Av's 2012 Mock Offseason (First Rough Draft)

[AvengerRam]

Here is my first effort at a Mock Offseason that fills several spots with what I believe to be realistic signings/selections:

Free Agents

Dwayne Bowe (WR)
I think Stan Kroenke will wish to make a splash in FA, much as he did in the coaching market, and Bowe is a perfect target. He's young (27) and productive (1,000+ yards receiving in 3 of last 4 seasons). In my mind, this would be a better use of FA money than a guy like Brandon Lloyd, who is 30.

Courtland Finnegan (CB)
He's abrasive, nasty and a ball-hawk. Sounds good to me. I don't think there's any question that he'd welcome playing for Jeff Fisher again, and he seems like a Gregg Williams kind of player. Teaming him with a (hopefully 100%) Ron Bartell would give the Rams a solid starting CB tandem.

Jason Jones (DT)
Another Titan on many Ram fans' radar screens is Jones, who is a young player with some upside. I think the Rams can squeeze another year out of Fred Robbins if he can stay healthy, but Jones could provide the interior pass rush that the Rams lacked last year.

Draft (First Five Picks - No Trades)

Note: I won't project trades in this or any other mock. Way too speculative.

Round 1: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
To me, this is the clear choice. Could you imagine Sam Bradford having Blackmon and Bowe to throw to (a "Killer Bs" passing attack?). Sounds pretty good, huh?

Round 2: Keleche Osemele, RT/OG, Iowa State
This pick is predicated on the idea that Jason Smith (who, as I understand it, would clear only $2.5M in cap space if cut) will restructure his contract and stick around for another year. If that happens, drafting Osemele would give the Rams options, as both he and Smith could potentially play either OG or RT. And, yes... I do still believe that Rodger Saffold can be the starting LT.

Round 3: Doug Martin, RB, Boise State
You have to love those bowling-ball style runners. Short, thick, compact guys who bounce off tacklers like a pinball. Marshall Faulk had that type of build. And while Martin is no Faulk, he could provide the 1-2 punch at RB with SJax that Fisher and Schottenheimer favor.

Round 4: Sean Spence, OLB, Miami
My hope here is that Spence's height (5'11) will cause enough scouts to ignore his performance (106 tackles, 14 TFL, 3 sacks) and allow him to drop to Round 4. The Rams have not had an OLB with his range in a long time.

Round 6: Tydreke Powell, DT, North Carolina
Powell is a plugger. Nothing spectacular, but a guy who started a lot of games and made a lot of tackles in his career at UNC. The fact that guys playing next to him (Quinn, Couples) have been or will be premium picks may say something about his ability to occupy blockers.

Footnote: If Brandon Lloyd is not signed, the Rams may receive a compensatory selection in the mid-rounds. If that were to happen, I'd probably look for some CB depth.

[THOLTFAN81]

Nice Mock Av. Love the signings and the draft picks.

Bowe and Blackmon....We'd go from worst unit to top 10 easily.

[KCRamFan]

I really like this mock. I just have a hard time thinking that Bowe is going to get out of KC. I know they have both Carr and Bowe as two big FAs this year so one might get away. I think in the end, they will probably get a contract done with one and possibly franchise the other. Their level of WR talent drops off pretty badly after Bowe.

If they did franchise Bowe and were interested in moving up to #2 and using him as trade bait, then I would definately listen to the offer. However, we wouldn't be in a position to draft Blackmon along side him then.

[sosa39rams]

If this happened, I'd be thrilled. I think we could do a better job filling at OLB, but Spence has nice potential. The typical "you're too small too be good or productive". I just dont see how we could afford to sign both Bowe and Finnegan, top players in their respective positions.

[AvengerRam]

If we restructure Smith and let go of some dead weight, we should have enough cap room to make a run at both players.

Heck, if it meant getting Bowe, even Bradford might agree to restructure.

[sosa39rams]

If we restructure Smith and let go of some dead weight, we should have enough cap room to make a run at both players.

Heck, if it meant getting Bowe, even Bradford might agree to restructure.

Thats true. Re-structuring Smith, and possibly Bradford, and possibly even cutting Jason Brown could save us a lot. I was just curious where all the money was coming from.

I'd love it though. Finnegan is sick and pairing him with Bartell and Fletcher, we'd have an amazing DB corps. Not to mention Bowe + Blackmon, thats just scary.

[mde8352gorams]

Nice mock and I would be quite pleased if we get these players. The reality is that we are likely to be making trades for our pick in round 1 which should yield added picks, plus according to Adam Scheffler this AM on ESPN (Colin Cowherd's program) suggested we could very possibly trade our 2nd round pick as its the #1 pick of day 2, again adding picks. Not that this is a newsflash, but this is an incredibly important draft for us and we have the chance to really upgrade our roster. Speaking of which, while I like the Osemele selection, I'm starting to like Kevin Zeitler, OG, Wisconsin a lot based on what he's shown in Senior Bowl practices and what I've read about his nastiness and mauling style of play.

Once again, good mock and I'm sure there will be several more before late April.

Go Rams!

[39thebeast]

We only have 10 mil in cap space, cutting Smith gets you 2.5mil its going to take more than that to get 2 premier players at their position and Jason Jones. I see Bowe being franchised anyway

Mocks solid, I would like to see more venter help because Jason Brown is a scrub

[AvengerRam]

We only have 10 mil in cap space, cutting Smith gets you 2.5mil its going to take more than that to get 2 premier players at their position and Jason Jones. I see Bowe being franchised anyway

There are other players who could be released or restructured to clear cap space, so there really is no point in "counting" the money at this point. Whether Bowe gets franchised or not remains to be seen. Don't forget that the Chiefs drafted a WR in the first round last year, so they may feel like they have a Plan B in place if Bowe is seeking more than they wish to pay.

Mocks solid, I would like to see more venter help because Jason Brown is a scrub

Jason Brown is not a scrub. The guy had a rough year, in part due to personal tragedy, but he has played at a high level before. While I have no problem requiring that he earn the right to start again, I do not view him as a guy you just cut ties with at this point.

[sb2sb2sb]

If that happens, I would not be at alll dissapointed. Quite the opposite and very excited actually. I think we still won't be addressing the OLB situation well, but great upgrades all along the way.

[BarronWade]

Awesome MOCK!

The Bowe pick up is really good Stan needs to make a play bowe would be a huge addition...however i really doubt jason jones hits FA

Even if Smith comes back we just cannot keep him at Tackle...last year we were better with Dahl at RT than smith...the only capacity i see is LG or back-up Olineman

Just one bit a criticism we absolutely must address the run D early in the draft or a high priced free agent...we need a run stopping DT or a sure tackling OLB; our tackling and overall run D was atrocious...even with jones we are going to need another DT to plug up those huge holes every RB had vs. the rams

[TylerBishop]

You cut Brown he has not performed up to his contract for years, same with Bell.

Bowe would be great, but he will likely be franchised till KC can see if Baldwin develops and takes the next step.

Williams won't want Jones, he is way too small. He loves big fatty DT's that are cloggers. He likes edge rushers at end and sloppy stuffers in the middle. I know why people think we would be in the Jones marker, but I actually think it's highly unlikely.

I really think we will get Finnegan, and I think its a great move.

I like the mock a lot. I think Osemele can play day 1, and obviously most of us are sold on Blackmon. Martin, Spence, and Powell are all real possibilities in those slots, and would be great additions. Not one that I really don't like.

I think this team will cut a lot of guys based on what I've heard from Williams, and what you can assiume from what we saw from our Offense last season.

I think our starting O-line will include Wragge, Saffold, and Dahl w/ our recieving and RB core looking like a completely different team.

On defense I would bet we let some guys go in the secondary that will cause many on this forum to do a double-take. I also think that Laurenitus may be the only linebacker we bring back as well. Same goes for DT, I see a complete makeover.

^ This isn't necessarily my take, but rather, what I percieve to be the upcoming reality.

[Fortuninerhater]

Free Agents: Like Finnegan and Jones. Bowe.......not so much.

Had both Bowe and Colston on my fantasy team this year which allowed me to really focus on their play week in and week out. Having done that, I'd have to say Marques Colston was by far the better receiver.

Of course, a lot of their production was predicated on the QBs throwing to them, and obviously Colston had a huge advantage there. But for most of the second half of the season, Dwayne Bowe wasn't even the clear-cut number target on his team.

He disappeared in as many games as he was effective. Particularly in the second half.

I realize the QB issues KC had had a lot to do with it, but just judging them head to head, Colston IMO, would be a better signing.

Colston has better hands, and is a much bigger target, making him an ideal red-zone option. Speed is a wash because neither of them is going to run away from anybody unless they are already out in front.

Of the draft picks, I like Blackmon and Martin. I will have to take your word for the other three, because I have never seen them play.

[Goldenfleece]

Finnegan and Blackmon are the two guys I'd most like to see us land this off-season. Cortland might have a bad rep, but he's still one of the best defensive players available in free agency, plays a position that was a huge weakness for us last year, and has the connection with the coach.

I'm not sure about Jason Jones. For the right price? Sure, but in what role do we envision him? At 275 lbs, he's about as light as defensive tackles come in the NFL. Maybe you use him as a defensive end who slides inside in obvious passing situations, but that doesn't do much to help our bottom five run defense.

[AvengerRam]

Jones played at 276 last year because the Titans had him line up mostly at DE. From what I've read, many believe he's a more effective player at DT. Given that he's 6'5, I'm thinking he could comfortably add 10-15 pounds.

Agree on the "right price" comment, though.