Jason Smith is Superior

[Tony Soprano]

.

I've seen two NFL O-lineman on TV recently (one is Mark Schlereth/ESPN) saying that Jason Smith is Superior to all the other candidates at that position. Schlereth reviewed his college play and stated that Jason Smith is better than last year's number 1 pick, Jake Long.

It caught my eye because these are NFL O-linemen.

.

[RamsSB99]

I want Curry but if we went OT I would prefer Smith. Higher upside, less injury risk IMO, stronger, and in better shape.

[39thebeast]

Better than Jake Long!!!!!!!!! Shananigans!!! Jake Long gave up 1 career sack compared to Smith's 4.5. Jake Long was dominant run blocker much more nasty and stronger. He may not be the athlete, but he still was a better pass blocker. Also you can't say a guy who was in a 2 point stance 80% of the time and just started playing tackle is better than Jake Long who actually played in a 3 point stance. Jake Long is a rookie pro bowler... Jason Smith has the upside to become a Pro bowler, but straight outta Baylor he isn't. If he gets picked I hope he proves me wrong, but i'm a Monroe fan through and through.

[txramsfan]

I like Monroe also. He fits what the Rams are going to, a running game. Monroe comes from a pro style offense while Smith is coming from the spread.

[rNemesis]

Why cant we just draft Curry and get an OT like Beatty in the second

[mde8352gorams]

My understanding of the love for Smith is that he has a better burst off the line than Monroe which I suppose is a more appealing quality for O-linemen. He is also more athletic, which explains the initial burst. Having said this, I'm beginning to think Monroe will be a better candidate at the outset, but Smith may have more upside on the long-term, which is what most experts say. Either way, I'll be pleased that we're strengthening our OL.

I don't think Beatty will last to the second round.

Go Rams!

[Goldenfleece]

Pretend that you could put a number on these guys and this was going to be what percentile they'd rank among NFL linemen:

Player A is an 85 +/-5%
Player B is an 87 +/-20%

Now I'm just throwing those numbers out there, but would you take the guy that you expect to be somewhere in the range of 81-89 or the guy who is expected to be anywhere from 74-100? That seems to be the dilemma.

Monroe was a top prospect coming out of high school. He went to a school that has turned out excellent offensive line prospects in recent years and played better than at least one guy who is doing well in the league already. He's well-rounded, technically sound. The only real knock on him seems to be the lack of aggression, but you could certainly argue that very thing is what drives players to make the jump from being very good to great.

Smith on the other hand has the aggression and desire to succeed. He wasn't highly recruited. He didn't come from a top program or even a pro style offense. Playing in a two point stance, he would have been in better position to set up in pass protection but worse position to explode forward to drive block. So it's kind of hard to evaluate exactly how he rates as a drive blocker. You can't say he's better than Jake Long, but it also wouldn't be fair to say he was worse because they were playing under different conditions. It just means there are more "known unknowns".

[JimmyG37]

In comparing Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe, I am in a way reminded of the Rams draft from 2005. That was the draft in which the Rams took Alex Barron, after speculation leading up to the draft was that Barron was the top OT available, though the Saint took Jammal Brown ahead of Barron.

If there are similarities between the two drafts, I would say that as potential draftees, Jason Smith would be more like Barron, and Eugene Monroe would be more like Jammal Brown. At the time, Brown was considered to be more polished, but Barron had the supposedly higher ceiling. I'd say that the same could be said about Smith and Monroe this year, in that Monroe is more polished, but Smith is said to have the higher ceiling.

Going back to 2005, most of the mocks had the Rams taking Brown, with Barron going earlier. The opposite happened with Brown going to the Saints a couple picks ahead of Barron. Brown has since gone to 2 Pro-Bowls, while Barron has been somewhat oft-maligned.

The key question in this comparison essentially comes down to the drive of the two players. Does Smith have whatever Barron was missing, and for that matter is Monroe like Barron in that aspect?

Obviously we're talking about two OT's in the Top 5 overall pick area, as opposed to the two OT's in the 10-20 range like we were in 2005, but there are some similarities to be noticed.

All in all, I'd be happy with either Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe. I'd also be thrilled with Aaron Curry, but I think that LB is probably a position at which more quality can be found in the 2nd round and later. If we want a good OT, we might have only the 1st round to take one. Just look at last year. Some people thought we could possibly get a good tackle at our 2nd round pick, but then a run of OT's went from the mid to late 1st round, therefore depleting the pool of them.

[39thebeast]

In comparing Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe, I am in a way reminded of the Rams draft from 2005. That was the draft in which the Rams took Alex Barron, after speculation leading up to the draft was that Barron was the top OT available, though the Saint took Jammal Brown ahead of Barron.

If there are similarities between the two drafts, I would say that as potential draftees, Jason Smith would be more like Barron, and Eugene Monroe would be more like Jammal Brown. At the time, Brown was considered to be more polished, but Barron had the supposedly higher ceiling. I'd say that the same could be said about Smith and Monroe this year, in that Monroe is more polished, but Smith is said to have the higher ceiling.

Going back to 2005, most of the mocks had the Rams taking Brown, with Barron going earlier. The opposite happened with Brown going to the Saints a couple picks ahead of Barron. Brown has since gone to 2 Pro-Bowls, while Barron has been somewhat oft-maligned.

The key question in this comparison essentially comes down to the drive of the two players. Does Smith have whatever Barron was missing, and for that matter is Monroe like Barron in that aspect?

Obviously we're talking about two OT's in the Top 5 overall pick area, as opposed to the two OT's in the 10-20 range like we were in 2005, but there are some similarities to be noticed.

All in all, I'd be happy with either Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe. I'd also be thrilled with Aaron Curry, but I think that LB is probably a position at which more quality can be found in the 2nd round and later. If we want a good OT, we might have only the 1st round to take one. Just look at last year. Some people thought we could possibly get a good tackle at our 2nd round pick, but then a run of OT's went from the mid to late 1st round, therefore depleting the pool of them.

great analysis here, you make some good points. One thing I will say about Smith is he does the intangibles Barron doesn't and he will be more successful because of that

[txramsfan]

What intangibles are you talking about? I mean, I live 60 miles from Waco and may have seen him play twice. I'm not saying he doesn't have them, I'm just curious as to what those intangibles are. He has good feet, but so does Barron.

[Bald_81]

What intangibles are you talking about? I mean, I live 60 miles from Waco and may have seen him play twice. I'm not saying he doesn't have them, I'm just curious as to what those intangibles are. He has good feet, but so does Barron.

Intangibles have nothing to do with skill. It's all mental and what you are born with aka non-coachable's. Smith has the work ethic, drive and passion for the game we haven't seen from Barron in his entire tenure as a Ram. The intangibles are what allow QBs like Tom Brady and Brett Favre to conjure up game-winning drives in the clutch where other QBs would fail. THOSE are intangibles. It has nothing to do with skill-set.

[HUbison]

What intangibles are you talking about? I mean, I live 60 miles from Waco and may have seen him play twice. I'm not saying he doesn't have them, I'm just curious as to what those intangibles are. He has good feet, but so does Barron.

I would assume "intangibles" in this case means Smith's tendency to "finish" the block moreso than Monroe. That is to say, Smith has more of the killer instinct.

Oddly enough, if the comparison was to be made, I would match Smith more with the physical style of Brown. And the little more lax mindset in Monroe and Barron.

Having said that, ultimately I don't think there's a comparison at all. In the case of Barron, we took a guy who just never had his heart in it. Still doesn't.

I believe Monroe or Smith either one will be a much more accomplished pro than Barron at the end of the day (or even near the beginning of the day for that matter).

[shower beers]

Pretend that you could put a number on these guys and this was going to be what percentile they'd rank among NFL linemen:

Player A is an 85 +/-5%
Player B is an 87 +/-20%

Now I'm just throwing those numbers out there, but would you take the guy that you expect to be somewhere in the range of 81-89 or the guy who is expected to be anywhere from 74-100? That seems to be the dilemma.

Monroe was a top prospect coming out of high school. He went to a school that has turned out excellent offensive line prospects in recent years and played better than at least one guy who is doing well in the league already. He's well-rounded, technically sound. The only real knock on him seems to be the lack of aggression, but you could certainly argue that very thing is what drives players to make the jump from being very good to great.

Smith on the other hand has the aggression and desire to succeed. He wasn't highly recruited. He didn't come from a top program or even a pro style offense. Playing in a two point stance, he would have been in better position to set up in pass protection but worse position to explode forward to drive block. So it's kind of hard to evaluate exactly how he rates as a drive blocker. You can't say he's better than Jake Long, but it also wouldn't be fair to say he was worse because they were playing under different conditions. It just means there are more "known unknowns".

Good post, and I agree with the points. I would have given you rep, but alas, I must spread it around.

[Tony Soprano]

One thing I will say about Smith is he does the intangibles Barron doesn't and he will be more successful because of that

Exactly. Smith is a Hard worker. He is very motivated.






.

[Tony Soprano]

I would assume "intangibles" in this case means Smith's tendency to "finish" the block moreso than Monroe. That is to say, Smith has more of the killer instinct.

Oddly enough, if the comparison was to be made, I would match Smith more with the physical style of Brown. And the little more lax mindset in Monroe and Barron.

Having said that, ultimately I don't think there's a comparison at all. In the case of Barron, we took a guy who just never had his heart in it. Still doesn't.

I believe Monroe or Smith either one will be a much more accomplished pro than Barron at the end of the day (or even near the beginning of the day for that matter).

That's an even Better Post.

What makes Joe Thomas and Jake Long so successful? Footwork.

Smith has some of that Ballet in him. Finding OT's that move like this guy is uncommon.

,