Rockin's Pre-Combine Mock Draft

[RockinRam]

This is just a quickie mock, so I did not include a free agent section.


One major event: We trade our 1st round to Tampa Bay in return for their 1st, 2nd, and 4th round pick.



Round 1: Sam Bradford [6'4, 225lbs.] Oklahoma (QB) *VIA Trade*

Analysis: Bradford has all the tools to succeed and dominate in the NFL, and he has tremendous potential. New regimes mean new quarterbacks. Bradford will be the new face of our franchise.




Round 2: Jermaine Gresham [6'6, 260lbs.] Oklahoma (TE)

Analysis: We finally get the big, endzone target we've desperately needed for quite some time. Has played with Bradford too, so there is already some timing between them.




Round 2: Brandon Ghee [6'0, 190lbs.] Wake Forest (CB) *VIA Trade*

Analysis: A very instinctive and physical corner. Has very good speed, and is a good athlete. Takes quick cuts, solid in both man and zone, and is a confident player.




Round 3: A.J Edds [6'4, 245lbs.] Iowa (SLB)

Analysis: Blessed with great size. Is a pure strongside linebacker, and should complement Laurinaitis very well. Solid tackler and has improved his coverage vastly this season.





Round 4: Jared Veldheer [6'9, 325lbs.] Hillsdale (OT)

Analysis: His frame is similar to Johnathan Ogden, Jared Gaither, and Sebastian Vollmer. Very massive size, and should become our starter at RT.




Round 4: Austen Lane [6'6, 267lbs.] Murray State (DE) *VIA Trade*

Analysis: Good athlete, very disruptive. A powerful tackler, and he is a pass-rushing machine. Needs to improve run stopping though.




Round 5: Rico McCoy [6'1, 220lbs.] Tennessee (WLB)

Analysis: A very rangy linebacker, and is very, very fast. Should complete our linebacker trio alongside Laurinaitis and Edds. Has the speed to cover sideline to sideline, but needs to add some bulk to his frame.




Round 5: Vince Oghobaase [6'6, 305lbs.] Duke (DT) *VIA Trade* (From Eagles)

Analysis: Should be a good addition to our DT rotation. Had a pretty good junior season last year, but missed several games due to injuries and has hurt his stats and stock. Has good agility, and smarts for the game.




Round 6: Andrew Quarless [6'5, 252lbs.] Penn State (TE)

Analysis: Could become our 2nd TE. Great athlete, and great pass catching TE. The reason why he is projected so low is because of a history of getting in trouble, but he has not been in trouble for a while. He's maybe cleaned up.


Round 7: Brandon Carter [6'7, 350lbs.] Texas Tech (OG)

Analysis: Scary guy. Great depth for the O-line, and could figure into the mix for the starting RG spot.

Round 7: James Starks [6'2, 211lbs.] Buffalo (RB) *VIA Trade* (From Atlanta)

Analysis: Had a solid junior season last year, but missed this entire year due to a shoulder injury. Should complement Jackson and Ogbonaya well.

[01d 0rd3r]

Re: Rockin's Pre-Combine Mock Draft

I like it, not my optimal draft, but i would not be disappointed if this happened. The Brandon
Carter pick is not good for me. I think he is just another Incognito. What about that DE that tore his ACL at the senior bowl, I would rather take a chance on him.

[Bar-bq]

Re: Rockin's Pre-Combine Mock Draft

What did we trade for an extra second round pick?

Can't say I'm a great fan of this one, Rockin. I understand the Franchise QB rule and I'm okay if that's where you want to take our first pick, but I can't fathom not spending one (if not both) of our next two picks on defensive linemen.

[BarronWade]

Re: Rockin's Pre-Combine Mock Draft

FINALLY A MOCK WITHOUT SUH OR WEATHERSPOON!!!

Im starting to consider getting Bradford over suh even if we dont trade down because last year we got Smith our franchise LT the next step is a franchise QB.

I love the Gresham pick but i dont know if he will last till the 2nd.

nice pick with Mcghee but i perfer Devin Mccourty. I went to Rutgers too (there are 3 rutgers in NJ i did not go to the same one as Mccourty but my bachelors still says rutgers lol)

Edds is fine but he wont play SLB. Vabora did a solid job last year and if continues to improve he can hold that spot down. But Edds can play WLB.

Dont know much about Veldheer he is from D-II.

Austen Lane is great pick i have him in my mocks too lol

McCoy good depth at linebacker

Oghobasse is not needed we have depth at DT: AC,Ryan,Gibson,Scott all have starting experience and Scott was decent down the stretch

Quarless is also not needed i think Dan Fells is a fine 2nd TE

the rest are fine



Great mock!!


But we are getting a DE in free agency right?

[sntlouisrams]

Re: Rockin's Pre-Combine Mock Draft

If I was going to do this trade stuff (not sure about Bradford's shoulder) agree that the rams have passed up on alot of franchise qbs but I would go with Clausen. So as you have a TE in the 2nd I would take Golden Tate as well to give you a solid wr that clausen knows and then I feel we would have a balanced offence. A solid RB a rookie qb in clausen, franchise LT in smith (hoping), good wideouts with D.Avery, Golden Tate. IF the rams use a running game as main weapon as they have said clausen might find some big play to avery and tate

[RockinRam]

Re: Rockin's Pre-Combine Mock Draft

What did we trade for an extra second round pick?

Can't say I'm a great fan of this one, Rockin. I understand the Franchise QB rule and I'm okay if that's where you want to take our first pick, but I can't fathom not spending one (if not both) of our next two picks on defensive linemen.

What I am hoping for is for us to get a DE through the FA, and let Austen Lane develop. Lane is a highly underrated player, and should be dominant in a year or two. He's a great pass rusher that should hold his own on the right side, allowing Chris Long to switch to the left side, allowing him to max out his talent.


The reason why I went with TE and CB in round 2 instead of D-Line is because with a rookie QB, it is vital that early in their career, they have some sort of success. That means that they need some good targets to throw to. Drafting Jermaine Gresham would allow Bradford to be reunited with one of his favorite targets in college, and Gresham would vastly improve our offense, directly and indirectly.

And Brandon Ghee instead of a D-Line is because we are very weak in our secondary. We basically only have Bartell as our only proven corner, and even then, when teams want to pick on Bartell, they do it fairly easily. Now it might be just me, but I think we need to improve our cornerback corps. With Fletcher coming back next year, and Bartell getting more healthy, all we need is to have a solid starter opposite of Bartell, so Fletcher can shutdown the slot. Our corps with Bartell, Ghee and Fletcher, with Justin King and maybe Wade backing them up, I would be confident in them.



Our DT spot actually isn't TOO bad. I'm not saying we don't need Suh or some new addition. But Clifton Ryan has been getting better and better. Dorrell Scott and Leger Douzable and LaJuan Ramsey have all been improving too with more playing time. Gary Gibson when healthy wasn't too bad. The wild card here is Adam Carriker. Can he come back in and be a factor for our line?

:ram:

[RockinRam]

Re: Rockin's Pre-Combine Mock Draft

If I was going to do this trade stuff (not sure about Bradford's shoulder) agree that the rams have passed up on alot of franchise qbs but I would go with Clausen. So as you have a TE in the 2nd I would take Golden Tate as well to give you a solid wr that clausen knows and then I feel we would have a balanced offence. A solid RB a rookie qb in clausen, franchise LT in smith (hoping), good wideouts with D.Avery, Golden Tate. IF the rams use a running game as main weapon as they have said clausen might find some big play to avery and tate

Not a bad idea SNT. If we do decide to go with Clausen instead, I think Tate would be the smarter choice. If we go with Bradford, Gresham should be our second pick.

As of right now, I prefer Bradford. Even with the shoulder injury, for some reason I think Bradford is going to dominate in the NFL, and I don't want to pass him up. Clausen by all means isn't bad either. I just for some reason, think that Bradford has all the tools and potential to be the next Peyton Manning. I'm not saying he will, but the potential is there.

[Nick]

Re: Rockin's Pre-Combine Mock Draft

I understand the logic behind Bradford. I understand the logic behind Gresham. But are the Rams really going to spend their first two draft picks on two guys coming off of injuries that kept them off the field for most of the 2009 season? That would be an interesting draft, to say the least!

As for the talk about drafting a guy your quarterback is already familiar with, I'm personally not a fan of that reasoning. Hard work in an offseason or two can build that kind of rapport and rhythm; I wouldn't adjust my draft strategy to try and keep a tandum together at the next level unless both guys just happened to also be good value at positions of need where I was picking. For Bradford and Gresham, this works, though the injury thing is a bit concerning. For Clausen and Tate, I'm not as convinced, as I'm not quite as high on Tate at the next level.

[Bar-bq]

Re: Rockin's Pre-Combine Mock Draft

What I am hoping for is for us to get a DE through the FA, and let Austen Lane develop. Lane is a highly underrated player, and should be dominant in a year or two. He's a great pass rusher that should hold his own on the right side, allowing Chris Long to switch to the left side, allowing him to max out his talent.


The reason why I went with TE and CB in round 2 instead of D-Line is because with a rookie QB, it is vital that early in their career, they have some sort of success. That means that they need some good targets to throw to. Drafting Jermaine Gresham would allow Bradford to be reunited with one of his favorite targets in college, and Gresham would vastly improve our offense, directly and indirectly.

Understood. A developing a rapport is important at the next level and I think it's wise to spend a pick on a weapon for Bradford if that's where you're taking the first rounder.

And Brandon Ghee instead of a D-Line is because we are very weak in our secondary. We basically only have Bartell as our only proven corner, and even then, when teams want to pick on Bartell, they do it fairly easily. Now it might be just me, but I think we need to improve our cornerback corps. With Fletcher coming back next year, and Bartell getting more healthy, all we need is to have a solid starter opposite of Bartell, so Fletcher can shutdown the slot. Our corps with Bartell, Ghee and Fletcher, with Justin King and maybe Wade backing them up, I would be confident in them.

I don't know about this. The Rams have spend a 1st, 2nd or 3rd round pick on a cornerback in every draft since 2005 (I'm counting Justin King, the first pick of the 4th round, as our '008 selection). I'm confident in Spagnuolo, but it seems to me that if there's on position the Rams have tried to fill by Quantity, as opposed to quality, it's CB. Obviously spending higher picks suggests a will to fill the position, but I think it's right about time to let somebody on the roster earn hold their place as a starter opposite Bartell. If they're unimpressed by the 2nd and 3rd year guys we already have in place then they should by all means target another player. I'm just a little sick of the rotating door that seems to be fueled every year by another high pick.

I'm not necessarily unhappy with our incumbent DT starters. I can't say the same for defensive end, because it seems like if Little is released, we have precious little outside of Chris Long. I'd look to target an impact player along the DL at some point in the second if we trade out of first overall.

[#39 Fan]

Re: Rockin's Pre-Combine Mock Draft

Nice job!

Love the Gresham and Lane picks. Also like the qb selection