Will the Rams regret decision to go young?

Will the Rams regret decision to go younger in 2020?

[ramblinfan.com]

Bret Stuter

The 2019 LA Rams were a healthy mix of veterans and youth on the roster. At safety, the Rams began the season with youth and veterans by starting both John Johnson and Eric Weddle. When Johnson fell to a season-ending injury, the team promoted rookie Taylor Rapp. So too did the offense feature the young and energetic young wide receiver Cooper Kupp to compliment the talents of veterans Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks.

The rushing attack was spearheaded by veteran running back Todd Gurley, and augmented by rookie Darrell Henderson and undrafted running back Malcolm Brown. The linebacking corps was bookended by veteran OLBs Clay Matthews and Dante Fowler Jr., while the interior was manned by Bryce Hager and Cory Littleton.

Experience required? Optional!

Even the quarterback room was led by the young Rams quarterback Jared Goff but backed up by NFL veteran Blake Bortles. Throughout the Rams roster, the team had balanced veterans with rookies. Ah, but that was then and this is now.

Eric Weddle retired. Brandin Cooks was traded. Todd Gurley and Clay Matthews were released. And Dante Fowler Jr. and Cory Littleton signed significant contracts to play elsewhere. They are gone. POOF! Vanished. And with them goes their many years of NFL experience. The roster will be reloaded, but not by veterans. The Rams will be fielding rookies in 2020.

New talent with no stage

The Rams’ decision to go younger in 2020 was not simply based on a random spin of a decision wheel. All NFL teams run the ebb and flow of the NFL salary cap, loading up on young talent when their finances are all but spent, and signing younger players to expensive follow-up contracts when the money is available. It’s that choreographed rhythmic reloading of the roster with highly paid veterans that is the make or break two-step of every NFL general manager.

And it’s that need to count the cards, keep an eye on today’s roster while planning for tomorrow that truly distinguishes NFL careers at building a championship team. It’s a high tightwire. Go too heavy on veteran talent, and the team falls perilously from the heights of the NFL playoffs to the NFL has-been pile, all the while left with no funds and no draft picks. But go too young and the team spends more time developing talented players who are more than happy to sign big paychecks elsewhere to compete for an NFL championship.

Full of talent but starving for an opportunity

The LA Rams had the perfect opportunity to dredge the ranks of the 2020 NFL Draft and free agents after the draft as the talent pool for 2020 was incredibly deep. Thanks to imperfect information, the inability to assess medical conditions, and the sheer number of NFL-worthy prospects, many NFL teams set artificially high standards on their draft boards. Many teams shied away from any prospect who was injured in his college career. So too, many teams focused exclusively upon players from major NCAA football schools. That left very talented players who had a college injury and small school players wide open. And the Rams were waiting with contracts after the NFL draft.

A team typically compensates for that by giving undrafted players particular attention, trying to pick out those players who will contribute on the roster in specific roles or as a player who can be developed into something special over time. But COVID-19 has greatly reduced the on-field practices, halved the preseason games, and forced the coaching staff to work at an incredible pace simply to get the team ready for the season.

What flavor? It’s all vanilla anyways

Anyone who was either a child or is the parent of a large family knows not to ask what flavor of ice cream to purchase at the store. Whenever my well-intended father would dare to ask us what flavor ice cream we wanted, the requests would always outnumber the number of children by a two to one margin. His response to this impossible question? “That’s it! We’ll settle for vanilla!” and that was that.

So too the LA Rams prep time for an NFL season has been an extended period of virtual training, followed by a crash course training camp beginning on July 28, 2020. While we are very confident the LA Rams coaching staff is up to the challenge, the limited amount of time and the very nature of streamlining the entire process has significant consequences. In short, there will be limited options for the team to open the season. Limited in that playbooks will be less dense. Playcalling on both offense and defense will be less complex.

Will the LA Rams rewind, renewed, or revisit the Roster?

So who has the inside track for the Rams roster now? Unless an extremely gifted player stands out, the Rams will likely fill roster spots with returning players. For those who are gifted rookies, the team will likely tend to place them onto the practice squad for now. The new collective bargaining agreement has made provisions for a team to reassign a called-up player back to the practice squad without the burdensome process of cutting the player and forcing that player to clear waivers before doing so.

The LA Rams have already baked rookie players into the roster. Running back Cam Akers will likely get the lion’s share of carries. WR Van Jefferson will be involved in offensive rotations. So too will defensive backs Terrell Burgess and perhaps even Jordan Fuller see some defensive snaps. But for the most part, the LA Rams roster is as locked down as commercial businesses. That may or may not be best for the team. And it’s by no means a slight on the talented rookies who may be picking up the Rams playbook with ease. It’s the limited opportunities to demonstrate to coaches that the new players have mastered the playbook is where the concern remains. Life comes at you fast. So too does an NFL season with just three weeks to prepare. Here we go.