Fascinating Final 53 post by oldnotdead...

Here’s oldnotdead...

Very Early 53

I was just breaking down the Ram's roster as it looks now. Since Snead has said they are done with FA signings, I assume their current roster, i.e. including draft picks and UDFA signings are what they will build their 53 man roster. I really don''t see any true gems in the UDFA crop but you never know who will step up in a big way. That said assuming no one does this is how I see their 53 man roster shaping up.

The roadmap I used to determine where the Rams felt they needed upgrades was how they drafted. When you simply look at the draft it seemingly has no pattern. But when you look at the positions involved the pattern became much more clear.

People need to remember that Wade's schemes are focused on matchups. Thats why he loves to shuffle his front 3 dline to take advantage of that. Donald, Suh and Brockers can each play all three positions, so don't be surprised to see them switch off not only game to game, but even play to play. With the with one of the DE positions being played by a OLB, the 3 remaining LBs are played much the same as in a 4-3 scheme. As such they have a WIL which normally is the coverage LB, i.e. playing like a second SS. The MIKE normally is a two down player who gets pulled to bring in the nickel DB (Roby Coleman) as such in Wade's schemes he doesn't need to be strong in coverage. The SAM needs to be strong at the POA to maintain contain on screens and runs.

This misunderstanding of how the hybrid 3-4 is played is why most analysts assumed the Rams would target an EDGE rusher first. But with Ebukam they already had a rusher as good or better than those that would probably be on the board in the 3rd round. It's also why Franklin was taken before Obo as well. Westbrooks and Longacre aren't particularly good fits for Wade's scheme. It's why I see Franklin probably being brought in to replace Westbrooks at RDE. I can see Longacre making the team but being played more as a SAM. He's not a good fit there but would probably be their best option.

As I said in another post I have seen a particular pass rush scheme used by Wade. He's got the perfect combo in Suh and Donald. Picture Suh and Donald aligned over both A gaps with Obo and Samson as the outside rushers. I don't know of any 3 interior linemen capable of taking on Suh and Donald,. The RB will have to stay in leaving Ebukam or Obo or both singled up on the outside. This is a sack or INT waiting to happen.

Also when you look at Wade's depth charts there is a difference between rotational players and backups. Wade likes to keep his defensive 7 guys fresh, especially his front 4. The primary backups are more than backups. They see a significant number of snaps per game so they need to play at a high level. Other backups are just that, injury replacement players or special teams players.

Also I think they will work on transitioning Lucas to play RT as well as LT. If he can finally take the next step up they will have their OT's of the future or at least their swing OT of the future.

Offense - 25
QB Goff, Mannion or Allen
RB Gurley, Kelly, Brown
FB Rogers
XWR Cooks, Woods
ZWR Woods, Reynolds
YWR Kupp, Cooper
LT Whitworth, Noteboom, Lucas
LG Saffold, Demby
C Sullivan, Allen
RG Brown, Eldrenkamp
RT Havenstein, Noteboom, Lucas
TE Higbee, Everette, Hemingway

Defense - 24
RDE Donald/Suh, backup/rotation Franklin-Myers
NT Brockers/Su, backup Sebastian
DT Donald/Suh, backup Easley
RushLB (LDE) Ebukam and Obo in rotation
WIL Barron, backup Scales
MIKE Kiser, backup Littleton, Wilson
SAM Longacre, backup Young
RCB Talib, backup Hill
LCB Peters, backup Sheilds
SCB Robey Coleman
SS Johnson, backup Travin,
FS Joyner, backup Marqui

Special Teams 4
Returner Mikell Curtiss
LS McQuaide
PK Zuerlein
P Hekker

Someone to watch will be QB Brandon Allen. Mannion has struggled to impress and show he can make the next step. He still hasn't mastered the ability to read defenses and go through his progressions quickly. His mechanics remain suspect. Allen is the sneaky developmental pick you take in the late rounds. Unless Mannion totally bombs in preseason and Allen kills it, I expect the Rams to stash Allen on the practice squad for a year. To see if he can read defenses and go through his progressions. Allen has an NFL caliber arm but most of all good accuracy. Allen's weaknesses are things that can be corrected with good coaching. He could develop into a quality backup and perhaps trade bait down the line.

Also I think they specifically signed Mikell Curtis as a returner only. I think they want Cooper to focus on his development as a WR.