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09.01.2009 4:36 pm
The Rams’ Draft Disasters
By Bernie Miklasz
1. Why the Rams Bottomed Out: On Tuesday the Rams traded cornerback Tye Hill to Atlanta for a 7th-round draft pick and included tight end Joe Klopfenstein among the cuts to reduce the roster to 75. We’ve seen once again why the Rams won 5 of 32 games over the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The 2006 and 2007 drafts undermined the franchise. You have to score well on the premium picks, the guys selected in the firt three rounds; they should be forming form the young nucleus of a roster that’s transforming the franchise from loser to winner.
But look at these premium picks from 2006, which was particularly awful: CB Tye Hill (15th overall), TE Joe Klopfenstein (46th overall), DT Claude Wroten (68th overall), LB Jon Alston (77th overall), TE Dominique Byrd (93rd overall.) The Rams had five of the top 93 picks in the draft, and three seasons later, all of them are gone. Hill started 21 games, but only 11 over the past two seasons. And last season Hill gave up completions on 19 of the 22 passes attempted against him. Klopfenstein was technically a starter for 37 games but had a limited participation level. He caught 13 balls over the last two seasons and never developed competitive toughness. Wroten, Alston and Byrd never started a regular-season game. Alston, in fact, never dressed for the Rams in a regular-season game. He was cut in camp. But at least Alston didn’t have run-ins with the law (like Byrd) or violate the league’s substance-abuse policy (Wroten.)
This was an unbelievably bad draft class. And a double blow. Not only did these busts fail to do a job and help turn the Rams around, but the team has to invest additional draft picks in replacing them.
These drafts were conducted by head coach coach Scott Linehan and GM Jay Zygmunt. Both are gone from Rams Park. Horrible personnel decisions were a substantial part of their demise, and the impact is still reverberating. The new regime of GM Billy Devaney and head coach Steve Spagnuolo inherited a stripped-down roster and will need plenty of time to clean up the mess caused by Linehan and Zygmunt.
In drafting Hill, the Rams actually struck out twice. They had the 11th overall pick and could have used it to pick QB Jay Cutler. But they traded down to No. 15 and Denver moved up to take Cutler. You can make the case that Cutler didn’t work out in Denver; despite passing for 9,024 yards and 54 TDs in three seasons he had a falling out with the new Denver regime and was traded to Chicago earlier this year. But Cutler is an elite talent. And the Broncos received two No. 1 picks, a No. 3 draft pick, and QB Kyle Orton in return for Cutler. That’s quite a shipment. The Rams got a 7th-rounder from Atlanta for Hill.
(The Rams were apparently so embarrassed by this that they refused to divulge the nature of the draft pick obtained from Atlanta.)
Had the Rams kept the No. 11 pick, they could have chosen Cutler, DT Haloti Ngata (12th overall) DE/OLB Kamerion Wimbley (13th overall), DT Brodrick Bunkley (14th overall). But in taking Hill at 15th, they passed on LB Chad Greenway (17th), CB Antonio Cromartie (19th), DE Tamba Hali (20th), WR Santonio Holmes (25th), RB DeAngelo Williams (27th) and DE Mathias Kiwanika. There were four cornerbacks drafted after Hill in the first round and all four have done more in the NFL than Hill to this point.
And the 2007 draft hasn’t produced a big payoff, either. The Rams chose Adam Carriker in the first round at No. 13 overall. He’s battling to keep his starting job. Carriker has 44 tackles and only 2.5 sacks in 25 NFL starts. Injuries are an ongoing issue. In the second round (52nd overall) the Rams took RB Brian Leonard. He played in 18 games in two seasons and is already gone, having been peddled to Cincinnati earlier this year. The No. 3 pick (84th overall) was CB Jonathan Wade. He has speed and some promise. He’ll move in as a starter at Hill’s spot. But Wade has started only two NFL games in two seasons and obviously has a lot to prove.
The bottom line on the 2006-2007 Rams drafts, first three rounds: 8 players. And 6 are gone. Only 1 is a starter (Wade) and 1 may be a starter (Carriker).
But at least Devaney-Spagnuolo are turning the roster over and methodically dumping players who can’t perform at the NFL level.
As the roster stands now, the Rams would enter the regular season with only two corners, Ron Bartell and Wade, who have taken a snap in a regular-season NFL game. That’s rough.
The Rams’ Draft Disasters
By Bernie Miklasz
1. Why the Rams Bottomed Out: On Tuesday the Rams traded cornerback Tye Hill to Atlanta for a 7th-round draft pick and included tight end Joe Klopfenstein among the cuts to reduce the roster to 75. We’ve seen once again why the Rams won 5 of 32 games over the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The 2006 and 2007 drafts undermined the franchise. You have to score well on the premium picks, the guys selected in the firt three rounds; they should be forming form the young nucleus of a roster that’s transforming the franchise from loser to winner.
But look at these premium picks from 2006, which was particularly awful: CB Tye Hill (15th overall), TE Joe Klopfenstein (46th overall), DT Claude Wroten (68th overall), LB Jon Alston (77th overall), TE Dominique Byrd (93rd overall.) The Rams had five of the top 93 picks in the draft, and three seasons later, all of them are gone. Hill started 21 games, but only 11 over the past two seasons. And last season Hill gave up completions on 19 of the 22 passes attempted against him. Klopfenstein was technically a starter for 37 games but had a limited participation level. He caught 13 balls over the last two seasons and never developed competitive toughness. Wroten, Alston and Byrd never started a regular-season game. Alston, in fact, never dressed for the Rams in a regular-season game. He was cut in camp. But at least Alston didn’t have run-ins with the law (like Byrd) or violate the league’s substance-abuse policy (Wroten.)
This was an unbelievably bad draft class. And a double blow. Not only did these busts fail to do a job and help turn the Rams around, but the team has to invest additional draft picks in replacing them.
These drafts were conducted by head coach coach Scott Linehan and GM Jay Zygmunt. Both are gone from Rams Park. Horrible personnel decisions were a substantial part of their demise, and the impact is still reverberating. The new regime of GM Billy Devaney and head coach Steve Spagnuolo inherited a stripped-down roster and will need plenty of time to clean up the mess caused by Linehan and Zygmunt.
In drafting Hill, the Rams actually struck out twice. They had the 11th overall pick and could have used it to pick QB Jay Cutler. But they traded down to No. 15 and Denver moved up to take Cutler. You can make the case that Cutler didn’t work out in Denver; despite passing for 9,024 yards and 54 TDs in three seasons he had a falling out with the new Denver regime and was traded to Chicago earlier this year. But Cutler is an elite talent. And the Broncos received two No. 1 picks, a No. 3 draft pick, and QB Kyle Orton in return for Cutler. That’s quite a shipment. The Rams got a 7th-rounder from Atlanta for Hill.
(The Rams were apparently so embarrassed by this that they refused to divulge the nature of the draft pick obtained from Atlanta.)
Had the Rams kept the No. 11 pick, they could have chosen Cutler, DT Haloti Ngata (12th overall) DE/OLB Kamerion Wimbley (13th overall), DT Brodrick Bunkley (14th overall). But in taking Hill at 15th, they passed on LB Chad Greenway (17th), CB Antonio Cromartie (19th), DE Tamba Hali (20th), WR Santonio Holmes (25th), RB DeAngelo Williams (27th) and DE Mathias Kiwanika. There were four cornerbacks drafted after Hill in the first round and all four have done more in the NFL than Hill to this point.
And the 2007 draft hasn’t produced a big payoff, either. The Rams chose Adam Carriker in the first round at No. 13 overall. He’s battling to keep his starting job. Carriker has 44 tackles and only 2.5 sacks in 25 NFL starts. Injuries are an ongoing issue. In the second round (52nd overall) the Rams took RB Brian Leonard. He played in 18 games in two seasons and is already gone, having been peddled to Cincinnati earlier this year. The No. 3 pick (84th overall) was CB Jonathan Wade. He has speed and some promise. He’ll move in as a starter at Hill’s spot. But Wade has started only two NFL games in two seasons and obviously has a lot to prove.
The bottom line on the 2006-2007 Rams drafts, first three rounds: 8 players. And 6 are gone. Only 1 is a starter (Wade) and 1 may be a starter (Carriker).
But at least Devaney-Spagnuolo are turning the roster over and methodically dumping players who can’t perform at the NFL level.
As the roster stands now, the Rams would enter the regular season with only two corners, Ron Bartell and Wade, who have taken a snap in a regular-season NFL game. That’s rough.
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