Rams wrap up draft with more skill, less beefJoe Curley ,
joe.curley@vcstar.com[
www.vcstar.com]
Often leaning back in their chairs, Sean McVay and Les Snead sat side by side in the Rams’ draft room at Cal Lutheran University.
Over the course of three days, the Rams head coach and general manager carried out a plan they had hatched together over the past few months.
When they emerged Saturday evening, it was with smiles on their faces.
“I think the biggest take away from this weekend was, when you acquire the eight players that we did, we were able to stay in alignment with the board we had set up,” McVay said. “We feel like we were able to address a lot of those needs, but we also didn’t overreach for a need.”
Their decisions in shaping an eight-player draft class spoke volumes of their opinions of the roster so early in McVay’s tenure.
When the Rams selected Texas A&M receiver Josh Reynolds with Saturday’s first pick, the 10th pick of the fourth round, it completed a run of seven pass catchers — four receivers and three tight ends — in a nine-pick span dating back to last year’s fourth round.
“You want to find as many playmakers that can create with the ball in their hands (as you can),” McVay said. “All these guys have great ball skills. … And, like you’ll hear me say over and over again, I don’t think we can have enough guys that make good things happen when the ball’s in their hands.”
Conversely, the Rams surprised fans by not adding to an offensive line that struggled last fall, both in protecting franchise quarterback Jared Goff and in creating room for star running back Todd Gurley.
Snead explained that, having consulted with offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, the Rams chose the young players they already have on their roster over the players available in the draft pool.
“There are a lot of guys in our group that he wanted to work with and felt like they may be better than some of the rookies in this draft class,” Snead said.
The Rams also gave new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips a pair of pass rushers to plug into his 3-4 system in Eastern Washington’s Samson Ebukam in the fourth round and Pittsburgh’s Ejuan Price in the seventh round, as well as Tulane defensive tackle Tanzel Smart in the sixth round.
Pittsburgh defensive lineman Ejuan Price (left) was
Pittsburgh defensive lineman Ejuan Price (left) was taken by the Rams in the seven round Saturday. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)
“I think it’s a great day for all of these guys,” McVay said. “Their lives changed.”
Reynolds, a long-striding deep threat, led the SEC with 1,039 yards receiving last fall.
"I’m a playmaker,” Reynolds said. “I’m a winner and I’d love to help this team win. … We’re going to get this thing rolling.”
Ebukam was a teammate of receiver Cooper Kupp, who the Rams drafted in the third round Saturday.
“I thought to myself, ‘What are the chances I get picked by the same team?’ ” Ebukam said. “And it just happened and I was like, ‘Whoa, Eagles really do stick together.’ That’s awesome.”
While Smart said that he was looking forward to learning from Rams star defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Price, who was injured for two full seasons at Pittsburgh, already has had that experience.
“I’ll probably talk to him in a little bit,” said Price. “I’m sure we’ll link up and speak on it at one point.”
Price, a sixth-year senior who missed two full seasons with back and pectoral muscle injuries, was Donald’s teammate at Pitt.
“I’ve been seeing him around for years,” Price said. “We played on the same team for a bit and we were rivals in high school.”
Six of the eight players the Rams drafted participated in the Senior Bowl in January.
“It wasn’t intentional, but definitely utilized,” Snead said. “It is intentional because we do really scrutinize the Senior Bowl, because it means something.”
That included Sam Rogers, who the Rams drafted in the fifth round. The Virgina Tech fullback was labeled “a lead-blocking machine” at the Senior Bowl by Pro Football Focus.
“I can't wait to block for Todd Gurley,” Rogers said.
The second-team All-American also flashed versatile skills in Blacksburg, catching touchdown passes and even throwing a touchdown pass.
“You saw Sam do a nice job contributing to the run and the pass game,” McVay said. “I think he’s a guy that when you get him out in space, he can fit people up and press them on angles.”
“Those are kind of the some of the nuances that we’ll look for from that fullback spot.”
