Friday, April 28, 2006
- The NFL Draft is set to begin tomorrow, but the Rams had a little bit of work to do before they could hunker down in the war room for this weekend.
- Receivers Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald, cornerback DeJuan Groce and defensive end Brandon Green all signed their one-year tender offers from the team this week. That ensures that the restricted free agents will be in the blue and gold come training camp. That group participated in last week's minicamp after signing a waiver that protected them and the team should they get hurt without a signed contract. This is a big year for all of those players, but especially the two receivers and Groce. Green is what he is, a backup end with a good motor who can help out about 12-15 plays a game. But if the rest of the group wants to land a long-term contract, they need to have big years. Curtis, obviously, is the jewel of that group, but keep in mind, he is almost 28. He still has plenty of good football in him, but this is the year to prove that he deserves top receiver money. McDonald is in the same category. Groce is already going to have a tough competition for cornerback jobs in training camp. With the prime possibility of adding a corner somewhere in the draft, Groce will have to compete with the likes of Jerametrius Butler, Travis Fisher,
Ron Bartell, Dwight Anderson, Fakhir Brown and a rookie for a job. It's not going to be easy.
- The Rams brought in defensive tackles Jason Fisk and Grady Jackson for visits this week. It might be a bit surprising that Jackson has lasted on the market so long. But he has not been able to maintain a decent playing weight and has had trouble staying in football shape. At 33 he can still play, but he is no more than a stop gap solution to be a part of a rotation. Fisk is smaller and relies more on fundamentals than size, but he is a bit long in the tooth and hasn't been an impact player for a few years. The Rams' interest in signing at least one of those players is very real. Jackson would seem to be the better fit, but he is going to have to pass a physical and prove he still has some gas in the tank so the Rams don't go through another John Parrella episode.
- Even if the Rams add Jackson or Fisk, it wouldn't dampen their interest in taking a defensive taackle in the draft. It wouldn't even change their minds about considering grabbing one with the 11th pick. The tackle class is pretty deep with talented guys like
Claude Wroten, Kyle Williams, Orien Harris and Rodrique Wright available after the top two of Haloti Ngata and Brodrick Bunkley. The opinions on Ngata are mixed across the board. For me, he has as much talent as anyone in the draft when he wants to play. But his effort is extremely inconsistent and he needs to prove that he wants to be out there as much as possible to be a top tier player. He is a good run stuffer, though, and in that regard would be a nice fit for the Rams. However, I believe Bunkley is the tackle the Rams would prefer if given the option. He is a good run stopper and a much more capable pass rusher than Ngata and can stay on the field for all three downs. Defensive coordinator
Jim Haslett isn't a huge fan of the oversized tackles that just take up space. Bunkley is a good athlete and would be a better fit should he fall to the Rams.
- In looking at mock drafts around the web and in various newspapers, I can't remember a time when the opinions were so varied. This draft seems to have a consensus top five to seven players, but no top five to seven order. The quarterbacks are all over the place and everyone is split on whether New Orleans should go with D'Brickashaw Ferguson or Mario Williams. The draft is a long, long day, but at least it should have some very interesting twists tomorrow.
- I wrote last week that the Rams appear to have more interest in Iowa linebacker Chad Greenway than I was first led to believe. That is still the truth, but I don't know how much interest there is at No. 11. If, say Jay Cutler should fall to No. 11, I think he will get serious consideration from the Rams, but not before they look to move back (Hello, Minnesota?) first. If they did drop into that 17 range, Greenway would become an extremely viable option.
- Players the Rams would absolutely take if available at No.11 (in order of preference): A.J. Hawk, Vernon Davis, Michael Huff. Brodrick Bunkley is probably in that same category and, of course, has the best chance of that group to be there. After that, the decision comes down to Greenway, Manny Lawson,
Tye Hill, Ernie Sims and the late riser Antonio Cromartie.
- That's it for today. Be sure to check in all weekend for complete coverage of the draft and live updates and thoughts on the Rams' selections as they are made. Enjoy the draft everyone.
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