LOS ANGELES RAMSRound 2 (52): RB Cam Akers, Florida State
Round 2 (57): WR Van Jefferson, Florida
Round 3 (84): EDGE Terrell Lewis, Alabama
Round 3 (104): S Terrell Burgess, Utah
Round 4 (136): TE Brycen Hopkins, Purdue
Round 6 (199): S Jordan Fuller, Ohio State
Round 7 (234): LB Clay Johnston, Baylor
Round 7 (248): K Sam Sloman, Miami (Ohio)
Round 7 (250): OT Treymayne Anchrum, Clemson
Day 1: The Rams were left without a first-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft after trading their pick as part of the Jalen Ramsey trade last season. Los Angeles went from allowing 6.3 yards per pass play over the first six weeks of the 2019 season (16th) to 5.4 (6th) with Ramsey on the field from Week 7 through the end of the season.
Day 2: A quiet Day 1 turned into a busy Day 2, as the Rams had multiple selections in both Rounds 2 and 3. Cam Akers is used to running behind shaky offensive lines at Florida State, and he’s had some success doing so, as evidenced by his 82.8 rushing grade in 2019. Unfortunately, he’ll be running behind another poor offensive line in Los Angeles. The tools are there for him to be a good runner at the NFL level but we still gave him a fourth-round label, which means the value wasn’t there in the second round with some of the other needs on the Rams’ roster.
Van Jefferson is an older prospect set to turn 24 before the start of the 2020 season, and he does the little things well when it comes to the route-running nuances of the position. However, in four years of significant playing time, he has never put up more than 657 receiving yards. His career-high overall grade came in at just 71.0 in 2019. A prospect on the older side who has that kind of ceiling when it comes to college performance carries some concerns in Round 2.
This was a good spot for Los Angeles to take a chance on Alabama edge defender Terrell Lewis. Injuries significantly hampered Lewis’ playing time with the Crimson Tide — the 2019 season was the first one in which he played more than 200 defensive snaps — but he showed out with 48 pressures across 259 pass-rushing snaps in 2019. The tools are there for him to be a quality pass-rusher, even if there are some consistency and injury concerns.
Burgess was the best pick of the night for the Rams, coming in at pick No. 104 despite being the 57th-ranked player on PFF’s Big Board. Burgess has a versatile skill set with plus coverage skills at safety and in the slot, able to man up on opposing wide receivers and tight ends. He earned a coverage grade of 90.4 last season on over 400 coverage snaps for the Utes.
“Don’t let the glitz and glamour of outside cornerbacks fool you: Covering the slot is one of the most valuable things a player can do, and finding a player like Burgess could pay off in the end.” – PFF senior analyst Steve Palazzolo
Day 3: The Rams continued to put a focus on giving Jared Goff additional weapons on offense, but the selection of Brycen Hopkins is interesting considering that the Rams already have Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee at the tight end position. Nonetheless, it was still a solid value pick in our eyes, as Hopkins was our TE4 and 109th-ranked player overall. His path to success in the NFL will be his speed and ability to get down the football field. The drops (22 on 152 catchable passes in his career) are concerning, but you can’t teach the kind of speed that he has for the position.
Draft Grade: C[
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