Comparing the last 10 Rams drafts. A highly entertaining post by Mark6819...

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Comparing the Rams Last 10 Drafts

I thought it would be interesting to take an objective look at how the Rams have drafted over the last ten years. My approach was to rate each pick based on the players’ performance, ignoring needs and players that could have otherwise been selected.

The maximum score a pick could receive was dependent on when the pick occurred. This makes sense to me, since you want the Rams to be penalized more for the Greg Robinson pick then the Demetrius Rhaney selection, and likewise rewarded for the Aaron Donald pick. Then I awarded a bonus point when a player clearly exceeded their maximum value. Maximum points were:

• Picks 1 - 15: Four points
• Picks 16 – 75: Three points
• Picks 76 – 150: Two points
• Picks 151-200: One and a half points
• Picks 201 >: One Point

Four selections were awarded bonus points: Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald, and Robert Quinn, all first round picks, and Greg Zuerlein, a 7th round.

What these scores reveal more than anything is that when drafts that included Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald don’t break into their top five drafts over the last ten years, then clearly the Rams have drafted pretty well recently.

The success rate over the entire ten seasons is 56%. And the results, from worst to first:

10th Place: 2013, 40% Success (Snead-Fisher)

I remember being ecstatic about adding Tavon Austin to a boring, dreadful offense. I wouldn’t call him a bust, but he never performed to the level expected. That might have been as much the Rams’ fault as his. And, I must point out, I doubt any player in the history of the league has had more touchdowns called back for trivial holding calls on punt returns.

Alec Ogletree is still one of my favorite players, and persons. He is probably the friendliest, most engaging Ram I’ve ever met. Loved his style of play, but he made too many mistakes in coverage.

T.J. McDonald was a decent pro, and Steadman Bailey had his moments – especially that punt return against Seattle. Zac Stacy was a solid 7th round pick. Their other two picks, center Barrett Jones and cornerback Brandon McGee, became irrelevant.

9th Place: 2011, 45% Success (Devaney- Spagnuolo)

This was Billy Devaney’s last draft. He was replaced by Les Snead the following year.

Despite nailing their 1st round pick with the selection of Robert Quinn, this was a mediocre draft. Lance Kendricks was a blue collar tight end whose career is apparently winding down. I liked him, but I seem to remember several critical drops early in his career. Wide Receiver Austin Pettis had a few seconds of fame. The others were in and out of the league pretty quickly; Greg Salas, Jermale Hines, Mikail Baker, Jabara Williams, and Jonathan Nelson.

8th Place: 2018, 47% Success (Snead-McVay)

Because of the injuries to Joseph Noteboom , Brian Allen, Justin Lawler, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo , and Micah Kiser, it’s probably too early to assess this draft. The scores are conservative, and will likely improve. I’m predicting they will. But for now, this is where we’re at.

Jonathan Franklin-Myers and Trevon Young are both gone, but remain in the league. Jamil Demby and John Kelly remain with the team, but appear to be hanging on by their finger nails.

Two players that really elevate this draft are 6th round pick Sebastian Joseph-Day and 7th round pick Travin Howard. Joseph-Day has carved himself a role on the defensive line, and late last year it started to look like Howard could be one of the reasons the Rams weren’t sweating losing Cory Littleton.
The score for this draft could improve significantly during the 2020 season.

7th Place: 2014, 49% Success (Snead-Fisher)

The Greg Robinson selection really deflated this draft. He’s managed to hang on in the league, at least through last season, but he is an unqualified bust as the 2nd pick in the draft. It also hurt that Snead, who usually hits on a seventh round pick now and then, missed on four in this draft.

This was also the year the Rams overlooked the fact that they already had a solid defensive line and went ahead and drafted perhaps the greatest player in the history of the world, Aaron Donald.

Lamarcus Joyner was another solid pick. The E.J. Gaines pick is overlooked. He was quite good for a 6th round pick. Tre Mason was fine for a while. We all thought Maurice Alexander was good until John Johnson showed up. Picks that turned out to be irrelevant were quarterback Garrett Gilbert, offensive lineman Mitchell Van Dyke, safety Christian Bryant, defensive linemen Michael Sam, and center Demetrius Rhaney.

6th Place: 2015, 61% Success (Snead-Fisher)

Once again, the Rams select a player at a position that surprised everyone. They made Todd Gurley the 10th pick of the draft despite having Zac Stacy, Benny Cunningham, Tre Mason, and Isaiah Pead in the house already. Rob Havenstein in the 3rd round was solid. Bryce Hager has made contributions well beyond what you expect of the 224th pick in the draft. Offensive linemen Jamon Brown, Andrew Donnal and Cody Wichman were selected in the3rd, 4th and 6th rounds respectively. All remain in the league, but none have left a mark. Sean Mannion, a 3rd round selection, is a career backup.

The other picks were wide receiver Bud Sasser and defensive end Martin Ifedi.

5th Place: 2012, 62% Success (Snead-Fisher)

This was Les Snead’s first draft, and he had a good one. The Rams landed three great pros, one each in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds; defensive lineman Michael Brockers, and cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson. They also grabbed prolific kicker Greg Zuerlein in the 7th round. The Daryl Richardson pick in the 7th round was also solid.

Picking Brian Quick in the 2nd round turned out to be a rare Snead faux pas. It seemed too early then for Quick, and it seems too early now. Chris Givens had a moment or two. Isaiah Pead, Rokevious Watkins, and Aaron Brown were all misses.

4th Place: 2016, 63% Success (Snead-McVay)

The grade here is helped by the fact that the Rams only had six picks, and none in the 2nd or 3rd round. So there was less chance of making a bonehead pick.

This was the year they selected Jared Goff with the #1 pick. There is no shortage of Goff critics, but most of them are seeing what they want to see. I’ll look at the wins, the yards, and the throws I’ve seen him make – and he’s still just 25 years old.

The Rams had only five more picks after Goff. Tyler Higbee has turned out to be a fantastic 4th round pick. Another tight end, Temarrick Hemingway , showed great promise until suffering a serious leg injury. Pharoh Cooper was okay, although what we remember most are those two fumbles in the playoff loss to Atlanta. Linebacker Josh Forrest was making his mark until he also suffered a serious injury and never made it back. Sixth round pick Mike Thomas always seemed to stick around, and remains in the NFL.

3rd Place: 2020, 64% Success (Snead-McVay)

This is a total projection on my part at this time. So subjectivity takes over for a moment.
The consensus assessment is that none of the first four picks, Akers, Lewis, Burgess, and Jefferson, remind you of, say, the Brian Quick selection. They all come from big-time programs; Florida State, Alabama, Utah, and Florida, respectively. All have clearly gone up against top-notch competition.

Snead took risks on two players, Terrell Lewis and Clay Johnston, with injury histories. This is reminiscent of the Robert Quinn and Todd Gurley picks, both of which worked out pretty well. If the injuries turn out to be non-issues, the final word on this draft could be quite flattering. Snead has hit on half of his 7th round picks, so it’s fair to deduce that Johnston, Sloman or Anchrum will pan out. Bryce Hopkins appears to have a pretty high bar.

The jury will be out for another year or two, but I think this early rating is defensible.

2nd Place: 2019, 68% Success (Snead-McVay)

This is another recent draft. The final assessment could go up or down, depending on the continued development of several players. Seven of the eight selections remain with the team. The lone exception is linebacker Dakota Allen, who is on the Jaguars roster.
Taylor Rapp leads the group, but we could look back in two years and find out the five picks that followed him weren’t too shabby either. Running back Darrell Henderson really hasn’t had his shot yet. Cornerback David Long and offensive linemen Bobby Evans and David Edwards were in the mix late in the year, and the early reviews were fairly good. Run-stopping defensive lineman Greg Gaines earned a regular spot in the rotation. Safety Nick Scott produced on special teams, as expected.

1st Place: 2017, 68% Success (Snead-McVay)

We actually had a tie for the top spot. I gave the nod to the 2017 draft because two of the picks really stood out as being special.
The first selection was Gerald Everett, the 44th pick of the draft. If it weren’t for his injury, we might have an even higher opinion of this pick. He has certainly demonstrated he has what it takes to be a highly productive tight end in the league. The next two picks were 3rd round selections wide receiver Cooper Kupp and safety John Johnson. Snead and McVay deserve a lot of credit for these selections. They were not obvious picks at those spots, especially Johnson. Both have played at a near-pro bowl level.

The two 4th round picks, wide receiver Josh Reynolds and edge player Samson Ebukam, are both solid pros. Reynolds just needs his shot. The Rams got a decent defensive lineman, Tanzel Smart, in the 6th round. The only two that didn’t make the grade were 6th round pick Ejuan Price and 7th round pick Sam Rogers, the non-stop ball of butcher knives.

Here are the scores I gave each pick. Highlights indicate players who were awarded bonus points. The overall success rate was 56%. I apologize for the messy format.

Year R P Player Pos Possible Grade
2011 1 14 Robert Quinn DE 4 5
2011 2 47 Lance Kendricks TE 3 1.5 2011
2011 3 78 Austin Pettis WR 2 0.5 45%
2011 4 112 Greg Salas WR 2 0
2011 5 158 Jermale Hines DB 1.5 0
2011 7 216 Mikail Baker DB 1 0
2011 7 228 Jabara Williams OLB 1 0
2011 7 229 Jonathan Nelson DB 1 0

2012 1 15 Michael Brockers DT 4 4
2012 2 33 Brian Quick WR 3 1 2012
2012 2 39 Janoris Jenkins CB 3 3 62%
2012 2 50 Isaiah Pead RB 3 0
2012 3 65 Trumaine Johnson CB 3 2.5
2012 4 96 Chris Givens WR 2 1
2012 5 150 Rokevious Watkins OL 2 0
2012 7 171 Greg Zuerlein K 1.5 2.5
2012 7 209 Aaron Brown LB 1 0
2012 7 252 Daryl Richardson RB 1 0.5

2013 1 8 Tavon Austin WR 4 2
2013 1 30 Alec Ogletree LB 3 2.5 2013
2013 3 71 T.J. McDonald S 3 1.5 40%
2013 3 92 Steadman Bailey WR 2 0.5
2013 4 113 Barrett Jones C 2 0
2013 4 149 Brandon McGee CB 2 0
2013 5 160 Zac Stacy RB 1.5 0.5

2014 1 2 Greg Robinson OT 4 1
2014 2 13 Aaron Donald DT 4 5 2014
2014 2 41 Lamarcus Joyner CB 3 2.5 49%
2014 3 75 Tre Mason RB 3 1
2014 4 110 Maurice Alexander S 2 0.5
2014 6 188 E. J. Gaines CB 1.5 1
2014 6 214 Garrett Gilbert QB 1 0
2014 7 226 Mitchell Van Dyk OT 1 0
2014 7 241 Christian Bryant S 1 0
2014 7 249 Michael Sam DE 1 0
2014 7 250 Demetrius Rhaney C 1 0

2015 1 10 Todd Gurley RB 4 5
2015 2 57 Rob Havenstein OT 3 3 2015
2015 3 72 Jamon Brown OT 3 0.5 61%
2015 3 89 Sean Mannion QB 2 0.5
2015 4 119 Andrew Donnal OT 2 1
2015 6 201 Bud Sasser WR 1 0
2015 6 215 Cody Wichmann OG 1 0
2015 7 224 Bryce Hager ILB 1 1
2015 7 227 Martin Ifedi DE 1 0

2016 1 1 Jared Goff QB 4 3.5
2016 4 110 Tyler Higbee TE 2 2 2016
2016 4 117 Pharoh Cooper WR 2 1 63%
2016 6 190 T. Hemingway TE 1.5 0.5
2016 6 193 Josh Forrest MLB 1.5 0
2016 6 206 Mike Thomas WR 1 0.5

2017 2 44 Gerald Everett TE 3 2
2017 3 69 Cooper Kupp WR 3 3 2017
2017 3 91 John Johnson III S 2 2 68%
2017 4 117 Josh Reynolds WR 2 1
2017 4 125 Samson Ebukam LB 2 1.5
2017 6 189 Tanzel Smart DT 1.5 1
2017 6 206 Sam Rogers FB 1 0
2017 7 234 Ejuan Price DE 1 0

2018 3 89 Joseph Noteboom OT 2 1
2018 4 111 Brian Allen C 2 0.5 2018
2018 4 135 John Franklin-Myers DE 2 1 47%
2018 5 147 Micah Kiser LB 2 1
2018 5 160 O. Okoronkwo LB 1.5 1
2018 6 176 John Kelly RB 1.5 0.5
2018 6 192 Jamil Demby OT 1.5 0
2018 6 195 S. Joseph-Day DT 1.5 1.5
2018 6 205 Trevon Young DE 1 0.5
2018 7 231 Travin Howard LB 1 1
2018 7 244 Justin Lawler LB 1 0

2019 2 61 Taylor Rapp S 3 3
2019 3 70 Darrell Henderson RB 3 1.5 2019
2019 3 79 David Long Jr. CB 2 1 68%
2019 3 97 Bobby Evans OT 2 2
2019 4 134 Greg Gaines DT 2 1.5
2019 5 169 David Edwards OT 1.5 1
2019 7 234 Nick Scott S 1 0.5
2019 7 251 Dakota Allen LB 1 0

2020 2 52 Cam Akers RB 3 3
2020 2 57 Terrell Lewis EDGE 3 2 2020
2020 3 84 Terrell Burgess S 2 2 64%
2020 3 104 Van Jefferson WR 2 1
2020 4 136 Brycen Hopkins TE 2 1
2020 6 199 Jordan Fuller S 1.5 0.5
2020 7 234 Clay Johnston LB 1 1
2020 7 248 Sam Sloman K 1 0
2020 7 250 Tremayne Anchrum OL 1 0