Draft Satisfaction???

[The Optimistic Lamb]

How satisfied are you with this draft?

I for one am very satisfied and would like to be the first to announce the rebirth of the "Greatest Show on Turf"

Bradford + Saffold + Gilyard = "Greatest Show on Turf"

YouTube - Sports Science: Mardy Gilyard

[RockinRam]

How satisfied are you with this draft?

I for one am very satisfied and would like to be the first to announce the rebirth of the "Greatest Show on Turf"

I wouldn't quite call it that yet.


If, our draft looked like:

Round 2: Rob Gronkowski
Round 3: Damian Williams
Round 4: Mardy Gilyard
Round 5: Johnathan Dwyer



Then maybe there would have been a rebirth. But right now, we're still trying to get more solidified.

[The Optimistic Lamb]

I'm not saying we're superbowl caliber, I'm saying I'm starting to see an intricate, yet explosive offense taking shape.

[C-Mob 71]

What's the first thing you do when build a house?

Lay the foundation.

Well ladies and gentleman, the foundation has been laid. Only place to go now is up

[dave626]

I like what we did on the defense. Murphy a physical CB who could be a starter for us if he earns it. All the DE projects surely Spags had his hand in that and seeing what he makes of them will be interesting. I like Selvie and hope he can get it together.

The offense looks better now with another starter on the O line picked up.Bradford will be glad I'm sure as will SJ. A good WR the more the merrier. I think we should have grabbed a RB since we passed on Parker.His experience would have helped Bradford imo.
I know nothing about the TEs, we should have grabbed Harbor why we didnt I dont know.

GO RAMS!!!

[Aussie Dave]

wow, optimistic.. you really live up to your name!

[unorthodox1999]

Im satisfied they didnt go the route I WANTED them to go..The draft was disciplined and stayed on a best player/best value pattern..Im excited for next year, cant wait to see Murphy & Gilyard on the field...

[Rambunctious]

I don't think we are going to be explosive this year but I really like what we did.

Every offensive pick up tells me (admittedly I'm not that bright) that we are going to look more like the Jets of last year.

Run, run, run and occasionally let Braford get his feet wet.

One of the reasons I like the Gilyard pick is his precision in running routes. This will give Bradford a chance to drop and throw quickly without much thinking.

I know we are West Coast but I don't think we will see it in full swing until next year.

[MauiRam]

How satisfied are you with this draft?

I for one am very satisfied and would like to be the first to announce the rebirth of the "Greatest Show on Turf"

I feel cheated that we didn't get the big ole fat sloppy DT Billy D. promised ..

Love the Saffold, Murphy and Gilyard picks! Selvie could surprise..

[The Optimistic Lamb]

Selvie could surprise..

I think Selvie is just the kind of player with immense potential Spags likes to polish up and stick into a rotation. Especially a player with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.

[rams_man13]

At the risk of sounding like a negative hater, this is my opinion:

1. Sam Bradford, QB, B+, Had to do it, but I still preferred Suh and have some questions about Bradford. I do think if his shoulder holds up, he'll be a franchise guy, just below the elite level.

33. Roger Saffold, RT, B+, Not what I expected to do, but the pick makes sense as we work to best protect our hefty first round investment. Gives us young bookend tackles and turns the o-line into a strength of the team.

65. Jerome Murphy, CB, B-, CB is the strength of our defense, we need a lot of things, but CB isn't necessarily one of them especially if we can get some pass rush. This pick could have been better spent elsewhere, but Murphy is a big physical corner and a good fit for our scheme. I can live with this.

99. Mardy Gilyard, WR, C-, We have 4 other WR's on the roster essentially exactly like him without the return ability (which can be found much later). He does have play making ability, but I think a lot of our WR's might. I would have less of an issue with this pick if Everson Griffen wasn't on the board.

132. Michael Hoomanawanui, TE, D-, Strictly a blocking TE which is not what we need to run the WCO. He's also a major injury risk and his career upside is a TE2.

149. Hall Davis, DE, D, A former basketball player who is very raw and needs a lot of coaching. Spags will be able to coach him, but he's many years away.

170. Fendi Onobun, TE, D, Another former basketball player (I thought we were drafting a football team) who is also very raw with only 2 career receptions. This is going to require a major time commitment and effort to turn him into a roster player.

189. Eugene Sims, DE, D, A 235 pound, 6'6 end, wth? He'll need to add MAJOR bulk before we can even consider him for this roster.

211. Marquis Johnson, CB, D, Another CB? I don't even thinks this guy fits our scheme.

226. George Selvie, DE, C, Well, this guy isn't a project, but has limited upside... we just can't win at DE.

254. Josh Hull, MLB, B+, I think this kid will be a great back-up from LB U and should be a good special teamer.

As you can see, I'm not all that happy with this draft. I'd give us a C on the whole. I was alright after the first two days, but day 3 really annoyed me, I only really liked our last pick. Here's how I would have done it if I was on the clock on the 3rd day:

99. Everson Griffen, DE, A, A high upside beast who will be amazingly productive if he remains motivated. 273 pounds, 4.59, great value and a huge need. SIGN ME UP for this instant starter in the 4th.

132. Cam Thomas, DT, B, Big, sloppy guy in the middle. A great run stopper and would free up Everson Griffen and Chris Long.

149. Austen Lane, DE, B, I really like the kids upside and he's be nice to rotate in at the weakest spot on our defense. He'd require some coaching, but I think he'll develop into an excellent end.

170. Anothony McCoy, TE, C+, The best all around TE left, but not a big fan of his, still better than both guys we got. Drug test failed, but not a big deal to me in the 6th.

189. Trindon Holliday, RS, C+, A little high for my liking, but has some explosive talent at the KR and PR slot. He can also be used as an occasional offensive weapon/distraction.

211. Dekota Watson, OLB, B+, I like this kid and think he could come in and compete for a starting job with our terrible LB corps. He would at the least provide some very solid depth.

226. Conner, Kavell, OLB, B-, Similar size, but an opposite type of LB to Watson, less fast, more tough and hard nosed. Should back up at the other OLB position and might play special teams.

254. Josh Hull, MLB, B+, So, we get 3 back-up LB's, competition to the starters and special teamers, one at each position in the last three rounds.

Undrafted pick ups: Donovan Warren, Denario Alexander, Scott Long, Joquie Bell, Tony Washington, Brandon Carter, Ciron Black, Brandon Lang, Vince Oghobaase

This would have been an A draft from me.

[The Optimistic Lamb]

A couple things wrong:

-Gilyard is awesome. He can stretch the field. And yes he compares to players already on our roster, probably why we got him. So what? Devaney has a plan, and so far he hasn't picked a bad WR.

-Onobun was a basketball player, so was Gates, so was Gonzalez. Yah the guy is a project but we picked him because of his potential. He's absolutely huge and could probably out run half the guys on our roster, and could probably jump over the other half. Not to mention he probably has better hand to eye coordination than most. Let's wait and see before we judge.

-Selvie has huge potential. I don't know where you're getting this from. He was a 1st or 2nd rnd pick in 2007. Then he had a 2yr slump. Maybe Spags thinks he can polish Selvie up.

-As for your favorites, I think they're very closed minded:
D. Alexander is in extremely bad shape
C. Thomas doesn't fit Spag's profile at all, he's just one dimensional and has little talent besides his size
E. Griffen has attitude issues and the Rams weren't the only team to pass
T. Holiday is way small and the rams already experimented with track stars (Trung Canidate)
D. Watson has some cheating issues in school, coincidentally he bulked up 15lbs for the combine, then was able to loose the 15lbs for his pro day... interesting huh? look it up.

-I agree with you about Austen Lane though.

[berg8309]

with this.
99. Everson Griffen, DE, A, A high upside beast who will be amazingly productive if he remains motivated. 273 pounds, 4.59, great value and a huge need. SIGN ME UP for this instant starter in the 4th.

Big if it seems like. I think you are focusing on the name + media hype and not the player. Claude Wroten with 1st round talent and no desire worked out well.

Pass on every and all guys who are just going through the motions, no matter how talented. I am sick of watching guys in any sport with talent who don't care enough to use it, keep them off my team. I'd rather have a guy who tries.

Undrafted pick ups: Donovan Warren, Denario Alexander, Scott Long, Joquie Bell, Tony Washington, Brandon Carter, Ciron Black, Brandon Lang, Vince Oghobaase

This would have been an A draft from me.

Bernie M tweeted that Alexander can't pass a physical. Also, about a billion guys were signed with an hour of the draft, including a guy who punched another player and had to be restrained. Alexander wasn't. I think the kid has talent, but I also think Rams fans are getting too caught up on him because he is from Mizzou. His knees may never allow him to play in the NFL which is sad, but I am not terribly upset about not signing him.

Finally, I find it ridiculous you grade the draft down based upon rounds 4-7 and undrafted free agents. Really, those rounds will make or break a class? If Bradford, Saffold and Murphy work out, this draft is an A even if no one else becomes a starter. However, I don't really believe in giving a draft a grade until 3 years later.

P.S. as far Johnson not fitting our scheme, I saw a quote from Spags that said he fit our scheme which is why he was picked. Just thought I'd throw it out there if you hadn't seen it yet.

[berg8309]

A couple things wrong:
Gilyard is awesome. He can stretch the field. And yes he compares to players already on our roster, probably why we got him. So what? Devaney has a plan, and so far he hasn't picked a bad WR.

I always had the impression that Gilyard was better for short to intermediate routes, not stretching the field, and then picking up YAC. He's supposed to be "quick but not fast". I understand he needs to polish his routes, but I've always thought he looked like a kid who could become an excellent route runner on the short posts, slants, hooks, etc.

Also just to pick on your Griffen comment about other teams passing on him, only one less team passed on Gilyard. I don't want a guy with bad work ethic, so no thanks to Griffen, just pointing out that argument can be used on other players as well.

[richtree]

I always had the impression that Gilyard was better for short to intermediate routes, not stretching the field, and then picking up YAC. He's supposed to be "quick but not fast". I understand he needs to polish his routes, but I've always thought he looked like a kid who could become an excellent route runner on the short posts, slants, hooks, etc.

Also just to pick on your Griffen comment about other teams passing on him, only one less team passed on Gilyard. I don't want a guy with bad work ethic, so no thanks to Griffen, just pointing out that argument can be used on other players as well.

Overall I am happy with the draft. I can't give it an A grade because we weren't agressive on the filling out the roster the way SF and Seattle were.

I say we had a solid B or B- as a draft. Our biggest risk was Round 2. This kid better be a starter on the OL day 1 and for many years.

We passed on many skill players to go OLine again. Gilyard isn't bad for 4th round based on the special team skills he brings.

I think we should have added a Carlton Mitchell or another Running Back late. I like our TE's drafted.

Overall I think we got a couple steals in Gilyard, Selvie and a few others.

We really ignored DT and OLB ......

If you look at Seattle and SF they addressed some issues via free-agency and trade that allowed them to fill out more needs.

I am not too worried about a RB2 because we have a strong OLine and some weapons for Bradford, but I am worried that if JL goes down with an injury that we don't have a LB core with any speed...

Hopefully one of the DE's we picked can maybe workout at outside LB as well.

So, in summary this is what we need for this draft to be successful:

1. Bradford -- be a solid starting QB for us
2. Saffold -- solid starter on the OLine for 4 + years
3. Murphy -- bring some physical nature to our secondary
4. Gilyard -- bring out return game to top 10 return game
5. Hooman --block like a beast
6. Davis -- this was Spags choice - very controversial pick -- he must play
7. Fendi -- poor man's Graham - 1 year project behind Fells
8. Sims -- rotate thru the line -- provide depth / rush down DE
9. Johnson - fill in where Justin King should have
10. Selvie - steal of late rounds show Pierre-Paul needed him too
11. Hull - make team and provide LB depth (big need for us)


I didn't see any free agents so we did ok, but didn't get any "atheltes on offesive" other that Gilyard and a reach with Graham....

Bradford needs to be special ....

-rt