Originally Posted by
Nick
Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I'll try to respond to everyone's questions or comments. :)
Thanks for the comments! I feel pretty good about this one, at least as good as you can feel about a mock in January before offseason events and free agency.
Jordan really intrigues me because of his versatility. It's easy to pigeon hold him into a 3-4 OLB role, and while his pass rushing ability is great, this is a guy who also lined up in the slot to cover inside receivers. I really think Fisher could find a lot of great ways to use him, and he's so versatile that he wouldn't have to be pulled off the field very much.
You could be right about Cooper, but I think he could fit either system. Kiper refers to him on his big board as a "complete guard," and I tend to agree. I'm very intrigued by his abilities in pass protection, and I think in an NFL strength program, he could get stronger and improve in the power run game. I think he's better value at that point than either of the receivers or tight ends, at this point.
It's not a projection that we've seen much of, but I wanted to do something that was realistic (IMO) for all teams, and the more I looked at team needs and thought about how I valued these players, the more I thought a team like Tennessee, with possibly a big need at OG, would snatch up Warmack. With both Fisher and Warmack off the board, it created an interesting opportunity to really look at some other needs for the Rams and choose among the best remaining players, which I suspect Fisher and Snead will do anyways.
Jordan, IMO, becomes a jack of all trades on defense. If you're an opposing OC, you never know what he's going to do because he's shown the ability to do it all. He's a tool for any occasion, and I think this defensive staff could really find some interesting ways to use him. Some may not believe this, but I think @ 22, Cooper becomes one of the best values on the board, at least at this point in the process. Could change after workouts and whatnot, but it seemed like a good fit to me.
Jordan is a better value than Vaccaro, IMO. I wouldn't be surprised if Jordan cracks the Top 10.
Yeah, I figured Jordan would cause some head scratching. But I don't think he's merely a 3-4 OLB. He's more versatile than that. We're talking about a guy who not only rushed the passer at Oregon, but who lined up with his hand off the dirt as a traditional linebacker as well as covered inside receivers in the slot! The key word is VERSATILE! Fisher's defense is aggressive enough where he can still make good use out of Jordan's pass rushing skills, but can also develop his other attributes to make him a very complete package at the position.
And to me, if you draft a guy like Jordan, then Dunbar becomes your situational linebacker. Which makes some sense, because he was one of the worst 4-3 linebackers in the league according to PFF when ranked by coverage skills. Again, according to PFF, opposing players caught 84.1% of passes thrown at them when Dunbar was covering them, fifth worst in the league for 4-3 OLB among those who played at least 25% of their defense's snaps. The standard NFL QB rating when throwing into Dunbar's coverage area? 112, fourth worst in the league at his position. Dunbar is solid rushing the passer, but I bet you can get equal if not more pass rush production from Jordan combined with better efficiency in coverage.
You're probably right, but we don't know yet if Albert stays. It's possible he's ready to test the market, and the Chiefs have a choice to make on the franchise tag between Albert and Bowe (or neither). A quarterback would be great, but if they end up having a massive hole at LT, the value (at this point in the process) supports that pick. It wouldn't surprise me at all, however, if by March, there's a QB who has risen to be in contention here. Seems like it happens every year, and it wasn't long ago that I was mocking Smith to the Chiefs.
One thing that I would LOVE to see but probably will never happen is for the Chiefs to resign Albert but line him up at left guard, where Ryan Lilja is retiring and Jeff Allen is awful. Then draft Joeckel first overall, and you've suddenly got a stellar left side of the line. There are going to be quarterbacks available in the second round of this draft, unless there's a bigger run on them in the first than I anticipate right now, so they could come back and grab one there. But Albert wants to be paid like a blindside tackle, so you'd have to play him there for the cost probably. Just a thought.
To me, and I always preface these things by saying it's at this point in the time in the process because rankings and grades are fluid in the months leading up to the draft, but I rank Cooper higher than Lane Johnson, Matt Elam, or Tyler Eifert. Combine that with guard being such a big need, and the pick makes sense for me.
Thanks for the additional explanation of how the Jordan pick could work, too! You made some awesome points.
See my response to RAMarkable: if you draft Jordan @ 16, he's not a part time player. He's versatile enough to be used in multiple ways in multiple packages. Dunbar becomes the part time player, because despite all the good he did in 2012, coverage was not one of those things.
Also, I love Warmack as a prospect too, but as you've argued for a while, we need to improve this line, and there's more than one guy who can do it. Shelley Smith and Chris Williams, who didn't even crack the PFF Top 100 offensive guards this season, are no reason to pass on the next best player after Warmack. And as someone who views Cooper as being better value (at this point in the process [not to sound repetitive]) than Williams or the tight ends, I don't see a reason to bypass him for them.
For those who aren't sold on Cooper, here's a quote from NFLDC's Scott Wright for you to chew on. He projected Cooper to the Colts @ 24, ahead of both tight ends and Terrence Williams (who wasn't in his latest first round projection): "Cooper isn’t going to physically manhandle opponents but he is super athletic with excellent mobility and carries a consensus first round grade which is not that far off from Alabama’s Chance Warmack."
Very true. We need to consider the possibility that Hayes tests the market and gets signed to another team due to his production here. If that happens, the Rams will definitely need someone else to help supplement the pass rush. But again, Jordan can do more than that.
You're right, I generally do tend to view guys as either/or when it comes to scheme. But I feel about Jordan the same way you did about Jones for a while - he's versatile and athletic enough to work in either scheme. I'm intrigued at the different ways Fisher could use this guy, he's just so athletic. I believe he started his career at Oregon as a tight end.
I think that's a pretty good list for the Rams' next targets in the second round. I did not save the list I had of remaining prospects, but I imagine Elam would be high on it, and there are still some solid receivers left on the board if we want to add another weapon for Sam. Some good offensive tackles would still be left if anyone is concerned about the right side, too.
