NFL Mock Draft Simulator: Who are the Rams most likely to draft?
By Blaine Grisak of DowntownRams
NFL Draft
Throughout the NFL Draft season millions of mock draft simulations will be done among fans. This offseason, the top-three platforms that have been used are Pro Football Network, The Draft Network, and Pro Football Focus. Without selecting players myself, I ran 15 simulations, five from each platform, and recorded who the Rams selected. While these simulations may not accurately depict who the Rams will actually choose, it will at least give us an idea of who could be available and when. Below are the results.
57th Overall
OT Brady Christensen, BYU x3
EDGE Ronnie Perkins, Oklahoma x2
LB Jabril Cox, LSU x2
WR Dyami Brown – UNC x2
LB Baron Browning, Ohio State
DT Jay Tufele, USC
EDGE Carlos Basham Jr., Wake Forest
EDGE Greg Rousseau, Miami
S Javon Holland, Oregon
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, USC
Of the 15 simulations, nine had the Rams going defense with Ronnie Perkins and Jabril Cox leading the way. It would be hard not to be excited about either selection in the NFL Draft. Perkins would give the Rams an upgrade on the edge while Cox could be a stable linebacker in the middle.
Brady Christensen was the most selected player. Christensen would give the Rams a left tackle of the future. He did a fabulous job keeping Zach Wilson protected and BYU and has a good chance to be successful in the NFL.
Dyami Brown was the most selected wide receiver at this spot. Brown would be an excellent selections. He really stood out at UNC and would give the Rams a true vertical threat behind DeSean Jackson.
88th Overall
LB Chazz Surratt, UNC x2
LB Baron Browning, Wake Forest x2
CB Robert Rochell, Central Arkansas
TE Tommy Tremble, Notre Dame
LB Dylan Moses, Alabama
WR Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma St.
C Quinn Meinerz, Wisconsin-Whitewater
EDGE Payton Turner, Houston
OT Spencer Brown, Northern Iowa
iOL Josh Myers, Ohio St.
RB Michael Carter, UNC
iDL Marvin Wilson, Florida St.
RB Trey Sermon, Ohio St.
Linebackers Chazz Surratt and Baron Browning were the most popular choices at this selection. Again, the simulations had the Rams going defense heavy in the NFL Draft. Surratt and Browning wouldn’t be bad choices here, however, I believe there are better linebackers or just as good of linebackers later on in the draft.
There were three questionable choices at this selection. While I wouldnt be surprised if the Rams drafted running back or tight end, it would be very surprising to see them address it at 88th overall. The Rams could use a blocking tight end, but that can be addressed late in the draft or in undrafted free agency. With Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson, the Rams don’t have a need to draft running back early.
103rd Overall
S Talanoa Hufanga, USC x2
CB Paulson Adebo, Stanford x2
iOL Ben Cleveland, Georgia x2
LB Cameron McGrone, Michigan
WR D’Wayne Eskridge, Western Michigan
LB Dylan Moses, Alabama
iOL Josh Myers, Ohio St.
LB Chazz Surratt, UNC
EDGE Quincy Roche, Miami
TE Hunter Long, Boston College
Addressing the secondary was one of the most popular choices at 103. The Rams need to add depth at safety and cornerback in the NFL Draft. While the Rams could use a nickel option, Adebo would provide the same depth as Troy Hill on the outside.
D’Wayne Eskridge and Dylan Moses are two of the biggest value selections at this spot. If either player is still on the board at this selection, the Rams should run to the podium.
The one questionable pick is Hunter Long. Long is a very good tight end, however, after drafting Brycen Hopkins last season in the fourth round, it would be surprising to see the Rams take another tight end this high in the draft.
141st Overall
S Shaun Wade, Ohio St. x2
WR Austin Watkins, UAB
LB Monty Rice, Georgia
iOL Aaron Banks, Notre Dame
CB DJ Daniel, Georgia
EDGE Cameron Sample, Tulane
TE John Bates, Boise St.
OT Adrian Ealy, Oklahoma
DL Adetokunbo Ogundeji, Notre Dame
WR Trevon Grimes, Florida
RB Chubba Hubbard, Oklahoma St.
LB Charles Snowden, Virginia
WR Demetric Felton, UCLA
LB Tony Fields II, West Virginia
As we get later in the NFL Draft, the simulations are going to get more different and random and that is the case here. Shaun Wade is the only player that was selected multiple times for the Rams. Wade is an interesting selection. He had a very forgettable final season at Ohio State. However, if a team puts him back in the slot where he is comfortable, he could find success.
My favorite picks at this spot are Trevon Grimes, Charles Snowden, and Demetric Felton. Grimes and Felton would give the Rams a playmaker on offense while Snowden is an athletic linebacker that can also rush the passer.
Chubba Hubbard is the most questionable selection here. Again, it would not be surprising to see the Rams take a running back in the seventh round or sign one as a UDFA. Anything earlier is unnecessary.
209th Overall
TE Noah Gray, Duke x2
EDGE Joshua Kaindoh, Florida State
LB Justin Hilliard, Ohio State
iOL Jimmy Morrissey, Pitt
WR Frank Darby, Arizona St.
TE Pro Wells, TCU
WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Iowa
TE Nick Eubanks, Michigan
TE Quintin Morris, Bowling Green
CB Tre Brown, Oklahoma
EDGE Janarious Robinson, Florida St.
WR Jonathan Adams Jr., Arkansas St.
WR Austin Watkins, UAB
The most selected positions at this spot are wide receiver and tight end. It would not be surprising if those were the actual positions addressed at this spot in the NFL Draft raft for the Rams. I still think they go UDFA when it comes to tight end, but it would not be surprising to see them go with a player like Noah Gray.
Justin Hilliard would be a good pick as well as Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Tre Brown.
252nd Overall
LB Buddy Johnson, Texas A&M x2
G Sadarious Hutcherson, South Carolina
WR Dez Fitzpatrick, Louisville
RB Raheem Boyd, Arkansas
CB Tre Norwood, Oklahoma
EDGE Malcolm Koonce, Buffalo
WR Sage Surratt, Wake Forest
WR Cade Johnson, South Dakota St.
WR Austin Watkins, UAB
LB Derrick Barnes, Purdue
RB Gary Brightwell, Arizona
EDGE Malik Herring, Georgia
iOL Tristan Hoge, BYU
Buddy Johnson was the most selected player at this spot. He wouldn’t be a bad option at pick 252 to come in and compete for a roster spot or special teams position. The focus again, however, is at the wide receiver position.
Conclusion
The Rams will have plenty of options when it comes to the draft. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Les Snead draft at least one, if not more, players on this list. My favorite mock draft within the simulations came from Pro Football Network. The Rams drafted Cox, Meinerz, Eskridge, Wade, Darby, and Koonce. If the Rams ended with that first four combination, it would be a very nice haul.
My least favorite mock draft probably also came from Pro Football Network. In that simulation, the Rams selected Tufele, Tremble, McGrone, Rice, Hilliard, and Fitzpatrick. Three linebackers and a tight end at 88th overall is an unappealing group.
If you were to do a mock with the most selected players with the Rams, you could end up with Christensen, Surratt/Browning, Hufanga/Adebo/Cleveland, Wade, Gray, and Johnson. Overall that wouldn’t be a terrible draft class.
Picking one player from each group, my ideal mock draft would be: Brown, Meinerz, Moses, Wade, Brown, Johnson. Again, a class that stars the first four combination would be an incredible job by Snead.
