Truly impactful draft class

[Psycho_X]

Are you doing it from the phone, I typically post from comp. God, Elon is such a butt.

I'm doing it from computer. It seems really random... sometimes it'll be x.com and others it'll be twitter.com. Not sure if it depends on the person who tweeted it or what.

 

[Tumak61]

Young is that hulking monster you want on the edge, and he's really fast. Going to be a good one.

 

[thirteen28]

Terrell Lewis was a gamble and Burgess never got untracked after the injury.

Burgess just killed me, because in what little playing time he got before the injury he looked really promising.

 

[Ram Ts]

Fridge league?

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I think there's a ton of public data that says luck has a huge amount to do with decisions turning out right. I'm sure they tweaked their draft strategy from year to year but I doubt they did much different. Trust your process cause it's the only thing you can control... and pray for luck.

I disagree to a certain extent. Yeah there is luck involved but some GMs hit at a consistently higher rate.

After listening to Jourdan the last few years, it really sounded like the draft strategy was to find special teamers and depth. It seems that they had the idea that a star heavy roster tied up the cap and they wouldn’t be able to afford to keep adding top tier talent to the roster. They were drafting guys that they knew they were not likely to retain after their first contract. That’s part of why Snead was so content to trade back and amass later round picks. He was playing the odds and not pressed to find starters. They didn’t have first or second round picks so that was the philosophy. When they did need starters they evaluated and tried to specifically fill the current need. I.e. Jones, Akers, Jefferson. It’s the need based system that Dimitrov used.

In this draft they specifically looked for character traits ( per Jourdan), like leadership and desire. Maybe it started in the 2022 draft season. They seem to have found a few of those types that year too.

Instead of drafting a bunch of physical specimens they got football players. Snead has always leaned toward physical freaks, especially under Fisher. That changed a bit when McVay showed up. Guys like JJ, Gaines, Kupp who weren’t the elite physical numbers types were picked. Then Snead seemed to stray back into prioritizing measurables with guys like Lewis and Rochelle. His Oline evals almost seemed like darts on a dartboard. Snead even said he leans toward Big Ten Olinemen. That’s absurd imo. Recruiting is a national business. Good Olinemen can be found all over the country.

I like the more recent results much better and they seem to be driven by a slightly different strategy. I hope it continues. There is nothing wrong with constant competition.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

My comp for Young coming in was a year 2 or three version of Samson Ebukam. I think he's exceeding that already. More fluid than Samson and more instinctive.

The bonus part with Young is that he seems to be a complete dog. A fierce competitor and seems to learn by the play. Feels like a 3rd round home run at the moment. I still think he's more of a complimentary 2nd edge rusher and you need a real star opposite him, but he's really doing even better than I hoped.

Ebukam, interesting comp. I was thinking more of a very raw Robert Quinn. I don’t think they’d use a round three pick on another Ebukam. Yes, both were raw but they had different circumstances. Young has better physical tools, mostly speed and his rawness came from missing some college seasons. I figured he’d have a higher ceiling.


Wether he can develop into more than a complimentary edge rusher remains to be seen but he flashes the potential to be much more than that imo.

 

[Merlin]

My comp for Young coming in was a year 2 or three version of Samson Ebukam. I think he's exceeding that already. More fluid than Samson and more instinctive.

The bonus part with Young is that he seems to be a complete dog. A fierce competitor and seems to learn by the play. Feels like a 3rd round home run at the moment. I still think he's more of a complimentary 2nd edge rusher and you need a real star opposite him, but he's really doing even better than I hoped.

Definitely. Load up his games at Tennessee and you'll see a high motor type edge who flies around and has great makeup speed in contain. I don't know how good he might get on the rush, but even if he remains a guy who gets his sacks from effort that plus good contain is a really nice combo. He is definitely going to be better than Ebu was as he begins playing with more discipline and using that speed for making plays vice making up for being caught inside.

Most of Les' draft classes tend to look their best the year or two after. We typically see the cracks in those groups after that. I don't think that's going to happen with this class, because Avila will be a stalwart for many years hopefully for us. He looks like the guy who will anchor this class with future Pro Bowls and good playoff performances. And then on top of him you have multiple guys who should be key contributors. So yeah this class looks impressive right now. It looks like exactly what we needed to give this roster a shot in the arm.

Next offseason hit FA with a couple key additions plus some roles maybe. Get another strong draft in here with a top pick included, and we should be in business. And who knows maybe along that path this season we get a chance in the playoffs to send the shitters home. That always makes a season special.

 

[WestCoastRam]

I disagree to a certain extent. Yeah there is luck involved but some GMs hit at a consistently higher rate.

After listening to Jourdan the last few years, it really sounded like the draft strategy was to find special teamers and depth. It seems that they had the idea that a star heavy roster tied up the cap and they wouldn’t be able to afford to keep adding top tier talent to the roster. They were drafting guys that they knew they were not likely to retain after their first contract. That’s part of why Snead was so content to trade back and amass later round picks. He was playing the odds and not pressed to find starters. They didn’t have first or second round picks so that was the philosophy. When they did need starters they evaluated and tried to specifically fill the current need. I.e. Jones, Akers, Jefferson. It’s the need based system that Dimitrov used.

In this draft they specifically looked for character traits ( per Jourdan), like leadership and desire. Maybe it started in the 2022 draft season. They seem to have found a few of those types that year too.

Instead of drafting a bunch of physical specimens they got football players. Snead has always leaned toward physical freaks, especially under Fisher. That changed a bit when McVay showed up. Guys like JJ, Gaines, Kupp who weren’t the elite physical numbers types were picked. Then Snead seemed to stray back into prioritizing measurables with guys like Lewis and Rochelle. His Oline evals almost seemed like darts on a dartboard. Snead even said he leans toward Big Ten Olinemen. That’s absurd imo. Recruiting is a national business. Good Olinemen can be found all over the country.

I like the more recent results much better and they seem to be driven by a slightly different strategy. I hope it continues. There is nothing wrong with constant competition.

Good points, yes, I was remiss in not stating that that part of the strategy changed. I would add that from my understanding, it wasn't that it was ST and depth people but ST and complimentary players (some even, single attribute players) who did something well that complimented our stars (think DT's that could compliment Donald with one talent like space eating). To your point, they were drafting for more fully rounded players who they could develop vs a single talent player who the focus was just on that talent.

 

[Kupped]

Ebukam, interesting comp. I was thinking more of a very raw Robert Quinn. I don’t think they’d use a round three pick on another Ebukam. Yes, both were raw but they had different circumstances. Young has better physical tools, mostly speed and his rawness came from missing some college seasons. I figured he’d have a higher ceiling.


Wether he can develop into more than a complimentary edge rusher remains to be seen but he flashes the potential to be much more than that imo.

The physical tools and traits are incredibly similar.. both freak athletes.
The biggest differences to me are that Young is more fluid and a more natural football player.
Ebukam started playing much later.
And Ebukam is on his 3rd NFL contract.. that would be a success for a 3rd rounder, imo.

Young seems more advanced with more upside. Can’t wait to see more.

 

[oldnotdead]

Preaching to the choir here boys

Young is going to be a monster on the DL.
Avila is going to be a monster on the OL
Puka is going to be a monster at WR
Atwell has broken out
Evans is a field flipping punter
Jones is a very good ILB

Waiting in the wings
Tomlinson and Durant will be top CBs
Lake has what you want in a top safety
Williams has the potential to be a very good 3 down RB
Maher will be the Rams K for years
Turner looks like he's going to be a standout DT
Alaric Jackson is only going to get better
Shelton is an under rated center

That is the kind of talent I've seen for months. It's why I'm excited about this year and into the future. This team has a lot of talent it simply needs to mature and develop. This team is on the right track and has that foundation to build a dynasty type franchise around. It's an exciting time to be a Ram fan.

 

[Loyal]

Definitely. Load up his games at Tennessee and you'll see a high motor type edge who flies around and has great makeup speed in contain. I don't know how good he might get on the rush, but even if he remains a guy who gets his sacks from effort that plus good contain is a really nice combo. He is definitely going to be better than Ebu was as he begins playing with more discipline and using that speed for making plays vice making up for being caught inside.

Most of Les' draft classes tend to look their best the year or two after. We typically see the cracks in those groups after that. I don't think that's going to happen with this class, because Avila will be a stalwart for many years hopefully for us. He looks like the guy who will anchor this class with future Pro Bowls and good playoff performances. And then on top of him you have multiple guys who should be key contributors. So yeah this class looks impressive right now. It looks like exactly what we needed to give this roster a shot in the arm.

Next offseason hit FA with a couple key additions plus some roles maybe. Get another strong draft in here with a top pick included, and we should be in business. And who knows maybe along that path this season we get a chance in the playoffs to send the shitters home. That always makes a season special.

Did you see that second level block on Greenlaw near the goal line? Avilawas responsible for that TD by Williams, imo because of that.
All Pro his first year?

 

[Riverumbbq]

There is just no Rams draft class in the last 30 years that has been as impactful out the gate as this one. That's as far back as I looked.

Puka leads the entire fridge league in receptions and is #2 in yardage.

Avila is a plug and play stud at guard.

Byron Young is making plays every game and seems to learn by the moment.

Kobie Turner is a legit D lineman.

Ethan Evans is majestic.

These are guys making IMPACTS in their first two games!! Not just showing up.

And we still have high expectations for Several others... and so many of them are on the roster.

This is ABSOLUTELY the kind of draft that resets a team. All without a first rounder.

And I'm (patiently ?) waiting to see what Ochaun Mathis has in store for us as our next EDGE off the bench once his IR eligibility is returned.

 

[HighDesertRam]

The thing about Young, he wasn't a 5 -star recruit. Nothing was handed to him. He work his ass off to move up to the NFL.

 

[Merlin]

Did you see that second level block on Greenlaw near the goal line? Avilawas responsible for that TD by Williams, imo because of that.
All Pro his first year?

Maybe. Chances of that probably depend on the Rams to win a lot of games so we have to stay healthy. Long way to go but it's fun to consider.

 

[oldnotdead]

The most important thing is the Rams have a legit OL that will keep Stafford upright. You know he's feeling it, cuz he's running around out there like he was 20 again. The OL is mobile and is well coached. When is the last time we saw the center and LG all the way out to the right side blocking on a run TD? Frankly it was almost jaw dropping, and they did it flawlessly. Yeah even the announcers saw how Williams did his part and set those blocks up.

This team is beginning to cook.

 

[PARAM]

There is just no Rams draft class in the last 30 years that has been as impactful out the gate as this one. That's as far back as I looked.

Puka leads the entire fridge league in receptions and is #2 in yardage.

Avila is a plug and play stud at guard.

Byron Young is making plays every game and seems to learn by the moment.

Kobie Turner is a legit D lineman.

Ethan Evans is majestic.

These are guys making IMPACTS in their first two games!! Not just showing up.

And we still have high expectations for Several others... and so many of them are on the roster.

This is ABSOLUTELY the kind of draft that resets a team. All without a first rounder.

Add to those the 2nd year guys (Yeast, Durant, Kendricks) making an impact and you have the #6 defense (#12 in points allowed). And they could be facing the Burrow-less Bengals in week 3. The offense is #2 in the NFL (#9 scoring) with Nacua, Avila, 2nd year Williams and 3rd year Alaric Jackson & Tutu.

Is this the Rams setting a new trend? Snead called it a remodel. Doubters called it a rebuild. Right now it's looking more like Snead's description but it's only been 2 weeks.

Looking at the receiving leaders:
Yards >>>> Jefferson, Nacua, Tyreek Hill, Evans
Receptions >>>> Nacua, Jefferson, Diggs and Hill

Raise your hand if you predicted that prior to the season!

LMFAO!!!! Can't wait to see all the love he gets from the MNF crew!!!

 

[oldnotdead]

Hand raised and I posted as such

 

[Tumak61]

We've been hitting in the 5th round. Nacua, Williams the year before, and maybe Allen, hope he gets some targets soon.

 

[Stl2La]

View: https://twitter.com/mikerenner_/status/1704160406674289034?s=12&t=gEUcKN5ugzpn7hhJJvpNKw

 

[MachS]

Love the class. Best draft in a while and man were we due.

Kobie Turner is a legit D lineman.

This kid is going to be fucking good.