[ramman2999]

I dont know if the guy is gonna come in the 1st round that replaces Donald. Dont know if it’s gonna be Murphy.

It doesn’t have to be Murphy because we say it has to be him.

It can Be Kris Jenkins. These guys look at a lot of guys.

So we’ll see. I think at 19 you just want to have impact. And that might be a guy like Brock Bowers.

Or even a Tyler Guyton.

You don’t replace a hall of famer.

[Dare]

I would be shocked if the Rams don't take a QB as one of their top 4 picks. If the guy they might target isn't on the board in the first round, there are some decent prospects they still might take.

Personally, I like Michael Pratt out of Tulane. His strength is the short to intermediate passing game. He's a pocket passer, who throws with good accuracy and has shown he makes good decisions in his reads. He can throw deep but he needs work on his mechanics. Also, some evaluators knock him for not having a cannon arm. That is something that simple physical training can improve. They said the same thing about Purdy, and Drew Brees.

Before McVay changed his offense I wouldn't have said Pratt was a scheme fit. But now that McVay's emphasis is attacking the intermediate zone, QBs like Pratt and even Jimmy G are fits. The inside run attack of the Rams is what sets up a lot of the intermediate passing game. The LBs are forced to honor the run so they can't simply drop into that intermediate zone. So now QBs like Jimmy G. and Michael Pratt are scheme fits for McVay's offense. In fact Jimmy G, Brock Purdy and Michael Pratt are very similar in their build and the way they play the game, i.e. their strengths are short to intermediate passing with good accuracy.

Pratt should be on the board in the third round and IMO projects as a year 2 or 3 starter.

[69RamFan]

After reviewing the tapes:

I would be happy with any of these players for the RAM's first pick.

Edge: Dallas Turner, Jared Verse,

Laiatu Latu, (I really like this kid, but his neck concerns me, but I still would take a chance on him)

after a trade down: Chop Robinson

CB: Quinyon Mitchell, Terrion Arnold,

after a trade down: Cooper DeJean, Kool-Aid McKinstry

DT: after a trade down: Byron Murphy II, Jer’Zhan Newton

After the RAMs drafting with their first pick,
most likely a defensive player.

Looking at the RAMs current roster,
Their first four picks,
should either be a starter or a main rotational player.

With eleven picks,
depending on whether the RAMs make trades to gain or lose draft picks,

RAMS need to fill spots on,

Offense: 5
Two OL:
Center
Guard

RB

WR/K/P

TE

Defense: 5
DL: 3
Depending on whether the RAMs move Hoecht back on the inside.
1DT and 2OLB/Edge or 2DT and 1OLB/Edge

CB

ILB

ST: 1
K

[Dare]

Laiatu Latu scares me due to his injury. That was more than a sprain. He was advised not to play anymore. The NFL is a huge step up. Too much risk to use a first round pick on. If he drops into the third round sure. I think he will drop but how far is the question.

Jimmy Lake was at UW and said:
"Lake told how the school arranged for Latu to meet with five specialists nationwide, who in a consensus opinion determined it was not safe for him to play again. He had suffered numbness in his neck that wasn't alleviated by surgery. The medical personnel suggested Latu risked being paralyzed if he continued playing football."

A player like Chop Robinson might drop to 19. For all the hype he has a lot of technique issues he needs to rectify to reach his full potential which could drop him into the second half of the first round. There is no question that Latu is an impressive talent, but IMO the long term risk is too great to take in the first round.

[BobCarl]

Suddenly AD retires and we should worry about reach or panic?

In gearing up for the next Indy 500 .... a wheel comes off and "needs" to be replaced.

Do we slap on a (backup) spare? Get a (free agent) retread? Trust an untested rookie from the draft?

"Need", "reach", "panic", "grave concern", "this changes everything"? Yes all of those.

Just fill a quality NFL DT's shoes. That's (tire) pressure enough.

Excellent suggestion.

All of these months the strategy was different, and now a wheel comes off with only a few weeks go the Rams have to start from scratch.

The "hoped-for" talent from the draft that the Rams were planning for is now going to be "hoped-for" differently.

I'd would have loved to be privy to the Rams day-to-day draft discussions during the weeks before and after Aaron Donald made his announcement.

[Elvis]

[Elvis]

As JB points out, Rams have a lot of rookies from last year who may step up this year:

[Dare]

Hampton came in raw with no clearly defined role in Morris' defense. I think he could be a very good OLB in a more tradtiional role for the position. He's got the athleticism you want out there.

Mathis looks to me to be a rotational DE in the same way they used Hoecht. It might be why they basically allowed Hoecht to walk.

Taylor IMO has a lot of upsides as a safety and SCB. His rookie season got derailed by injury. Kam Curl could become a fixture in the Ram secondary IF he can stay healthy. Taylor has CB speed and would seem a better fit at rotational SCB than Lake. I like Lake a lot but his marginal long speed when playing at SCB has me concerned should he get taken deep. It will be interesting to see how they play both Lake and Taylor. When they drafted Taylor I saw him more as a nickel SCB / safety. Both Taylor and Lake can play that role, but Taylor might be a bit better suited for it.

I would love to see Lake and Curl as the starting safeties with Taylor as their nickel DB especially, in a SCB role. If Taylor impresses he could push Kendricks down the depth chart as he has the athleticism lacking in Kendrick.

Regardless I think with the addition of a CB in this draft, the secondary will be set.

It wouldn't surprise me if they drafted a NT/DT in the 5th round to push Brown. IMO Bobby looks like a one gap rotational DT at this point. He has flashed but needs to be more consistent. IMO it's clear he's strictly a one gap DT not as the two gap NT as he has been played.

Other than edge and LT this draft looks to be back filling depth (with future starters) which is a good sign for a team.

[PARAM]

As JB points out, Rams have a lot of rookies from last year who may step up this year:

If JB's feelings are accurate, we're gonna be in very.good shape.

Desjuan Johnson stepping up would be HUGE.

On offense Davis Allen or Zach Evans would help immensely.

Likewise with Mathis or Hampton.

And if our first two picks are starters, well......

[Dare]

I think the Rams will have at least two QBs in their first round cluster (i.e. wish list). Nix and Penix come to mind but I have my doubts either drops to 19. But I would be ecstatic if the Rams could grab either one.

That said there are a few worthy of hard looks outside the first round. They cannot ignore that Stafford is very likely to retire at the end of this coming season. I also think this could be Cooper's last season as well. That is why IMO they are going all in this season to get one more Lombardi while they have this core of players.

This means WR will be a priority as well as QB. Robinson is simply a bridge starter IMO.

Priorities: QB, LT, Edge, WR, CB, RB, LB so I wouldn't be surprised if their first 4 picks address players in those positions. Because of how aggressive they were in the FA market, only Edge projects as a starter this year. But I can see new starters at each of those positions by 2026. IMO the first 4 I listed projects as starters next year (2025).

The wildcard is at LB. I could see them transitioning someone like Desjuan Johnson to ILB. As he lacks the speed you want at edge in the NFL. That said he showed in college his ability to track the ball and flow to the play. I think he brings more to the table than Rozeboom who is more of a coverage ILB and not really a run stuffer. I can see Johnson as a good complement to Jones inside. Mathis looks better at the rotational edge role.