Ask the DraftNICK! (Version 1.0)

[snowbozo21]

yea! , I knew there was a good reason he was in my mock I think he is a good prospect to back up steven, he has decent speed I would say 4.5, and he isn't small either around 6 feet 200 pounds.

[snowbozo21]

Nick, you know how I love Jarvis Moss, so I was on nfldraftcountdown.com and they had the steelers at 15 picking him up. Is it possible that we trade down a little bit to get Moss? Or is he just really overrated and doesn't belong that high?

[chiguy]

Cornish's speed is the big question. I think he's probably faster than most think since he had better offers in track than football coming out of high school, but putting on the weight for football could've slowed him down quite a bit. He's a good special teams player too.

[Nick]

Nick, you know how I love Jarvis Moss, so I was on nfldraftcountdown.com and they had the steelers at 15 picking him up. Is it possible that we trade down a little bit to get Moss? Or is he just really overrated and doesn't belong that high?

I currently have Moss projected 17th in the latest mock draft I'm doing, which should be up soon. I think at this point he's in a competition with Charles Johnson to be the 4th defensive end off the board, with Adams, Anderson, and Carriker likely going ahead of them, though Carriker isn't a guarantee.

Depending on how both Moss and Johnson work out, we may not have to trade down to get good value with either of them. I know a few mocks by rather reputable people that have projected Charles Johnson to us at 13 already.

[AvengerRam]

Nick,

As I noted in my last Rams' mock, I think UTEP's Johnnie Lee Higgins would be a great fit for the Rams at WR/KR/PR. I had them taking him in Round 3, but the more I read, the more I think that if the Rams want him, they'll have to take him in Round 2 (which I'd only do if the Rams fill some defensive voids in FA first).

Where do you see him coming off the board, particularly if he, as expected, runs a 4.40 or better?

[81~BIG-GAME]

Lawrence Timmons IMO would be a good fit for us and would really upgrade our LB group.But with teams having more room on their salary cap this year do you think we will be able to get thru FA a good DE(note many are being tagged)or a tackle with the ability to penetrate or do ypu think we will need to do this thru the draft? If we can't get an up-grade on the line from FA then I would be surprised if we took a LB with our 1st pick.IMO the BPA should be selected..:l

[Nick]

Nick,

As I noted in my last Rams' mock, I think UTEP's Johnnie Lee Higgins would be a great fit for the Rams at WR/KR/PR. I had them taking him in Round 3, but the more I read, the more I think that if the Rams want him, they'll have to take him in Round 2 (which I'd only do if the Rams fill some defensive voids in FA first).

Where do you see him coming off the board, particularly if he, as expected, runs a 4.40 or better?

I really could see him coming off the board anywhere from the mid second to the mid third depending on what he runs. Some people view him as a second day draft pick but it would be hard to argue with a sub 4.4 time. In my three round projection I've got him going in round three to Minnesota. IMO, for us to take a wide receiver in round two, either one of higher value would have to slip and be too good to pass up or, as you said, we would have really had to address our defensive needs i free agency. While I think we'd get a good player in either the first two rounds, I think it would be difficult for the Rams to make that move if they still had significant defensive issues to address.

Lawrence Timmons IMO would be a good fit for us and would really upgrade our LB group.But with teams having more room on their salary cap this year do you think we will be able to get thru FA a good DE(note many are being tagged)or a tackle with the ability to penetrate or do ypu think we will need to do this thru the draft? If we can't get an up-grade on the line from FA then I would be surprised if we took a LB with our 1st pick.IMO the BPA should be selected..:l

I'm fairly confident that we come out of free agency with at least some new personnel on the defensive line. Worst case scenario, we should at least be able to sign a pass rush specialist to rotate with Adeyanju @ RDE. Regardless we will probably want to address at least one if not both positions (DT & DE) on the draft regardless of free agency simply because depth is an issue for us as well.

[general counsel]

nick, you have sighted potential value issues with willis at 13 pending his combine performance. please tell us what you mean by that.I am not being critical, its just that i dont know these guys nearly as well as you do. Everyone describes willis as having a great senior bowl and being a tackling machine. Is he too small, lousy in coverage etc? Is he a pure middle guy (which raises the issue of whether we want to move spoon) or has he played outside and inside.

ramming speed to you and yours

general counsel

[Nick]

nick, you have sighted potential value issues with willis at 13 pending his combine performance. please tell us what you mean by that.I am not being critical, its just that i dont know these guys nearly as well as you do. Everyone describes willis as having a great senior bowl and being a tackling machine. Is he too small, lousy in coverage etc? Is he a pure middle guy (which raises the issue of whether we want to move spoon) or has he played outside and inside.

I touched upon it in this thread so that might answer your questions.

[Dr. Defense]

Nick I have a question for you. With all these recent taggings of defensive stars that the Rams may have possibly pursued how does that change our FA approach? How does it affect the rest of the league? And with all these star players coming off the board does it open up the possibility of franchising Curtis and pay him the big bucks and just focus on defense for day 1?

[jim]

What is the deal with with so many wanting a DT that weighs 330lbs or more? I do not understand the "space eater" thing. Could you explain from a football point? I get the part where a SLB needs to be bigger than a WLB due to his responsibilites (taking on the tight end and bigger blockers etc.) but where does hugeness fit in for a tackle? If the Bears for example, had two Tommie Harris would they not play them both at the same time? Or would they be trying to draft a Gilbert Brown? When we talk about this draft is Branch rated so much higher because even if he is not a better football player he wears a larger uniform? Just trying to get this. Thanks.

[chiguy]

Curtis is not worthy of a franchise tag. Those would be dollars poorly spent.

[81~BIG-GAME]

Curtis is not worthy of a franchise tag. Those would be dollars poorly spent.

100% agree,you don't pay your 3rd WR $7.6m a year.It makes no sense at all, we have far to many needs to be wasting money..:l

[general counsel]

i agree 100% that curtis isnt worth that kind of money, even as a #2. the problem of course is that while we have many needs, there arent a lot of players available on which to spend money to fill those needs. As more guys get tagged, our options are being dramatically reduced.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[Dominator]

What is the deal with with so many wanting a DT that weighs 330lbs or more? I do not understand the "space eater" thing. Could you explain from a football point? I get the part where a SLB needs to be bigger than a WLB due to his responsibilites (taking on the tight end and bigger blockers etc.) but where does hugeness fit in for a tackle? If the Bears for example, had two Tommie Harris would they not play them both at the same time? Or would they be trying to draft a Gilbert Brown? When we talk about this draft is Branch rated so much higher because even if he is not a better football player he wears a larger uniform? Just trying to get this. Thanks.

IIRC, your space eater is supposed to be a 2 gap player. Jets run a Belichick 3-4 now and are searching for the huge dudes to play NT. They even want oversized DEs to two gap. The DL isn't really supposed to penetrate, but to take on the blockers leaving the LBs free. The cover 2 usually has an NT (Jets used Jason Ferguson successfully) to "space eat" then a 3-technique DT (Sapp is the prototype 3tech DT). I think it used to be cheaper because linemen that can't penetrate are way cheaper and with the LBs free it's easier to pass rush by scheme and disguise things. Trouble is, not many of those huge guys can actually play.