 1st round selection for the 20th year running (or whatever it is). Clearly, they preferenced athletic upside with a number of selections spent on high end testers in that department. I like the back-to-back-to-back selections in the 4th round of Bobby Brown, Robert Rochell and Jacob Harris. All three were big-time athletes with room to flourish in the NFL if they can reach their physical potential. Two dudes named Earnest and Ernest in the same draft class is pretty sweet. They got Jake Funk too, and knew what they were doing there. 

What I Didn’t Like
Outside of Ernest Jones, who I saw as a fairly limited two-down linebacker of the kind apparently the Rams weren’t shopping for, there isn’t a single player taken who has a clear route to early playing time based on their current playing floor. Tutu Atwell at 57 felt far too high for an explosive receiver with very obvious size concerns, especially when his best plays in college came when he was completely untouched, Devonta Smith he is not. The scheme should find opportunities for those explosive plays, but there were physically prepared and more well-rounded receivers taken much later than Atwell to take advantage of those. Outside of the lack of interior offensive line help, which could have been found at a cheap price in a well-stocked crop - it’s a class that reaches for the stars rather than one which feels ready to compete from day one. 
 

[stl4life07]

32 minutes ago, goldfishwars said:

31. Los Angeles Rams

This Class In One Sentence:
An arrogant draft by a bored staff which prefers to build its roster via free agency 

Pre-Draft Needs 
IOL, LB, CB, EDGE, DL, OT, WR, S

Selections
2. 57. Tutu Atwell - Louisville | WR |
3. 103. Ernest Jones - South Carolina | LB |
4. 117. Bobby Brown III - Texas A&M | DT |
4. 130. Robert Rochell - Central Arkansas | CB |
4. 141. Jacob Harris - UCF | WR |
5. 174. Earnest Brown IV - Northwestern | DE |
7. 233. Jake Funk - Maryland | RB |
7. 249. Ben Skowronek - Notre Dame | WR |
7. 252. Chris Garrett - Concordia–St. Paul | DL |

Picks Heading In
57.
89.
103.
141.
209.
252.

What I Liked

Nine picks spent, with only six heading into the draft – the Rams gave themselves more dart throws without a 1st round selection for the 20th year running (or whatever it is). Clearly, they preferenced athletic upside with a number of selections spent on high end testers in that department. I like the back-to-back-to-back selections in the 4th round of Bobby Brown, Robert Rochell and Jacob Harris. All three were big-time athletes with room to flourish in the NFL if they can reach their physical potential. Two dudes named Earnest and Ernest in the same draft class is pretty sweet. They got Jake Funk too, and knew what they were doing there. 

What I Didn’t Like
Outside of Ernest Jones, who I saw as a fairly limited two-down linebacker of the kind apparently the Rams weren’t shopping for, there isn’t a single player taken who has a clear route to early playing time based on their current playing floor. Tutu Atwell at 57 felt far too high for an explosive receiver with very obvious size concerns, especially when his best plays in college came when he was completely untouched, Devonta Smith he is not. The scheme should find opportunities for those explosive plays, but there were physically prepared and more well-rounded receivers taken much later than Atwell to take advantage of those. Outside of the lack of interior offensive line help, which could have been found at a cheap price in a well-stocked crop - it’s a class that reaches for the stars rather than one which feels ready to compete from day one. 
 

I 1000% disagree with the statement of the Rams don’t have players ready to compete from day one. Tutu will come in and make an immediate impact on offense with short routes and jet sweeps which is a staple of McVay offense. Funk and Harris will make immediate impacts on special teams. Brown is going to replace Brockers and Rochell is going to replace Hill. Jones will be the inside linebacker. 
 

I’ll take solace that Mel Kiper Jr gave the Rams a B+ grade which is tied for 4th best in the league. He likes nearly every pick the Rams made and the only reason he didn’t give the Rams an A was because they didn’t address the OL. He said the Rams got great value with their picks and the Jones pick you didn’t like and most didn’t like, Mel said he thought Jones could’ve snuck into the 2nd round. So it’s going to be interesting to see if your assessment is right or wrong. I do like the fact you put time and effort into this though. I just totally disagree that the Rams had the 31st worst draft. Not saying it was the best but not one of the worst.