My choice as well. He was actually my choice in 2021 when Staley left.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
I believe that is still in place.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Maybe so. Who knows. But even if Higbee comes back in midseason and is the TE2 it wouldn't change my opinion that, with Allen there, I would just go after a veteran blocking TE to add in. I had assumed Hunter Long would be a goner but now, with Higbee hurt, have to think he is at least given opportunity in OTAs and camp to show something and make the roster again.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Robinson made $1.165M in 2023. I'd be willing to pay him up to 3X that to return. So $3.5M. If he can earn more than that elsewhere, good for him.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
I'd leave Avila at LG for the next 10 years. Keep Shelton in 2024- who did solid work- and draft a center in the middle rounds to replace Allen and long-term development. And then potentially draft a center higher (2nd round?) if needed in 2025 or put FA dollars there then.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Hard to project what will happen from a careers standpoint. But if you just look at rookie season production/contributions (and I looked at Pro Football Reference's 'adjusted value' metric) their 2023 class stands pretty far ahead of what most Rams fans consider their best classes- 1983, 1975, 1962, etc.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
I think Davis Allen is going to take some big steps forward in 2024. Higbee will come back midseason. Add a solid veteran who can block to get them through in 12 personnel.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
From hearing Trent Green had been hurt over sports radio in my car driving from Albany to Boston to watching The Tackle from a sports bar in Seattle 5 months later... What a ride that was. Will never get old.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Yeah, I tend to think free agency will be where they target to upgrade the Edge spot opposite Young. But Verse would be a good value at 19. Seeing him pop up as high as 11th or 13th elsewhere. Things can and will change of course.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Seeing how that played out my thought was I would hope the Rams move back 5-7 spots from from 19. And there the guys I'd most want to target (as of January 24th...) are McKinstry, DeJean and yeah possibly Nix. But I wouldn't take a QB at 19.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Without question I keep him for 2024. Give him a 2nd round RFA tender ($4.6M). Is he the long term answer at LT? Maybe not. Probably not? But what he is is a solid piece of the overall unit and a guy that probably has not yet peaked. He has a very good OL coach and I would expect further development from him. Now that said, they might come across a good value at LT in the 1st or 2nd roundby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
If OTC is accurate (and they're usually pretty close): 1st- 19th overall 2nd- 52nd 3rd- 83rd 4th- none 5th- 151st 5th- 152nd 5th- 175th 6th- 189th 6th- 210th 6th- 215th 6th- 216th 7th- noneby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
The vast majority of players signed the first few days of FA end up being contracts teams either regret or that the player never sees the back half of. Rams have some needs and they now have money. But let's not start with the "why aren't the Rams doing anything?!" if/when they don't jump in right away. Plus hopefully a big chunk of their cap dollars go to keeping Jackson (RFA) andby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
They should keep Jackson under the RFA tender (2nd round?) for 2024 regardless. But then they still have the flexibility to draft a LT in the 1st or 2nd rounds if the value presents itself.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Hope they go all the way. Never, ever the 49ers...by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/4bacf2e5-72c2-4b63-ba99-9a9baa7f184aby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
OL as a unit certainly. But ILB > RG in my opinion. Again my hope is to keep both longer term.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Obviously it would be great to have both of them back. But in an either-or scenario I'm extending Jones first for another 4 years. If Dotson does command the projected 4-year/$72M ($18M APY) that would land the Rams a 2025 3rd round pick which they'd be tempted to take. But...if it's just $36M guaranteed that could be feasible- assuming a bigger portion of that is put in 2025 vs. 2024- whileby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Using their career 'Approximate Value' ratings they now have Donald second to only Merlin Olsen in Rams' history. Hard to argue. And if he has another similar season in 2024 he might just be #1 a year from now. Havenstein now ranked 36th in team history and Kupp 39th, BTW.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
You have to- in part- grade rookie classes on a curve. Houston's class has been very good but their two biggest standouts were the 2nd and 3rd overall selections. The Rams' class started at 36 overall and went from there. Not even close. Avila had a better rookie season than Scruggs. Nacua better than Dell. Young better than Horton. Etc. Because they made the right call (after Carolina'sby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
As big a need as it is for the Rams, I'm never in favor of drafting a kicker in the top 150 overall. 2nd half of the 5th round and beyond in my opinion...by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
I agree. A lot of these guys- and Penix is a great example- need time to be coached and developed. That championship game brought up real, real concerns about Penix. He crumbled under pressure, lost all mechanics and decision-making, etc. Now, he will test well when throwing at the combine, his pro day, private workouts, etc. No question. But he screams 2nd (or high 3rd?) round pick to me andby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
I'd give Jackson a 2nd round RFA tender (at $4.6M) to return at LT while still very much keeping their options open to draft a LT as high as the 1st or 2nd rounds. Release Noteboom and Allen (saving $9.9M in cap space). McClendon needs to be developed by Wendell to be able to be the new 6th man- which I think he can be. Keep Shelton in place while drafting a center in the middle rounds.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
I agree. She is the one who had custom made jackets for all 3 girls saying "Detroit Born, LA Raised" and trotted them out on the field for photo ops pre-game. Not saying you boo 5-year olds (but maybe they were booing Kelly?) but she just loves the spotlight. It's annoying.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Don't mess with a good thing. I hope Shelton is back at C and they draft one somewhere in the 3rd-5th rounds.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
For those that played enough snaps to qualify: OG Steve Avila- 34th among 80 OG WR Puka Nacua- 8th among 128 WR DL Kobie Turner- 10th among 130 DL Edge Byron Young- 72nd among 118 EDGE P Ethan Evans- 11th among 33 Pby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
If you remember, at that point in the 2023 Draft there were 7 QBs taken over less than 40 picks in the late 4th/early 5th rounds. I wasn't really high on taking Bennett either. I preferred Haener from Fresno State (who went the pick right before Bennett) and Tune from Houston (who went 11 picks later to Arizona) as a project QB. But the Rams were far from alone in scooping up mid-round QBby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Addressing your biggest weaknesses gives the biggest overall lift. It's Edge and CB for me as the offseason's top 2 priorities. Everything else is a distant 3rd+.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com