And I have no issues with any of them, well almost any of them.
And I love Edwards and Evans. I won't bore everyone with my full draft recap [
ramsrule.com]
But I will share a little from each guy:
Edwards:
So he is my #5 OT and my #51 player overall, so I obviously over-valued him or the Rams got a steal. Either way, he is a former TE that moved to OT so plenty of upside and is highly athletic for the position, and he comes from Wisc., so while behind the curve, was coached well.
I think he is a perfect fit in a OZS and will need a year and maybe a move to OG is in the cards for him, but I love his upside.
After some time to think about him, and go find some footage of him, I realized most of my notes were from 2017-18 season, and not so much from 2018-19. Thats why I had him graded higher then most (or anyone). The reason being, he was hurt most of last season. I also totally missed his sub 34" arm length. He needs a few things to reach his potential: Get healthy, get in a NFL weight room and get more teaching from a OL coach. But he has the stuff you can't teach and can't build in the weightroom, and that is size and athleticism. His arm length will limit him to OG in the NFL and thats ok. I think 2 years with Kromer could have Edwards pushing for a starting OG spot if he can do enough to stay on the roster until then. He is smart, light on his feet and and has great size for a OZS IL, he just needs time to develop it along with adding some NFL strength. But as we all know in the NFL, you don't get alot of time. I still love the pick, and anyone looking to replace Blythe should pay close attn to him this summer into next year.So there is nothing in my review that says he shouldn't be anything less then a good starter at OG in the NFL. My issue is that he wasn't good enough to solve the OL issues this year. And he won't. Heck, if everyone stayed healthy, he was getting that redshirt year most Rams picks get. Which is fine, but when looking at what went wrong this, Edwards wasn't ready to step in. And some of the 2nd round OL already have on other teams and have performed at a high level. That doesn't mean I don't like the pick, or that anyone drafting OL after round 2 is an idiot or is wrong. You have to get OL in the middle rounds and they have to hit, because there is a salary cap and you just cannot allocate that much cap to one unit.
Heres Evans: (tell me I don't like him)
12. (131) Bobby Evans - OT - Oklahoma - 6'-4" 312 lbs. -A smooth moving, athletic OT with decent power and a good anchor. Run blocking is ahead of his pass blocking. ZBS fit.
So my #12 OT and my number 131 overall prospect.
He was the 12th OT taken (nailed it lol) but I had him in round 4. Although he was #81 on my Rams vertical big board.
From Oldschools "who is your sleeper pick?" post [ramsrule.com]
"Honorable mention - Bobby Evans - OT - Oklahoma - He fits the Rams zone blocking scheme perfectly and can be had on day 3, needs some tech. work and a weight room, but give him a year and you should really have something."
From my mock 3.0:
Bobby Evans - OT - Oklahoma - 6'-4" 312 lbs. -A smooth moving, athletic OT with decent power and a good anchor. Run blocking is ahead of his pass blocking. ZBS fit. - if there was a latter round OT that fit the Rams to a T, its Evans.
From my all underrated team on 3/31 [ramsrule.com]
"OT - Bobby Evans - Oklahoma - A great fit inn a zone blocking scheme, long, athletic and strong. Will need to be developed as far as technique, but where he is being projected, he could be a steal 2 years from now."
So obviously Bobby Evans has been on my mind for a bit as a Rams fan.
I love this pick obviously as i have been all over him. They never had him in or met with him so it came out of right field. All these picks are depth picks with starter upside down the road.
1 month to think: I am more convinced then ever that Evans is your future LT. He is everything you want from a NFL LT. Size, enough length, mobility, an anchor and a mean streak. He played in a stupid offense (and before any Oklahoma fans get all bent, its stupid in the fact that it doesn't prepare you for anything in the NFL. Texas Tech, Auburn and any team that runs a "raid" system also fit, doesn't mean it isn;t highly effective or highly entertaining, they are, and they produce tons of NFL talent) getting back to that system he was in, he is going to have to learn how to block properly in the NFL. And if Kromer is everything the Rams think he is, it will be no problem. I tried so hard to fit Evans in my mock drafts simply because he is such a great fit in the middle of the draft (where the Rams like to draft OL). I would have taken him in front of Sharpring, Pipkins, Howard and Edoga. His power and aggressiveness puts his floor as a plus starter at RG and a ceiling that projects to me as plus starter at LT.Again, there is nothing in any of those write ups that says I don't like the pick. In fact, I'm not sure there is a bigger fan of Evans game and how he fits the Rams then I am. But again, he needed time. I knew this, I predicted this and everything that came out this preseason and being inactive early proves he needed the extra time.
So again, I love the picks of Evans and Edwards. I have no issues at all. But I will not change my opinion that Erik McCoy or Elgton Jenkins or Daulton Risner wouldn't have helped this team THIS YEAR. That was really my point.
ZN will tell you I don't think you can win with 4th and 5th round OL. False, what I am saying is if you are going to have 4th and 5th round OL, you a) better hit on them b) you better be prepared to give them time to develop. Noteboom got a year, and was slowly coming around before he got hit. Allen got all sorts of time and was average at best, and Edwards and Evans needed a year IMO. I really feel going forward that Evans, NB and Edwards should form 3/5 of a good line. Its just going to take time. I will never be sold on Allen and Bythe is done after this year, so thats moot.
I like how the Rams move around to fill holes, and I have zero issues with them drafting Rapp as a player. I just think i would have prioritized an OC/OG first. Thats all I'm saying. It has nothing to do with Rapp or Henderson or Long or how I feel about them.
And for what its worth, I don't think there was anything they could have done in the draft to prepare them for the rapid decline of both Whit and Havs.
Don't waste your time looking back, you're not going that way. - Ragnar Lothbrok
