McShay: Rams interested in moving up to pick #9 to get Julio Jones

[richtree]

ESPN's Todd McShay said on SportsCenter Friday that he's heard rumblings around the league that the Rams are angling to trade up for the No. 9 overall pick in the draft.


The point would be to move ahead of the Redskins, whom everyone now seems to think will draft Alabama WR Julio Jones. The Rams, of course, would love Jones to add an explosive, big-play element to their offense. Frankly, we're not buying it in the least. The price to move from No. 14 to No. 9 would be at least a 2011 third-round pick, and St. Louis has one of the NFL's weakest rosters. That third-rounder they'd be giving up would probably be a Week 1 starter. They're hardly Julio Jones away from being an NFC contender.

[AvengerRam]

Thanks for the report, richtree (I modified the title of the thread a bit to identify the source and make it clear that this has not yet happened).

Taking the report at face value, the part I don't get is why the Rams wouldn't simply deal with Washington directly. The Redskins need more picks, and a trade of Rams first/third for Redskins first is even on the trade value chart.

I also don't entirely agree with the commentary. First, I don't think the Rams have "one of the NFL's weakest rosters," nor can it be presumed that at third rounder would be a "week 1 starter."

I'm really on the fence here. Giving up a third to get Jones is a calculated risk. If he ends up being an elite WR, nobody will care about the third round pick given up.

[tomahawk247]

Rumblings? Thats a strong basis to be reporting something McShay!

I like the idea of getting Jones, but giving up that third rounder with the holes we have may be too much

[richtree]

Well, If I had to give up last years 3rd rounder (Jerome Murphy) for a pick swap I may consider it because of the ability to address the need in Free Agency.

If it was for a 2012 3rd Rounder, I would say yes immidetaly., -- wouldn't U ?

[richtree]

PS == that commentary was from rotoworld writer.

[AvengerRam]

PS == that commentary was from rotoworld writer.

Ah, that makes sense (I assumed it was some blogger's, and not yours )

[tomahawk247]

The only issue I have with the third rounder is that we could use that to grab a position of need, such as Guard, back up RB or OLB.

The other issue is that since Free Agency is going to be after the draft (if it happens) it means that teams do not know what holes they have left to fill when they go into the draft.

Do we fill as many holes as we can through the draft in case we can't do so during free agency, or do we just draft as normal and fill the holes we do have with whatever free agents we could get. It's annoying, because by now the Rams could have already signed one of the better free agent WRs available (Sydney Rice, Santonio Holmes) so they wouldn't be as desperate to draft Jones

[shower beers]

Taking the report at face value, the part I don't get is why the Rams wouldn't simply deal with Washington directly. The Redskins need more picks, and a trade of Rams first/third for Redskins first is even on the trade value chart.

I also don't entirely agree with the commentary. First, I don't think the Rams have "one of the NFL's weakest rosters," nor can it be presumed that at third rounder would be a "week 1 starter."

I'm really on the fence here. Giving up a third to get Jones is a calculated risk. If he ends up being an elite WR, nobody will care about the third round pick given up.

Agree with you about Washington. The only snag being that the other guys on their board are gone and they really want Jones themselves. Perhaps they're thinking of that, if these rumblings are indeed true.

To the second point: to be fair, even if we don't have the "weakest roster" it could certainly be argued that we're near the bottom, and the potential for a third round pick to be a starter is higher because of it.

Personally, I don't feel we should trade up. Even if the third round pick is not a starter, he would absolutely provide depth, something that we need across a lot of areas. We're not out of rebuilding mode yet, and as Rotoworld commented, we're definitely not a Julio Jones away from making a deep playoff run.

For every Jerome Murphy (who has been unfairly lumped into a poor pick this early, I feel) there is a Brad Fletcher, who coaches feel will be the best corner on the team. We need every chance for a hit we can get right now.

[richtree]

One thing to consider is that if Washington really wants Jake Locker -- if they traded to our pick, it would be a much more acceptable choice for them in the media then taking Locker at Pick #10 -- which most think is a reach...

If Washington would deal that may have the most benefit for both teams....

[AvengerRam]

If the Rams were to make a deal like this, I'd hope they would try very hard to trade back up into the third round. I wouldn't worry too much about giving up 4th/5th round picks. I we could get Jones and 2 more starters in this draft, that would be more than acceptable to me.

The biggest problem with this report of "rumblings" is that it is total BS. Someone is speculating and, while the speculation may prove accurate, no talks have started. Trades like this don't happen until draft day. The reason? Pretty simple. If the Rams were to trade today for the 9th pick, and Washington really wanted Jones, they'd trade to No. 7 or 8.

All I know is I'll be paying close attention once Jones gets passed Cleveland at #6.

[C-Mob 71]

I would be ecstatic, sure you can definitely get a "starter" in the third round, but I would much rather have an elite wide receiver to pair with Bradford than a third round quality starter.

The Cowboys definitely seem like a good trading partner, but it all depends on if Julio is still there at number 9, and if JJ isn't unreasonable.

I'd rather trade our 4th and 5th for 5 spots up, haven't consulted the ol trade value charts, but it doesn't seem like too big of a stretch.

[richtree]

I think if we get Julio Jones, a Servicable run block guard, and a backup RB for SJax that clearly puts us ahead of Arizona and SF offensively.

The big problem comes in Round 2 -- Lets say we get Julio Jones in Round 1 --- then in Round 2 you may have to pass on a starting Guard to get a defensive player even if the Guard you target is there.....

[MauiRam]

If the Rams truly believe Julio Jones is a surefire homerun guy (good character, good downfield blocker, let alone speed, size and hands), they may well decide to move up. However, given all the current roster needs, it seems unlikely right now, but a lot can happen between now and the draft. We didn't need to trade up to get Sam Bradford fortunately, but judging from what we've seen so far, it appears he would have been worth it. Does Billy D. see Jones as capable of being the next Jerry Rice? On the other hand he might rate Aldon Smith (or another D-line guy) equally with Jones, and have a wr they like in round two. We'll not find out for sure until draft day.

Given the current impasse between ownership and players, free agency may not be resolved until after the draft, which likely will cause many teams to go with the "bird in the hand" philosophy in the draft, as free agency will probably remain a big questionmark until after the draft .. So do the Rams wait for a guy like Sydney Rice, and hope he'll still be available after a labor deal gets done? Or instead move up and grab Jones?

[Goldenfleece]

Another angle to look at here is that if Dallas likes Julio but doesn't really need him, they might be willing to give us a soft deal on moving up to keep him out of the clutches of their division rival Redskins. Screw Washington, get a 3rd rounder and then possibly take the same defensive lineman you wanted at #9. Doesn't sound like a bad deal.

[shower beers]

Per Rotoworld, Houston Chronicle:


John McClain of the Houston Chronicle hears the Redskins are "trying like crazy" to trade up for one of this year's elite quarterbacks.
Unless the Skins offer most, if not all, of their 2012 draft class (picks from which will be severely devalued because no one even knows if there will be a 2012 draft), we have a hard time believing Mike Shanahan can execute a trade up. They don't have a third- or fourth-round pick this year. McClain believes that the Redskins are targeting Missouri's Blaine Gabbert.


So here's some more nonsense.