Sounds like Jim Thomas expects Quick & Givens to start at WR for Rams

[Nick]

Late picks aid offense, Fisher says
BY JIM THOMAS
Sunday, April 29, 2012 12:50 am

There will be no Justin Blackmon, Michael Floyd, or even A.J. Jenkins catching passes for the Rams next season. But with the additions of Brian Quick in the second round on Friday and Chris Givens in the fourth round on Saturday, Jeff Fisher believes the Rams have helped quarterback Sam Bradford.

"Yeah, there’s no doubt," Fisher said, following the conclusion of his first draft as Rams head coach. "With their unique abilities – one guy can really, really run and make the home-run play, and then Brian’s ability just as a complete receiver – we think we’ve clearly helped him."

"Of course, you can’t discount what somebody like Isaiah (Pead) is going to be able to do out of the backfield in a change-up role. So we felt like we helped him."

Givens, from Wake Forest, was the first of five players selected by the Rams on Saturday, Day 3 of the NFL draft. The team also picked up offensive guard Rokevious "Rock" Watkins of South Carolina in Round 5, place-kicker Greg Zuerlein of Missouri Western State in Round 6, and Hawaii linebacker Aaron Brown and Abilene Christian running back Daryl Richardson in Round 7.

In theory Givens gives the Rams the deep threat to stretch defenses and run by cornerbacks. He was one of the faster players at the NFL scouting combine, running the 40 in 4.39 seconds. At Wake Forest, Givens broke the school’s single-season record for receiving yards with 1,330 yards (on 83 catches) in 2011.

The previous school mark was set by former Rams wideout Ricky Proehl, who had 1,053 receiving yards for the Demon Deacons in 1989. Givens knows Proehl pretty well and said Proehl jokingly wasn’t happy about having his record broken.

"He was a little salty about it at first, but we’re pretty close and he was just proud of how hard I worked," Givens said. "He had nothing but good things to say about me."

A native of Jackson, Miss., Givens played his high school ball in Wylie, Texas, before heading to Wake Forest. He led the team in receiving yards all three seasons at Wake, and averaged 16.0 yards per catch last season.

"This guy plays very, very fast," Rams general manager Les Snead said. "That’s just going to give us a dimension. He’ll be one of our fastest receivers on our team, so that’s just going to open things up for everybody."

Givens is considered a good route runner, at least by college standards, and can get separation with his quickness and separation ability. He’s not known for making catches over the middle. But the Rams don’t figure to send him over the middle too often. They’ve got plenty of people on the roster to run short and intermediate routes.

So the post-draft overview of the Rams’ offense in 2012 looks something like this:

Quick, at 6-3½, 222 pounds, gives Bradford a big target, with big-play potential. Givens provides the deep threat. And Danny Amendola does his thing working the slot and the middle of the field. Steven Jackson remains the workhorse in the backfield with his big-back combination of speed and power. And then Pead will spell Jackson providing a scatback’s change-of-pace at 5-10, 197 pounds.

Battling for playing time behind Quick, Givens, and Amendola will be Steve Smith, Greg Salas, Danario Alexander, and Brandon Gibson. (And Austin Pettis, who’s suspended for the first two games of 2012.) The key, obviously, is how quickly Quick and Givens can make the transition to the NFL level.

Beyond wide receiver, two big question marks remain in the wake of the draft. For one, do the Rams have enough at linebacker? And secondly, who is the starting left guard?

The Rams entered the weekend with only four linebackers on their roster. When the draft ended, they had only five, and the fifth – Hawaii’s Aaron Brown – wasn’t added until the seventh round.

"He’s an explosive player," Fisher said. "Runs well, tackles well, tough guy. I mean, real tough guy. That’s the kind of guy that you think has a chance to fill in at a linebacker spot. Worst-case scenario where we’re picking, he’s sounds like a premier special teams fit."

But right now, the only sure starters are James Laurinaitis in the middle and Jo-Lonn Dunbar on the outside.

"Not concerned," Fisher said. "We’ve got options. We’ve got options in the pro free-agent market as well."

In addition, Fisher said second-year pro Josh Hull has had a good offseason so far.

When all is said and done, look for several undrafted linebackers to be signed as rookie free agents to the roster. As of Saturday evening, at least three such linebackers had agreed to terms with the Rams: Sammy Brown of Houston, Noah Keller of Ohio, and Alex Hoffman-Ellis of Washington State.

In trading down from No. 45 overall to No. 50 overall Friday to pick up a fifth-round pick, the Rams were hoping either linebacker Bobby Wagner of Utah State or running back Pead would be there at 50. Wagner didn’t make it; Pead did. A little later in the Round 2, the Rams also considered trying to trade up for Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David, who ultimately went to Tampa Bay at No. 58 overall.

As for left guard, the Rams’ only attempt in the draft to address the position didn’t come until the fifth round with Watkins. He’s a wide-body at 6-4, 338, and will be thrown into a mix that includes returning squad member Bryan Mattison, and free-agent pickups Quinn Ojinnaka and Robert Turner.

[r8rh8rmike]

But right now, the only sure starters are James Laurinaitis in the middle and Jo-Lonn Dunbar on the outside.

"Not concerned," Fisher said. "We’ve got options. We’ve got options in the pro free-agent market as well."

OLB was my biggest concern coming out of the draft, but if Fisher isn't concerned, I've got to believe he has a plan. He didn't get where he is by leaving his teams vulnerable.

[general counsel]

My biggest concerns right now are the health of smith and saffold and the guard situation> Weapons wont help sammy if he is getting killed. Linebacker, we will muddle by this year, that isnt going to make or break us, but to be successful, we need a developing sammy, not a guy flat on his ass.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[RAMarkable]

Good article, thanks for posting it Nick. OBTW Greg Salas is going to beat out Amendola and claim the slot position for years to come.

Danny will go back to returning punts.

WHAT SAY YE?

[bruce4life]

Danny boy has proven he can be a dependable poor mans we'd welker in this league... Plus he's SAMs Security check down ..

[Trevor]

Can't wait for training camp.

[THOLTFAN81]

Danny will go back to returning punts.

WHAT SAY YE?

No offense whatsoever to Danny, but with the additions of Pead and Jenkins, I would cry at the thought of a less explosive, less fast Amendola returning punts over either of them.

[HUbison]

No offense whatsoever to Danny, but with the additions of Pead and Jenkins, I would cry at the thought of a less explosive, less fast Amendola returning punts over either of them.

Agreed. As well, I don't want our top slot target (there's no way Salas starts over Amendola, unless he's not fully recovered) being hit on special teams.

[berg8309]

Givens is considered a good route runner, at least by college standards, and can get separation with his quickness and separation ability

I chuckled at the statement that he can get separation with his separation ability. It sounded like something out of a bad comic. It's like saying "He can run fast with his run fast ability".

[tomahawk247]

Maybe they just had to point out to Rams fans that the ability to separate does actually exist, because Rams fans haven't seen it for a while

[RebelYell]

JMO but Quick isn't likely to provide a lot in 2012 as he develops. He's a major contributor in 2013, 2014 and beyond. Givens is a more likely provider of yards in 2012.

The Rams got what they needed. Speed. Speed. More Speed. Givens, Quick and Pead will open things up for Amendola, Kendricks and Salas underneath.

[bruce4life]

I think everyone is vastly undervaluing Steve smith on this team. I know health is obviously the biggest question mark to his production but one cannot not deny if healthy smith can rack up 70balls for 1100 and 7 tds

[RebelYell]

I think everyone is vastly undervaluing Steve smith on this team. I know health is obviously the biggest question mark to his production but one cannot not deny if healthy smith can rack up 70balls for 1100 and 7 tds

Since he's had more than 60 receptions and 600 yards only once in his career, I think you may be over estimating his value. If Smith is still on the roster after Pettis comes back, I'll be shocked. No signing bonus, no guaranteed money.

[Richbert88]

Gilyard.......Burton......

Just wanted to throw those names out there.

Isn't it nice to be having this discussion and using names like Quick, Givens, Salas, Pettis and Amendola instead.

We've come a long way baby!

(This is presented as part truth, and part sad truth).