Turf Show Times
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah provides insight to Rams draft before the NFL Combine next week
The NFL Draft process is fully underway as the college all-star games such as the Senior Bowl and Shrine Bowl have each taken place and the NFL Combine is next week. For a second consecutive year, the Los Angeles Rams will have a first-round pick as they look to build on a strong year. While the Rams will look to have another good draft, this may not be as strong of a class as recent years. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah sat down with the media on Thursday and described it as a ‘starters draft’. “Maybe you don’t have that super star that we have had in years past,” said Jeremiah. “But we do have a boatload of starters, particularly the defensive line.”
Jeremiah answered questions for nearly three hours, but here were the prime takeaways, specifically when it comes to the Rams.
Currently the Rams sit at 26 which might be considered a bit of a dead zone in the draft. It may be possible to find good starters and contributors in that area, but there may not be the difference-maker. With the lack of value in that spot, trading out of that pick is going to be a popular perceived direction for the Rams and General managed Les Snead should take. Said Jeremiah,
“Les has done such a good job in that range, so getting out of there and collecting extra picks, I’m all for that, especially when you kind of look at the direction that they could be looking. There’s still a need for corners, receivers. They could pluck a tight end. That’s good position groups there on day 2. If they were to slide back a little bit and collect some more resources there, I’ve got a lot of respect and appreciation for their ability to scout and find guys there. That would definitely make sense to me.”
The big question is whether or not the Rams would be able to find a trade partner. If that area is perceived as part of a ‘dead zone’ and there isn’t a first round quarterback worth trading up for in that spot. As Jeremiah noted, I haven’t been able to find that buzz out there for someone who is a quarterback who teams would want to get at the bottom of one.”
While the Rams may want to trade back, finding a trade partner may be easier said than done. With that said, Jeremiah stated a few times that, “there’s not a lot of depth of starting tackle caliber players in this draft.” If a team needs a starting caliber left tackle, the bottom of round one with players such as Josh Conerly Jr. and Joshua Simmons may be the last chance to do it. Said Jeremiah,
“The one thing I would keep an eye on is if you have some teams with...
