Re: After the White signing, at 1st blush I thought Snead now more likely to trade up…

The Rams have a bevy of picks and the defense has very little depth. They also do quite well drafting in the later rounds. The new kickoff rule also puts pressure on locating better special teams players.

There is merit to adding a stud LT or WR with the first pick. However, this appears to be a luxury since AD retired and the defense is in full rebuild mode. Another popular idea for the offense is the TE position, but Sean values intelligent execution over receiving ability which is why Parkinson made sense as a veteran presence that doesn't require on the job training.

My take is that there are too many holes on the defensive depth chart to afford offensive luxuries. This roster reminds me of the 2000/2001 squad that both scored and allowed points at an incredibly high rate.

Hitting on Kobie Turner and Byron Young last year restores my faith that McSnead are capable of finding and developing defensive players when they have talented options available in the first three rounds.

The Rams scouting and analytics departments seem to march to a different drummer than what mock analysts and other teams employ so I refuse to play the game of "who the Rams like" because the answers are invariably wrong.

Instead, based on the current roster construction and NFL trends, I prefer to identify the immediate needs.

McVay and Shula have been the closest of friends for quite awhile and Sean has gradually become more involved on the D side of the ball since Wade retired. Analyzing both how Sean pivoted to a heftier OLine and has been repeatedly frustrated by Shanny's ability to run the rock down our throats is very telling to me. The hidden reason the Rams had very few sacks was that other teams were regularly able to move the ball efficiently on the first two downs. Sean watched as other teams regularly marched down the field, chewing up TOP, and we all crossed our fingers that AD would blow something up or the other team self destructed.

When the Rams acquired Bobby Wagner and paired him w Jones, the run defense improved considerably. For this reason, I believe at some point they will target a two down thumper at ILB to mitigate the damage. A couple immovable big nasties on the interior DLine also make a ton of sense. With so many excellent DB's available in the later rounds, I expect several selections in the middle rounds to upgrade the depth of that unit.

While most are pining for a stud OLB/DE type in the first round, I do not. Rookie pass rushers generally have minimal impact early in their careers and the bust rate is prevalent. I simply do not see an impact rusher at 19. The Chargers had Bosa AND Mack and their defense still sucked b@lls. I find this compelling.

I agree with 43's assessment that White and Williams are veteran placeholders who are quite talented but susceptible to injury and decline. It wouldn't shock me to see a boundary corner in the first round. I also see Curl primarily in Star position so a stud coverage safety to limit the damage when Shula gambles has tremendous value. With that said, there are DT'a available in the first round that can immediately improve the defense's ability to succeed against running teams and hopefully not surrender every third and short that extends drives. Again, I do not believe it will be another 3 technique type that gets all the hype. They need a big man that plugs two holes by himself.

Finally, the loss of Gay was catastrophic. A mid round selection of a PK seems inevitable to me if there isn't a quality veteran option on the table.

But that's just me, only a fan.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2024 06:10AM by Leoram.