Rams 2023 draft

[Dr LBC]

22 hours ago, Flounch said:

This draft wasn't flashy, but the most important pick for me was Avila. 

When i read interview of Snead and Mcvay before the draft saying they were happy with the Oline group, i couldn't believe it. 

And finally, it was just a smoke screen. 

Also, the Bennett pick, i wasn't hype about this pick but finally after reading some article about him, i think it was a really good pick to have him. 

Maybe Mcvay could develop him and we won't have to draft a QB with our 1st round next year. 

The rest of the pick, well can't say much except that on offense they always prefer players with good hands but not playmaker.

On defense, we drafted a lof of Edge and i hope they will pan out. 

Only regret is that we couldn't draft the best K of the draft....and we will watch him against us.

Barring another injury to Stafford, Stetson Bennett is never going to be a starter for this team - and that's fine.  I forget if I pointed this out on Twitter or in the draft thread; Saturday was a blur for me having to take my son to a birthday party full of 5-8 year olds.  Bennett is in the mold of the kind of Day 3 QB's Kyle Shanahan has ended up having to turn to because guys like Jimmy, Alex Smith, and Trey Lance couldn't stay healthy and they still didn't lose games because of them.  They didn't win them any games, but they weren't liabilities that led to them losing because they were forced to play the backup.

He won't preclude taking a top QB prospect if we find ourselves in the natural position to do that next year, but he also won't stand in the way because he'd still have benefit as a backup.

Also, I'm seeing some Niners fans not positive that the kicker they drafted beats Zane Gonzalez in camp.

But I, by and large, really liked our Day 3.  McClendon has some stuff to work out but I've learned not to bet against UG OL, and I've had McClendon tagged as someone akin to Jamaree Salyer from last year's class, who fell to the 7th round when he should have, and arguably went on to save the Chargers season when Rashawn Slater went down with a biceps tear.  Now, I think Salyer came into the league with a bit higher floor than McLendon, but given that McClendon projects best at RT, we don't need him to be outstanding this year, because the lone ironman on our OL seems to inexplicably be Havenstein.  But Havenstein has an understudy now.  JT2 is a bit more of a specialized safety than we normally go after, but it's the kind that we need - which had been the big reason I was so high on Jordan Battle - we need that deep-roaming FS and Taylor hits that.

I'll be interested to watch Nick Hampton, because I think he may be someone similar to Ernest Jones who came in as an EDGE, but gets moved inside.  Admittedly, I'm having to gauge and guestimate his short-shuttle and 3 cone off of watching him on tape, but I feel pretty good about the former.  I can see something of like a Bruce Irvin in him in a year or two - he's explosive, but there's some projection required.  In a way, @jrry32 am I crazy for seeing something like a poor man's Will Witherspoon in his game?

Anyone who like Calijah Kancey as a prospect who doesn't like Kobie Turner needs to go back and watch some cut-ups, because Turner is basically discount Kancey.

The story with Zach Evans will continue to be what it was in college: Can he stay healthy?  He fell because of the injury concerns, otherwise he's an early/mid day 2 pick probably the next guy off the board after Charbonnet.  I still won't be shocked if we go waiver-wire shopping (budget allowing) come September, but I also think the staff really want to see what Akers is like in year 2 of his recovery.

And Nacua, I get it, he's not sexy (actually he's a damn handsome guy), but he's Skowronek on the perimeter - grimy, meat grinder who can go get contested catches and we needed perimeter depth, not so much slot depth.  He's not going to burn anyone on the outside, but dude reminds me of a rugby flanker.

[NVRamsFan]

 

[jrry32]

40 minutes ago, NVRamsFan said:

 

Quindell Johnson is a guy to watch. Could see him making the roster.

[NVRamsFan]

1 hour ago, jrry32 said:

Quindell Johnson is a guy to watch. Could see him making the roster.

It looks also like a good kicker battle. Also wondering if Smith makes it at the bottom of the WR room and returning punts and kicks. Also wonder if Evans can make the RB group over Powell. 

[Rrrrrrrams]

nice bunch of safties and off ball backers. i like the louisville rb too.
jason taylor and both dt could be nice pick ups.

rams picked up the qb/wr/rb from  san diego state, burmeister. so it's 25 udfa. and powell is not with rams anymore.

[NVRamsFan]

Meant Ronnie Rivers at rb

[LeotheLion]

This was one of the stronger drafts from the Rams in recent years. I really like everything we did on day 2 and most of day 3. The only pick I didn't like was Allen. He just doesn't play with much physicality. But he's a 5th round TE, and does offer redzone ability. 

[RamPackFan]

On 5/1/2023 at 11:12 AM, Dr LBC said:

Barring another injury to Stafford, Stetson Bennett is never going to be a starter for this team - and that's fine.  I forget if I pointed this out on Twitter or in the draft thread; Saturday was a blur for me having to take my son to a birthday party full of 5-8 year olds.  Bennett is in the mold of the kind of Day 3 QB's Kyle Shanahan has ended up having to turn to because guys like Jimmy, Alex Smith, and Trey Lance couldn't stay healthy and they still didn't lose games because of them.  They didn't win them any games, but they weren't liabilities that led to them losing because they were forced to play the backup.

He won't preclude taking a top QB prospect if we find ourselves in the natural position to do that next year, but he also won't stand in the way because he'd still have benefit as a backup.

Also, I'm seeing some Niners fans not positive that the kicker they drafted beats Zane Gonzalez in camp.

But I, by and large, really liked our Day 3.  McClendon has some stuff to work out but I've learned not to bet against UG OL, and I've had McClendon tagged as someone akin to Jamaree Salyer from last year's class, who fell to the 7th round when he should have, and arguably went on to save the Chargers season when Rashawn Slater went down with a biceps tear.  Now, I think Salyer came into the league with a bit higher floor than McLendon, but given that McClendon projects best at RT, we don't need him to be outstanding this year, because the lone ironman on our OL seems to inexplicably be Havenstein.  But Havenstein has an understudy now.  JT2 is a bit more of a specialized safety than we normally go after, but it's the kind that we need - which had been the big reason I was so high on Jordan Battle - we need that deep-roaming FS and Taylor hits that.

I'll be interested to watch Nick Hampton, because I think he may be someone similar to Ernest Jones who came in as an EDGE, but gets moved inside.  Admittedly, I'm having to gauge and guestimate his short-shuttle and 3 cone off of watching him on tape, but I feel pretty good about the former.  I can see something of like a Bruce Irvin in him in a year or two - he's explosive, but there's some projection required.  In a way, @jrry32 am I crazy for seeing something like a poor man's Will Witherspoon in his game?

Anyone who like Calijah Kancey as a prospect who doesn't like Kobie Turner needs to go back and watch some cut-ups, because Turner is basically discount Kancey.

The story with Zach Evans will continue to be what it was in college: Can he stay healthy?  He fell because of the injury concerns, otherwise he's an early/mid day 2 pick probably the next guy off the board after Charbonnet.  I still won't be shocked if we go waiver-wire shopping (budget allowing) come September, but I also think the staff really want to see what Akers is like in year 2 of his recovery.

And Nacua, I get it, he's not sexy (actually he's a damn handsome guy), but he's Skowronek on the perimeter - grimy, meat grinder who can go get contested catches and we needed perimeter depth, not so much slot depth.  He's not going to burn anyone on the outside, but dude reminds me of a rugby flanker.

“Never?” That’s a pretty bold statement for a dude who is a proven winner/leader 

[Dr LBC]

9 minutes ago, RamPackFan said:

“Never?” That’s a pretty bold statement for a dude who is a proven winner/leader 

I just plainly don't think he's going to get the chance.  Barring an extended run of games - which would only conceivably come from a Stafford injury - he's not going to get the kind of playing time to put McVay and the staff off investing a high pick in a QB to succeed Stafford, should the occasion arise.  It's just the general logistics of how these things tend to work more often than not.

[Flounch]

23 hours ago, Dr LBC said:

I just plainly don't think he's going to get the chance.  Barring an extended run of games - which would only conceivably come from a Stafford injury - he's not going to get the kind of playing time to put McVay and the staff off investing a high pick in a QB to succeed Stafford, should the occasion arise.  It's just the general logistics of how these things tend to work more often than not.

Yes but even without Stafford injury, i think he could grow behind him and when times to retire for Stafford come. He will have his chance to start a game and proves that he's a starter. 

If Stafford don't retire next year, i have a hard time believing they will pick a QB with their 1st round pick with this kind of roster.  

This draft feels good, but we have to remember that it's  full of 5th to 7th round players. Except we hit the jackpot on every picks, we will have others needs to fill than the QB position. 

[Dr LBC]

2 minutes ago, Flounch said:

Yes but even without Stafford injury, i think he could grow behind him and when times to retire for Stafford come. He will have his chance to start a game and proves that he's a starter. 

If Stafford don't retire next year, i have a hard time believing they will pick a QB with their 1st round pick with this kind of roster.  

This draft feels good, but we have to remember that it's  full of 5th to 7th round players. Except we hit the jackpot on every picks, we will have others needs to fill than the QB position. 

I'm on record as saying that I believe we'll actually see Stafford succeeded by a veteran rather than a rookie.  I genuinely think we could see McVay and Snead take a flier on Trey Lance if the Niners go in the Purdy direction long-term - it'd be an ego thing for McVay, but he and Lil Shanny tend to like/pursue the same types, so if Kyle saw something special in Lance and Sean has an opportunity to get a hold of that guy, he's going to do a heck of a lot of due diligence to see if he sees the same positives in Lance that Kyle saw.

[jrry32]

On 5/1/2023 at 1:12 PM, Dr LBC said:

I'll be interested to watch Nick Hampton, because I think he may be someone similar to Ernest Jones who came in as an EDGE, but gets moved inside.  Admittedly, I'm having to gauge and guestimate his short-shuttle and 3 cone off of watching him on tape, but I feel pretty good about the former.  I can see something of like a Bruce Irvin in him in a year or two - he's explosive, but there's some projection required.  In a way, @jrry32 am I crazy for seeing something like a poor man's Will Witherspoon in his game?

I think you give Hampton every opportunity to stick at EDGE with his rush talent.

[MDY10]

On 5/1/2023 at 7:40 PM, jrry32 said:

Quindell Johnson is a guy to watch. Could see him making the roster.

Anyone else on that UDFA List you like a lot aside from Johnson? 

[jrry32]

7 minutes ago, MDY10 said:

Anyone else on that UDFA List you like a lot aside from Johnson? 

Chris Dunn had a great year (after an up and down career) as a Kicker. Xavier Smith has speed, agility, and some return potential. Ryan Smenda is productive and instinctive. And Tiyon Evans is a big HB who runs hard and has some wheels (but struggled to stay healthy). Rashad Torrence is a solid safety.

[RamPackFan]

On 5/2/2023 at 2:18 PM, Dr LBC said:

I just plainly don't think he's going to get the chance.  Barring an extended run of games - which would only conceivably come from a Stafford injury - he's not going to get the kind of playing time to put McVay and the staff off investing a high pick in a QB to succeed Stafford, should the occasion arise.  It's just the general logistics of how these things tend to work more often than not.

Are you referring to this year or ever? As in you don’t think he has any potential to be a future starter?