Five First Round Mock Drafts: Who Can and Will Drastically Affect the Rams In Round 2

[Bar-bq]

I also liked #5 But no R. Brace Take E. ZIGGY Hood instead. I don't think Rams should pass on better talent just to get a little bigger NT in Brace. Hood is better DT/NT now and in the future than Brace.

I don't like Hood as a Nose Tackle. He's been shooting up some boards lately and I have him at #27 in at least one of the above mocks. I don't think he's a good fit for the Rams sheerly because we already have an undersized NT in Ryan and a NT/UT tweener in Carriker.

Appreciate all of your hard work, Bar-bq; but I am wondering why you don't have a scenario with Jason Smith as a pick of the Rams. Right now I have Curry and Smith in a neck-to-neck race for the number one choice for the Rams, with Smith a little ahead due to the position he plays.
Let me know if ya'll can come up with Scenario 6 with Smith at No.1 and ....

WHAT SAY YE?

I was going with the generic there, just to see what would come up and where. Wherever I put Monroe down, you can basically interchange it for Smith and it would have little bearing on the rest of the draft.

#5 can be thrown in the circular file. Michael Crabtree omitted from the top 35 picks?

Oops...

I voted for 5 because that seems like the only realistic one to me.

1) there is now chance in hell that Lauriniatis drops to us in the 2nd beacuse now that the Patriots (not chiefs) are in front of us they would take Laurinaitis in a heartbeat even if they take Sintim in the 1st because they love improving there front 7 all the time and Teddy Burcchi might be in his final season.

They got Mayo last season and I'd say Sintim can play anywhere in their 3-4. Point taken, though- It will take a lot for Laurinitis to fall. I don't think there's 'No way' it happens, the Patsies could well go after Rodney Harrison's replacement where I have him. 2LBs with their first 2 picks could be seen as excessive.

2) From where i see it Nicks will be gone in the 1st. Also if we do draft a WR this high he better be bigger. nicks is under 6-1.

6'1" is pretty big. Good height for a compliment to Avery, IMO. He may not fall, I have him as high as 17 in one mock, but it's not improbable that he does. Philly going TE knocks them down a peg as far as WR's are concerned and he may well slip through the rest, too.

3) Yea Beatty is really going to get past the Steelers. The Steelers will take Beatty over Unger because Beatty is just better.

The Steeler's don't need an OT, they need help at center and guard.

4)Beatty will not be there!

In your opinion

Nice work, BBQ!

2.....I would be shocked! To have Nicks make it past this year's WR gauntlet (#26-#30) would be amazing. No OT, but who would complain about Curry and Nicks in the 1st 2 picks?

3.....I'd be happy, but a little surprised. Only 5 OTs in the first is not out of the question, but I'm betting against it.

Concur. I think there's too much going the other way for only five OT's to go in round one... but I'd be more than happy with two of the premier playmakers in the draft

I vote for anything with Curry. Because i believe that even if six ot's get drafted in round one, Jamon Meredith is a good option in round two for us.

I think that's a little too high for him, but I can understand the reach.

[bruce4life]

I like scenario 3 but will Beatty be there in round 2 i doubt it.

[tonyray05]

I like #2 also, but it seems more like a dream than reality.

[Bar-bq]

The results are pretty even thus far. It's not entirely surprising, but it goes a long way to showing that we're far from finding a consensus at #35 overall.

What does surprise me is that the leader so far is Scenario 5, which has Detroit taking Jason Smith at the top.

[Bar-bq]

Oh, by the way- this is an open poll, so you can see where everybody has voted.

[Nick]

EDIT: Didn't see this thing had a second page, so forgive me if some of my responses overlap with something already said...


Great work Barbq!! I'm struggling to finish up my post-combine mock, and likely won't until I return from vacation next weekend, but you've managed to come up with five pretty good ones here. That's a lot of hard work!

My personal preference is for Scenario #1 or Scenario #5. In Scenario #1, we address our two biggest needs (OT and MLB) with players who have a good combination of talent and value. What I particularly like about Scenario #5 is that we're committing to getting bigger and better on both lines, which is one of the main goals Billy Devaney set during the offseason. I really am one of those fans who subscribes to the theory about football being won and lost in the trenches.

Regarding Scenario #2, while I love Aaron Curry and Hakeem Nicks as prospects and I think both of those picks individually would be excellent, I really think the Rams need to go OT with one of their first two picks. The odds of us finding a guy in the third round or later who can eventually develop into a very good blind side tackle are just not very good at all, given league trends as to where other starting left tackles are coming from. In Scenario #2, Barron basically becomes our starting left tackle, and my feelings on Alex really aren't a secret at this point.

I really view Scenario #3 as unlikely at this point, because I don't think Beatty lasts until our pick in the second round. So my hang ups on this scenario is simply my skepticism that it actually is possible. I think due to his strong offseason this year, Beatty has kind of played himself out of range for our second round pick. Scenario #4 is similar so I would group these two together.

I do think you make a great point that, if the Rams go OT in the first round, they have a lot of flexibility with that second round pick. The need at MLB is significant, but the Rams could very well find a capable linebacker later in the draft, especially a two-down player who comes off the field situationally. Suddenly the Rams could go DT, DE, WR, CB, etc if they take an OT in round one. But if the Rams go with Curry in the first round, I think the pressure will rise for them to go OT in the second round. I just really question whether the Rams are going to pass on a first or second round OT because Devaney and Spagnuolo, neither of whom were part of this organization when Alex Barron was drafted, truly feel comfortable moving him to the left side when his pro career has been solid yet unspectacular due to his attitude, work ethic, and motivation.

Anyways, great work! Now onto the other comments!

Appreciate all of your hard work, Bar-bq; but I am wondering why you don't have a scenario with Jason Smith as a pick of the Rams. Right now I have Curry and Smith in a neck-to-neck race for the number one choice for the Rams, with Smith a little ahead due to the position he plays.
Let me know if ya'll can come up with Scenario 6 with Smith at No.1 and ....

WHAT SAY YE?

I think it's safe to say that if you want to see a scenario with Jason Smith as the pick, just take any scenario with Eugene Monroe as the pick and swap him with Smith.

Spags keeps talking power running game. Smith is a much better run blocker than E. Monroe.

Wow, I really couldn't disagree with this more.

Neither of these guys are truly elite road-grading run blockers, but IMO Monroe is definitely better in this area. I think he's a better leverage player when it comes to run blocking, and he's far less likely to get pushed around or lose ground to a defender. Combine testing and Smith's position drills at his pro day seem to indicate that his lower body strength is a bit of a concern. Perhaps that's something he improves on, but at this point I think Monroe is more likely to effectively open holes in a power running game. The only area I would give Smith the edge in is his aggressiveness.

Just to give you some supporting opinions as well to extend this beyond my own opinion, SportingNews ranks Monroe a full point above Smith on their ten-point scale (8.5 vs 7.5) in the category of run blocking. The margin between the two in NFL Draft Scout's rankings of their run blocking ability is even larger (Monroe's 7.9 to Smith's 6.5).

2.....I would be shocked! To have Nicks make it past this year's WR gauntlet (#26-#30) would be amazing. No OT, but who would complain about Curry and Nicks in the 1st 2 picks?

Whoever supplies Marc Bulger with his life insurance?

1) there is now chance in hell that Lauriniatis drops to us in the 2nd beacuse now that the Patriots (not chiefs) are in front of us they would take Laurinaitis in a heartbeat even if they take Sintim in the 1st because they love improving there front 7 all the time and Teddy Burcchi might be in his final season.

You're being far to extreme by saying there's no chance that Laurinaitis falls to us. I think there's a solid chance he does, as he hasn't really had a great offseason and there has been a trend in the past few drafts of very productive college linebackers slipping further than many fans think they should.

As for the Patriots, that's a possible destination, sure. But New England just spent two relatively high picks (first and third round) on linebackers last year. In the past decade, they have only drafted three linebackers in the first two rounds. This is a unit that Bill Belichek typically does not devote high resources to when it comes to the draft.

Plus, the Patriots should be in a position to take a first round linebacker if they really want to. If they do, I definitely don't see them coming back and taking one in the second. It simply doesn't fit their draft M.O.

3) Yea Beatty is really going to get past the Steelers. The Steelers will take Beatty over Unger because Beatty is just better.

Your sarcasm would be more effective if there really wasn't a possibility of the Steelers passing on Beatty, but IMO there certainly is.

Pittsburgh gave Max Starks the franchise tag after he started 11 regular season games last season at left tackle. They've said they plan on signing him long-term. Starting right tackle Willie Colon was given the one-year, $2.198 million first-round tender, so they seem to like him where he is. The Steelers could certainly upgrade over Starks at left tackle, but according to Rotoworld, Pittsburgh has paid Starks $15.4M over the last two seasons, which you probably don't do if you aren't relatively pleased with the guy.

Even though Pittsburgh signed starting left guard Chris Kemoeatu to a five-year, $20 million contract, I think they could be in a position to upgrade their interior line. Starting center Justin Hartwig turns 31 this season, which is a contract year. To my knowledge, they have virtually nothing behind him. And based upon how Pittsburgh has let Faneca, Marvel Smith, and Kendall Simmons go over the last two years, they seem to have a pattern of letting older linemen move on rather than pay them. So I wouldn't be surprised if they're in the market for a new center. Additionally, with Simmons having been released, there's a hole at right guard. Previously undrated free agent Darnell Stapleton is penciled in at that spot. So needless to say, they could use an upgrade there. A guy like Alex Mack as their future center or Max Unger as a C/G swingman I think makes a lot of sense for the Steelers.

It's also possible they simply go in a completely different direction, such as addressing their defensive line or their secondary. At nose tackle, Casey Hampton and Chris Hoke are both in their thirties. As are starting defensive ends Aaron Smith and Travis Kirschke. Back-up Orpheus Roye is 36, Brett Keisel is 30. A youth movement on the defensive line wouldn't surprise me. Maybe Pittsburgh looks at a guy like Ron Brace as a potential replacement for Hampton at NT, especially since Hampton is entering a contract year. Maybe they look at a guy like Evander Hood or Tyson Jackson, if they're available, as possible ends in their alignment. The Steelers lost starting cornerback Bryant McFadden to free agency, so they may be inclined to strengthen their secondary with another cornerback. While Jenkins and Davis will likely be gone by then, Pittsburgh may be able to nab one of the second tier guys in Alphonso Smith, DJ Moore, Sean Smith, or Darius Butler.

I don't like Hood as a Nose Tackle. He's been shooting up some boards lately and I have him at #27 in at least one of the above mocks. I don't think he's a good fit for the Rams sheerly because we already have an undersized NT in Ryan and a NT/UT tweener in Carriker.

I think Hood could make sense for two reasons. I don't think Devaney or Spagnuolo are married to Carriker. They weren't here when he was drafted, and they might prefer to bring in someone else they both are crazy about. Maybe that's Hood, maybe it's someone else. The Giants have created a very dangerous defense in part because of the multiple guys on the line capable of doing damage. The Rams don't exactly have much behind Carriker at UT, they have nothing behind Ryan at NT. Drafting Hood could give Devaney a penetrating three-technique of his choosing while creating some depth for a possible DL rotation. It's not the NT many Rams fans may want, but I can see some logic behind the pick.

[Azul e Oro]

Outstanding job, Bar-bq.

I had to go with #1 but #5 is tempting. Only BD's stated priorities make me think #5 is less likely.

[Bar-bq]

Great work Barbq!! I'm struggling to finish up my post-combine mock, and likely won't until I return from vacation next weekend, but you've managed to come up with five pretty good ones here. That's a lot of hard work!

A collective warm and fuzzy thanks to everyone for the kudos. It's Much appreciated

My personal preference is for Scenario #1 or Scenario #5. In Scenario #1, we address our two biggest needs (OT and MLB) with players who have a good combination of talent and value. What I particularly like about Scenario #5 is that we're committing to getting bigger and better on both lines, which is one of the main goals Billy Devaney set during the offseason. I really am one of those fans who subscribes to the theory about football being won and lost in the trenches.

I concur. I think that we'd find a lot of value in Scenaio five if Stafford were to go #1 overall and the top OT's fall like dominoes between us and Detroit at #20.

I really view Scenario #3 as unlikely at this point, because I don't think Beatty lasts until our pick in the second round. So my hang ups on this scenario is simply my skepticism that it actually is possible. I think due to his strong offseason this year, Beatty has kind of played himself out of range for our second round pick. Scenario #4 is similar so I would group these two together.

It's becoming more of a long shot by the day, but stranger things have happened. It would be a small miracle if this transpired.

I do think you make a great point that, if the Rams go OT in the first round, they have a lot of flexibility with that second round pick. The need at MLB is significant, but the Rams could very well find a capable linebacker later in the draft, especially a two-down player who comes off the field situationally. Suddenly the Rams could go DT, DE, WR, CB, etc if they take an OT in round one. But if the Rams go with Curry in the first round, I think the pressure will rise for them to go OT in the second round. I just really question whether the Rams are going to pass on a first or second round OT because Devaney and Spagnuolo, neither of whom were part of this organization when Alex Barron was drafted, truly feel comfortable moving him to the left side when his pro career has been solid yet unspectacular due to his attitude, work ethic, and motivation.

Right, right. I'm moving more and more toward the OT's each day as my favored pick for this exact reason. I don't think that boxing yourself in is something you really want to do in the NFL Draft. If taking player 'a' will likely cause you to base your whole draft strategy around compensating for it, then why put your eggs in one basket? This, of course, is assuming that there isn't that great of a discrepancy between Curry and Monroe/Smith in the eyes of the scouts.

[Nick]

It's becoming more of a long shot by the day, but stranger things have happened. It would be a small miracle if this transpired.

Of course, now that we've all said we don't expect him to be there, watch - not only will he slide to that spot, but we'll not pick him. This year's Ryan Kalil scenario!

[smitheRAM]

My vote none of the above. Nice effort and work on the post. I would pick Raji in rd1 and Loadholt RT in rd2. This is the beef we need for stopping and establishing the run. WR, LB and RB in rd3, 4, 5.

[39thebeast]

First of all excellent work!!

I went with scenario 1, Detroit worries me a little because they know MLB is a huge need on the other hand they could adress other needs and go MLB later because they have 2 outsatnding OLBs in Simms and Peterson

[#39 Fan]

Greetings all! This is my first day on this site and it looks great! I voted for mock # 5 because I am a big proponent of line play. I would like Smith but Monroe has his advocates and Brace could work well in the DT rotation.
I look forward to spending a lot of time here before the draft and until we kick off this season

Welcome aboard!

[chancelandusa]

I went with #5 start at ground zero o-line d-line lets start in the trenches bust some noses kick some tail LETS GO RAMS Attitude is everything