4 trade targets the Rams should consider pursuing

[woofwoofmo]

Didn't have a problem with the article, that was fine. Always fun to speculate even if the Rams don't have the capital or ability to do much. IMO, where you run adrift is when you start lobbing grenades like "You realize our OL sucks right?", that's not doing something for fun, that's attacking the current players. IMO, this line will be one of the assets of the team this year and based on the way they closed the season last year, they've proved they're well on their way and there is not one player on that line who "sucks".

 

[Force16X]

Didn't have a problem with the article, that was fine. Always fun to speculate even if the Rams don't have the capital or ability to do much. IMO, where you run adrift is when you start lobbing grenades like "You realize our OL sucks right?", that's not doing something for fun, that's attacking the current players. IMO, this line will be one of the assets of the team this year and based on the way they closed the season last year, they've proved they're well on their way and there is not one player on that line who "sucks".

good point. 2 years ago i'd agree with the unofficial analysis about the Rams OLine, but now , i'm actually looking forward to seeing them step it up a level this year especially with Gurley being at 100%. my one disagreement with opie's OL thoughts is that Jamon Brown was actually good considering injuries and being played out of position as well. for where he was drafted, he may be a big steal. Havenstein was above and beyond what was hoped for, Barnes didnt regress, Saffold continues to make Rams fans say "if he was only healthy", and GRob does need to take the next step now. if LeCharles cant fix him, no one can. and if thats the case, i will NEVER agree with picking another OL player in the top10 ever again. plus the OL has something it hasnt seen in several years, DEPTH. nothing like competition to make players keep improving. as much as Goff needs to be very good - great, the Rams success (or lack of ) will be due in part to the OL improvement this year. 1400 + yds from Gurley would really help the D out this year.

 

[JKBOGEN]

Fair enough perhaps I am still bitter we passed on La'El Collins

 

[LosAngelesRams]

Rams OL ranked 28th overall, 25th in pass blocking, 27th in run blocking and 22nd in penalties per PFF and is pretty much how I remember them playing too for the most part. Sure there was good moments but the bad outweighed the good overall, IMO.

 

[JKBOGEN]

Rams OL ranked 28th overall, 25th in pass blocking, 27th in run blocking and 22nd in penalties per PFF and is pretty much how I remember them playing too for the most part. Sure there was good moments but the bad outweighed the good overall, IMO.

Well and honestly I can't stand how we not only continue to re-sign below average Barnes but then we let him start bypassing on guys like Stefen Wisniewski and Brian De La Puente? Doesn't make sense to me

 

[LosAngelesRams]

Well and honestly I can't stand how we not only continue to re-sign below average Barnes but then we let him start bypassing on guys like Stefen Wisniewski and Brian De La Puente? Doesn't make sense to me

I'm no expert at the cap situation but I don't think they wanted to shell out a bunch of cash to FAs, I'm guessing so they have the cap space to resign key players, Tavon, Ogletree, Donald, Gurley, ect. I'm not mad at them though, they went the draft approach everyone knew playing a bunch of kids on the OL is pretty ballsy and said it might be really bad. that's the risk they took. The bright side they did look better at the end of the season, hopefully they can pick up where they left off. Hopefully Grob gets his shit together he's been terrible.

 

[jetplt67]

I would have voted "none of the above".
-Jeffrey would turn into Kenny Brit
-Joeckel would be our next oft-injured Olineman
-Never heard of Millner but aren't we set at CB?
-Stewart redux? Again, aren't we set at Safety

 

[woofwoofmo]

Well and honestly I can't stand how we not only continue to re-sign below average Barnes but then we let him start bypassing on guys like Stefen Wisniewski and Brian De La Puente? Doesn't make sense to me

Guess that's why you're a writer and not a coach. Known fact that several coachs considered Barnes the best Rams lineman last year. And interesting that Wisieeski is on his third team in 3 years and didn't get a one year contract until late in the process. I'll take the coaches evaluations any day over yours.

 

[Corbin]

No.

" Did you forget to use BLUE FONT!?!"

Yes I did forget my blue font! No chance in hell we let go of Donald unless it's on the downside of a HOF career!

 

[LosAngelesRams]

Yes I did forget my blue font! No chance in hell we let go of Donald unless it's on the downside of a HOF career!

Hahaha you had me shocked, man.

Donald is special.

 

[FrantikRam]

Lol people on here...

We could easily offer our 2nd round pick next year for Jeffery...Bears might get a better offer, but they might not - teams probably wouldn't part with a 1st rounder since, in this scenario, the Bears would almost be forced to trade him.

OR - we could trade Robert Quinn for him straight up. That seems to be about fair value given what they've accomplished in their careers and injury histories.

Not saying I would or would not do it...but it could happen.

 

[HitStick]

Wasn't Brandon Marshall traded for a 5th? Offer a 2nd and 4th for Jeffrey in a sign then trade deal. Our offense would be respected with a number 1 receiver, and would help the growth of Goff

 

[OldSchool]

Lol people on here...

We could easily offer our 2nd round pick next year for Jeffery...Bears might get a better offer, but they might not - teams probably wouldn't part with a 1st rounder since, in this scenario, the Bears would almost be forced to trade him.

OR - we could trade Robert Quinn for him straight up. That seems to be about fair value given what they've accomplished in their careers and injury histories.

Not saying I would or would not do it...but it could happen.

It could rain purple marshmallows tomorrow too. But truthfully I'm anticipating high 90's and a clear sunny sky

 

[WestCoastRam]

The utility of this piece of writing is about the same as if I wrote an article about the next 4 cities the Rams will move to next.

 

[OldSchool]

The utility of this piece of writing is about the same as if I wrote an article about the next 4 cities the Rams will move to next.

That's pretty harsh, my only questions about his 4 players were pretty simple and he didn't really address them in the article.

1) What do you trade for to get these players
2) Who on the roster do we get rid of to take this guys spot
3) How do we fit them in the salary cap
4) How does all of this affect our own free agents over the next couple of years. There are consequences and costs to acquiring all of these players and that has to be weighed when discussing stuff like this and it wasn't addressed in the article. He did a good job coming up with targets and why they could help the Rams but that's only part of the battle.

 

[JKBOGEN]

I mean I appreciate the comments however criticize my writing all you want off of one article if you haven't read the others it doesn't mean much. OldSchool I know for a fact has read some of my others as well as DaveFan'51. Sorry if i am missing anyone... My point is this is not my favorite piece nor is it my best. IF you don't like it no need to be harsh about my writing lol. I take great pride but the fact of the matter is it just doesn't matter to me who dislikes my writing. Bottom line is I started writing right before the draft this year as a fan contributor for fun on Turf Show Times and apparently it was good enough for the Rams Wire to offer me a full time gig as a writer there. I love doing this and I refuse to stop. I am going to keep honing my skills and try to further my aspiring journalist career. I appreciate your time. Regardless of positive or negative just realize, just like you I love the Rams. Were a family.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Hey @jakebogen95,

I obviously am not an attentive poster so you can take my comments with a grain of salt... or just tell me to pour salt on an open wound!

I totally didn't realize that one of our very own wrote it. Just goes to show you how the anonymity of the internet brings out my more base and thoughtless qualities. My comments were less about your article and more about my annoyance at the lull of the offseason. I'm really sorry man. Keep up the good work.

WC

 

[Rams43]

I mean I appreciate the comments however criticize my writing all you want off of one article if you haven't read the others it doesn't mean much. OldSchool I know for a fact has read some of my others as well as DaveFan'51. Sorry if i am missing anyone... My point is this is not my favorite piece nor is it my best. IF you don't like it no need to be harsh about my writing lol. I take great pride but the fact of the matter is it just doesn't matter to me who dislikes my writing. Bottom line is I started writing right before the draft this year as a fan contributor for fun on Turf Show Times and apparently it was good enough for the Rams Wire to offer me a full time gig as a writer there. I love doing this and I refuse to stop. I am going to keep honing my skills and try to further my aspiring journalist career. I appreciate your time. Regardless of positive or negative just realize, just like you I love the Rams. Were a family.

I think I speak for the vast majority when I say that we really enjoy and appreciate your work, jake.

You have talent, man.

At times, it's inevitable that some readers will disagree with your takes. That's just part of the deal. Never take disagreements personally. They're not intended to be personal, I'm sure.

I've been known to occasionally post thought provoking topics, myself. Just to stimulate discussions that would entertain. Interestingly, I sometimes post the identical thing on this and one other board. You would be surprised at the sometimes very different responses from the two boards to the identical post. And both boards are chock full of mature and very knowledgeable Ram fans, mind you. So don't be surprised if you find yourself sideways with posters, on occasion.

Besides, if everyone had the same opinions about everything, there would be little point in having the board in the first place, would there?

Carry on, jake...

 

[JKBOGEN]

Thanks guys I appreciate it!

 

[jrry32]

My guess is none of them. I don't feel like any of the four offer the right fit for us. Jeffery isn't the right fit because he's playing on the franchise tag and will cost a lot in terms of compensation. We don't have the resources to pay that compensation after the Goff trade.

Joeckel isn't the right fit because he's injury prone and not effective when healthy. He's struggled with NFL power throughout his career. We already have plenty of depth on the OL. No reason to take him on.

Dee Milliner is highly injury prone and hasn't played well when on the field. We aren't hurting at CB. No reason to take him on.

We already know who Darian Stewart is. He's a replacement-level player. And like the others, he has a long injury history.

If we're going to trade for a player, it needs to be a guy who either offers a short-term fix of a problem or a guy who has long-term appeal. And we should do our best to avoid injury prone players. If I were to offer a short list of guys that I think could fit here (both in terms of being attainable and filling a need), it would be:
1. Pierre Garcon WR Redskins
2. Ronald Leary OG Cowboys
3. T.J. Carrie DB Raiders
4. Crockett Gillmore TE Ravens
5. DeAndre Smelter WR 49ers

Personally, I think the smartest move the Rams could make would be to sign Anquan Boldin. We need a reliable veteran at WR. Boldin would bring leadership and steady play.

However, if they pursued a trade, Garcon also fits that role and Washington could trade him because he's in the final year of his deal and they drafted Josh Doctson in the first round.

Leary makes sense if we're worried about one of our guard spots (Saffold's/Brown's health). He was an above average to good starter on the 2014 Cowboys. La'el Collins took his starting job. The big question would be the cost. He's a free agent at the end of the year so I think Dallas might be willing to deal him.

T.J. Carrie might be available because the Raiders signed Sean Smith and David Amerson played well after the Redskins let him go last year. Carrie has played well throughout his time in Oakland at CB. They needed him to play safety last year due to injuries and he did it decently. He's on a cheap contract and the Raiders might be willing to deal him because they are somewhat deep at CB, signed Reggie Nelson at FS, and drafted Karl Joseph at SS. Carrie would play CB here and allow us to shift LaMarcus Joyner to FS.(an idea that I really like) Plus, he offers additional depth if Gaines is having complications from his foot injury.

I don't know if the Ravens would entertain an offer for Gillmore but I like him. He tore us up last year. He's a do it all type tight end and is still young. They might make him available because Dennis Pitta is supposedly returning from injury.(we'll see) They drafted Maxx Williams in the second round a couple of years ago and signed Ben Watson. If Pitta is back, it might give them enough depth to trade Gillmore who is a solid all-around TE.

I'd be down with trading for Smelter if Chip Kelly isn't high on him. I really liked him in the draft. He redshirted his rookie year after he suffered a torn ACL late in his final year of college. He's a raw kid but is extremely physically talented. I'd definitely take a flier on him if he were cheap to acquire.