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theramswire.usatoday.com]
The 2019 NFL Draft is officially in the rearview mirror. It was a hectic few days for the Los Angeles Rams, who made a flurry of trades. When the dust settled, the Rams had made eight selections. Analysts began giving out their grades for how each team did, and we’ve compiled what they thought of the Rams’ haul below:
Luke Easterling, The Draft Wire:
Easterling gave the Rams a B+. He didn’t elaborate too much, but he only gave six teams higher grades so he clearly thought pretty highly of what Les Snead was able to do.
Pro Football Focus
The team over at PFF gave the Rams an ‘above average’ grade for their work. They liked the drafting of Taylor Rapp in the second round, calling it a “value selection,” and saying Rapp is a “high-floor” player.
“Michigan cornerback David Long, another PFF favorite, was a steal for the Rams,” they write. As for the Rams’ other Day 2 picks, they write that “Darrell Henderson and Bobby Evans weren’t as favorable as Rapp and Long, but both players still bring a lot to the table.”
On Day 3 they liked the pick of defensive tackle Greg Gaines, writing that “he was one of the best run defenders in college football but flashed some pass-rushing chops at the Senior Bowl, where he had the third-best win rate among interior players in the 1-on-1s.”
Doug Farrar, Touchdown Wire
Farrar gave the Rams a B grade overall. Farrar was a big fan of each of the Rams’ first three picks, writing that “adding Washington safety Taylor Rapp and Michigan cornerback David Long to a defense already full of super-smart and hyper-aggressive defenders doubles down on both attributes. And in Sean McVay’s offense, it’s hard to imagine a better fit than third-round running back Darrell Henderson, who lit up the NCAA last season with an 8.9 yards per carry average.”
A lot of people have pointed out that Gaines could help fill some of the void left by Ndamukong Suh’s departure, and Farrar agrees. He also highlighted third round pick offensive lineman Bobby Evans as someone who plays with a “real nasty streak.”
Mark Maske, Washington Post
Maske also gave the Rams a B. He writes that the Rams did “extremely well” by getting Rapp in the second round. Like many other observers, he considers the drafting of Henderson in the third round to be a sign the Rams are concerned about Todd Gurley’s knee.
Chad Reuter, NFL.com
Reuter gave the Rams a B+ grade overall. Specifically, he gave them a B+ for their moves on Day 2 and an A for Day 3. Reuter liked the Rapp pick, and writes that “I suspect he’ll be a long-term starter once Eric Weddle retires (or if the veteran can’t stay healthy this year).”
Count Reuter as another fan of the Gaines pick, as he too thinks the defensive tackle can offer something on passing downs beyond just his run-stuffing. “Gaines is a top-notch nose who won’t just stand there on pass plays — quarterbacks will know he’s there,” he writes.
The bottom line:
Experts seem to be pretty much united in their belief that the Rams had a very good, if not great draft. Every analyst we tracked that gave out letter grades gave them at least a B. That’s not too shabby considering the Rams went into the draft without a second rounder thanks to the Marcus Peters trade. Snead made some shrewd moves, and overall everyone seems pretty happy with the Rams’ weekend.
BeachBoy
