2022 Mock 53 Roster ...

[fearsomefour]

McVay has already said that Jacob Harris will be groomed as a WR, not a 211 lbs. TE. Imo, Blanton is bigger and better than Mundt, will perform all of Mundt's duties and make his future need to the team obsolete. jmo.

To this point, Blanton can't carry Mundts jock as a blocker.
He has improved over the last few weeks however, which is great.
I do expect him to keep improving.
You may indeed be right about Mundts future with the Rams.
I know McVay has said that, but, it really doesn't make sense to me.....not that that matters.
Woods, Kupp, Jefferson, Atwell, Skowronek, Powell....pretty crowded room and that's before a possible Beckham resigning.
Maybe Mundt is gone after the season.
Beckham as well as Powell (replaced by Atwell on kicks) and there is room.
A lot up in the air.
Listing Harris as a TE and getting up to at least passible blocking skills (see Hopkins) and, say, 240 lbs is good enough.
With the depth at WR it gives flexibility to run more multi TE sets with guys on the line, in the backfield or splitting out wide.
Skowronek is an ideal depth receiver for McVay.
Big, physical, has embraced special teams and is a physical blocker.

 

[fearsomefour]

I'm excited that Blanton showed us something with his receptions, but I'm not overly sold on his ability to run block. I know the 49ers have a pretty good D but the Rams were running well in the 1st Q until Higs went out. They probably had 2/3 of their rushing yards in the 1st Q alone. Couldnt do anything after Higs went out.
Switching gears though, Evan Engram was on McVay radar in that '17 draft, and they ended up settling for Everett. Now that Engram is a FA (At least I think he is) I wonder if they go get him now on the cheaper side. I'm obviously with you on Njoku being the #1 target, but Engram could be a wild card here

He has gotten better.
He was just yucky at first.
The sneak that Stafford was stopped on (vs Arizona I believe) he lined up too wide of the LT and allowed a defender to get inside of him and make the stop.
He is certainly trying and has gotten better in a matter of weeks.
His quick development has moved TE off of my list of draft needs.

 

[jjab360]

To this point, Blanton can't carry Mundts jock as a blocker.
He has improved over the last few weeks however, which is great.
I do expect him to keep improving.
You may indeed be right about Mundts future with the Rams.
I know McVay has said that, but, it really doesn't make sense to me.....not that that matters.
Woods, Kupp, Jefferson, Atwell, Skowronek, Powell....pretty crowded room and that's before a possible Beckham resigning.
Maybe Mundt is gone after the season.
Beckham as well as Powell (replaced by Atwell on kicks) and there is room.
A lot up in the air.
Listing Harris as a TE and getting up to at least passible blocking skills (see Hopkins) and, say, 240 lbs is good enough.
With the depth at WR it gives flexibility to run more multi TE sets with guys on the line, in the backfield or splitting out wide.
Skowronek is an ideal depth receiver for McVay.
Big, physical, has embraced special teams and is a physical blocker.

I really like what I've seen from Blanton. The guy is massive with a huge catch radius and is exactly what you want physically out of a safety blanket. I wish he was a little faster and want to see how he does with some more contested catches but I think he has a bright future with this team.

 

[Riverumbbq]

To this point, Blanton can't carry Mundts jock as a blocker.
He has improved over the last few weeks however, which is great.
I do expect him to keep improving.
You may indeed be right about Mundts future with the Rams.
I know McVay has said that, but, it really doesn't make sense to me.....not that that matters.
Woods, Kupp, Jefferson, Atwell, Skowronek, Powell....pretty crowded room and that's before a possible Beckham resigning.
Maybe Mundt is gone after the season.
Beckham as well as Powell (replaced by Atwell on kicks) and there is room.
A lot up in the air.
Listing Harris as a TE and getting up to at least passible blocking skills (see Hopkins) and, say, 240 lbs is good enough.
With the depth at WR it gives flexibility to run more multi TE sets with guys on the line, in the backfield or splitting out wide.
Skowronek is an ideal depth receiver for McVay.
Big, physical, has embraced special teams and is a physical blocker.

In college Blanton was better at pass protection than he was at run blocking, but he's now had 3 years working with Rams coaches to get his game to a far higher level. Blanton had no NFL offensive snaps prior to Mundt going down and had only accumulated 128 offensive snaps during the regular season since, 95 of them acquired in just 2 games, ... he's now had 81 snaps in the play-offs, 61 of them being against the 49'ers in the Championship game. By contrast Mundt has had 432 in the same 3 year span that Blanton has been here and Higbee has had 883 snaps this season alone.
The reason I mention this is because of expectations and how fans might believe someone as raw as Blanton should come in and play like a quality vet. Thing is, Blanton has out-performed most peoples expectations even in his very limited time on the field, both as a receiver and as a blocker. With continued use we are bound to see continued improvement, although I'm not ready to hand him the keys to a permanent TE2 role while he is gathering the necessary experience.
Jacob Harris may one day compete for a TE job, but it won't be in 2022, not at 211 lbs. It takes a couple years to add 30 plus lbs. of muscle tone, although with his frame and a healthy regimen, it may happen for him one day. Having a tall WR won't hurt our receiving corps one bit though, not so long as his hands and route running are true.
We know Powell can return a punt as evidenced in our game with the Vikings, but I don't really want to see the 4.59-40, 5'8" receiver going up against NFL caliber CB's & Safeties, we already have Tutu Atwell for that. If the Rams come up short for WR's again, I'd much prefer Landen Akers get the shot.
jmo.

 

[Merlin]

I think Blanton's blocking is at least solid. Maybe better than solid. Just need more sample size to see what he can do.

 

[Riverumbbq]

What’s up with 52

Terrell Lewis

Has he fallen from favor or is he a potential secret weapon, he’s gotta be healthy, right?

Has he lusted for McVays GF, lol

Anyone?

I believe Lewis' chronic knee situation flared up again. It may have even helped lead the Rams towards Von Miller, and being that Okoronkwo will likely be lost to free agency following the season, keeping Lewis fresh for next year might be in order.
jmo.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

I believe Lewis' chronic knee situation flared up again. It may have even helped lead the Rams towards Von Miller, and being that Okoronkwo will likely be lost to free agency following the season, keeping Lewis fresh for next year might be in order.
jmo.

I deleted my post actually

I miss read and actually thought it was about the SB active roster

Lol, I’m obviously old and went all in “ Rosanne Rosannadanna”

 

[fearsomefour]

In college Blanton was better at pass protection than he was at run blocking, but he's now had 3 years working with Rams coaches to get his game to a far higher level. Blanton had no NFL offensive snaps prior to Mundt going down and had only accumulated 128 offensive snaps during the regular season since, 95 of them acquired in just 2 games, ... he's now had 81 snaps in the play-offs, 61 of them being against the 49'ers in the Championship game. By contrast Mundt has had 432 in the same 3 year span that Blanton has been here and Higbee has had 883 snaps this season alone.
The reason I mention this is because of expectations and how fans might believe someone as raw as Blanton should come in and play like a quality vet. Thing is, Blanton has out-performed most peoples expectations even in his very limited time on the field, both as a receiver and as a blocker. With continued use we are bound to see continued improvement, although I'm not ready to hand him the keys to a permanent TE2 role while he is gathering the necessary experience.
Jacob Harris may one day compete for a TE job, but it won't be in 2022, not at 211 lbs. It takes a couple years to add 30 plus lbs. of muscle tone, although with his frame and a healthy regimen, it may happen for him one day. Having a tall WR won't hurt our receiving corps one bit though, not so long as his hands and route running are true.
We know Powell can return a punt as evidenced in our game with the Vikings, but I don't really want to see the 4.59-40, 5'8" receiver going up against NFL caliber CB's & Safeties, we already have Tutu Atwell for that. If the Rams come up short for WR's again, I'd much prefer Landen Akers get the shot.
jmo.

Blanton has certainly out performed my expectations. Ive been very happy with how he has played and he has picked up very, very valuable experience. He belongs, that is clear. The Rams need TE depth, so, his development is great news.
As for Harris, it doesn't need to be 30 lbs of muscle. Thirty pounds of bulk is fine. Muscle and fat. The guy is a stick....he could have easily gained 20 lbs of bulk at this point with his down time.
Harris did not look terribly polished as a receiver.....although, he had so few snaps it is hard to judge.
I like the idea of Harris at TE because of creating potential mismatches.
What position he is listed at matters less I suppose that how he is used. He can be used the same way no matter how he is listed.

 

[dieterbrock]

Why we putting weight on Harris to make him a TE? Why not put the weight on Skowronek since he's already proven he can handle the contact. Harris was fun in TC and PS but he's likely headed to practice squad to work on some stuff. IIRC, after much praise he dropped a lot of passes in pre-season games.
Y'all really need to tap the brakes on Blanton. 1 good game is surely a good start, but there's a reason he hasnt even been on a 53 man roster during most of his pro career. And it aint like he was stuck behind a bunch of all pros....

 

[PhillyRam]

Why we putting weight on Harris to make him a TE? Why not put the weight on Skowronek since he's already proven he can handle the contact. Harris was fun in TC and PS but he's likely headed to practice squad to work on some stuff. IIRC, after much praise he dropped a lot of passes in pre-season games.
Y'all really need to tap the brakes on Blanton. 1 good game is surely a good start, but there's a reason he hasnt even been on a 53 man roster during most of his pro career. And it aint like he was stuck behind a bunch of all pros....

No, but he was stuck behind two experienced players that knew the offense. We have seen McVay is big on experience.

 

[Kupped]

No, but he was stuck behind two experienced players that knew the offense. We have seen McVay is big on experience.

I really hope he has another solid game.

He's never going to have the full route package that Higbee does.. but if he keeps it up as a blocker and just makes plays when he gets the chance, he's valuable.

 

[Kupped]

To this point, Blanton can't carry Mundts jock as a blocker.
He has improved over the last few weeks however, which is great.
I do expect him to keep improving.
You may indeed be right about Mundts future with the Rams.
I know McVay has said that, but, it really doesn't make sense to me.....not that that matters.
Woods, Kupp, Jefferson, Atwell, Skowronek, Powell....pretty crowded room and that's before a possible Beckham resigning.
Maybe Mundt is gone after the season.
Beckham as well as Powell (replaced by Atwell on kicks) and there is room.
A lot up in the air.
Listing Harris as a TE and getting up to at least passible blocking skills (see Hopkins) and, say, 240 lbs is good enough.
With the depth at WR it gives flexibility to run more multi TE sets with guys on the line, in the backfield or splitting out wide.
Skowronek is an ideal depth receiver for McVay.
Big, physical, has embraced special teams and is a physical blocker.

When you talk about Blanton vs Mundt in blocking.. do you mean on the move? In line? All of it? I ask because against the 9ers, Blanton was doing some great work against Bosa... and Blanton has size and length that Mundt doesn't to handle a guy like that.

 

[Kupped]

@Riverumbbq .. fun distraction...
What this year might reinforce is that some players may take a little longer than others.. at least to me.
Gaines had already shown signs of life.. but.. he's jumped a big level.

A guy like David Long? I think you'll be okay with him as a 3rd corner next year.. he got beat up this year.. but survived. Troy Hill wasn't great before it clicked. Similar size and similar athlete. We'll see.

How big of a jump can Rochell make? This will be a huuuuge question... and unless they draft someone and get lucky.. will be one of the most important factors for next year's D.

Nick Scott's playoff performance puts him in a real conversation to start next to Fuller next year. I hope it's Fuller and that his injury isn't so severe that he's not the same guy next year.

I'm looking forward to a full year of Jones and Howard at LB.

When I look at the oline.. Evans and Anchrum are the guys I expect to be battling for that guard spot across from Edwards. And maybe a draft pick.

Then.. there may be other surprises on this roster. Maybe Funk turns into a legit #3 RB and is ready whenever Akers or Henderson can't go?

The single biggest Q in my mind this offseason is who is the LT.

 

[PhillyRam]

I really hope he has another solid game.

He's never going to have the full route package that Higbee does.. but if he keeps it up as a blocker and just makes plays when he gets the chance, he's valuable.

I worry about ball security with him. Inexperienced, and when guys come up behind him as he turns and runs, I hold my breath.

 

[fearsomefour]

When you talk about Blanton vs Mundt in blocking.. do you mean on the move? In line? All of it? I ask because against the 9ers, Blanton was doing some great work against Bosa... and Blanton has size and length that Mundt doesn't to handle a guy like that.

I mean in general....all phases.
I saw Blanton chip him a few times, but, that was about it in terms of Bosa. But, maybe I missed some plays.....I plan on re watching that game another couple times before Sunday, haha.
Blanton is quite a bit bigger however.
The Rams need depth at the position. I think there is room for both.

 

[fearsomefour]

I worry about ball security with him. Inexperienced, and when guys come up behind him as he turns and runs, I hold my breath.

He does appear to carry the ball a bit loose......but he did a good job putting both arms around the ball when he caught it in traffic.