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- Jan 14, 2013
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With LaFleur being announced as the OC, it seems our coaching staff is pretty much set. I'm excited to see what we do this off-season. I think we have a bright future ahead of us.
Cut
HB Tre Mason
TE Lance Kendricks
DE Eugene Sims
C Tim Barnes
Re-sign
CB Trumaine Johnson - 5 years $55 million
K Greg Zuerlein - 3 years $7.5 million
HB Benny Cunningham - 3 years $4.5 million
DT Dominique Easley - RFA Tender
DT Louis Trinca-Pasat - ERFA Tender
DE/OLB Matt Longacre - ERFA Tender
Trades
Rams trade DE William Hayes
Browns trade DE Desmond Bryant
The Rams and Browns swap two guys who are better fits for each team's new scheme.
Free Agency - Big Money Acquisitions
Ronald Leary LG - 5 years $40 million
We need OL help. There were rumors that Dallas was trying to trade Leary before the season. With the injury to La'El Collins, Leary stepped back into his starting spot. He was also a starter on the dominant 2014 Cowboys OL. Leary is a mauling run blocker who has the versatility to play in either a ZBS or a PBS. He's also a quality pass protector. Either ways, he's a huge upgrade on what we have.
Jabaal Sheard SOLB - 4 years $26 million
Sheard comes over from the Patriots defense where he played a similar role. Sheard has proven to be a disruptive pass rusher throughout his career in the NFL. He's never been a 10+ sack per year guy, but he's often sat in the 7 to 8 sack per year range. Sheard doesn't need to be J.J. Watt on our defense. He just needs to give us an additional credible pass rushing threat, which he does. Sheard also can drop into coverage and stop the run.
DeSean Jackson WR - 3 years $24 million
Initially, I had some concerns about Jackson coming to LA because of his reported ties to gang members. However, it genuinely seems like McVay and Jackson have a very close relationship. With Jackson being from LA, I think he'd be willing to come here if we match his best offer. He definitely offers us a nice skill-set. He put up 1000+ yards in McVay's offense this year.
Free Agency - Cheaper Signings
Stefen Wisniewski C/OG - 2 years $5 million
Manti Te'o ILB - 2 years $5 million
Dekoda Watson ILB/OLB - 2 years $2 million
Sean Lissemore NT/DE - 2 years $2 million
Louis Vasquez OG - 1 year $1 million
NFL Draft
Round 2 Pick #5 - Juju Smith-Schuster WR Southern Cal
Summary: Juju was a very productive WR for the Trojans. At 6'1" to 6'2" 215 to 220 pounds, he's a built to be a possession WR in our scheme. Juju does not possess breakaway speed to win vertically with consistency or the hands to dominate at the catch point like Alshon Jeffery or Mike Evans. However, he is an incredibly strong and physical WR who uses his size and craftiness to bully CBs and create separation. Juju also is an intelligent WR who understands how run routes to create separation against man coverage and find the soft spots against zone coverage. Juju is also arguably the best YAC WR in this class using his strength, physicality, balance, and quickness to create yardage after the catch. I think Juju compares favorably to Michael Crabtree and Hakeem Nicks. My biggest concern with Juju is that his physical style of play will shorten his NFL career (like it did for Nicks).
Round 3 Pick #5 - Ahkello Witherspoon CB Colorado
Summary: Ahkello is one of my favorite under the radar prospects in this draft. He was one of the national leaders in passes defensed in 2016, and his coverage metrics when targeted were off the charts good. Ahkello is 6'2" 195 with outstanding ball-skills, impressive quickness and hip flexion for his size, and the long speed needed to play outside the numbers in the NFL. Ahkello is one of the most physically talented players in this class. He's a tad raw in terms of technique, but he has gobs of upside at CB. Plus, he's a highly intelligent kid who has aspirations of becoming a doctor. We need more intelligent players. This kid has the potential to be one of the best CBs in the game.
Round 4 Pick #5 - Jon Toth C/OG Kentucky
Summary: Toth started 48 games in his college as a four-year starter at Kentucky. He had a strong Senior Bowl week and graded out as the top offensive lineman in the Senior Bowl game according to PFF. Toth has NFL size at 6'5" 308 with 33 inch arms. Some feel that he's too tall to play Center and will be better off at OG. I disagree. I thought he did an impressive job of keeping his pad level down while firing out of his stance in college. Toth is a technically sound player who lacks dominant physical talent. He's a solid athlete with solid strength. But he more than compensates for his only solid physical tools with his great body control, polished footwork, and consistent hand use. He will not make it easy for Wisniewski to hold onto the Center job.
Round 4 Comp Pick - Josh Carraway OLB Texas Christian
Summary: Carraway is built like you would expect a 3-4 OLB to be built. At 6'4" 250, he's long and lanky. Carraway is an easy mover with the bend to threaten the edge and the length to develop into more than just an edge rusher with development. At this point in time, Carraway is just an edge rusher using his speed, bend, and length to attack the edge. When he doesn't win with speed, Carraway shows the motor to make effort sacks and tackles. Carraway has the movement skills to be able to drop into coverage; although, he did not do that much at TCU. Carrraway needs to get stronger at the POA, learn to better use his hands as a pass rusher and run stopper, and build a more diverse set of pass rush moves in order to become an impact player in the NFL.
Round 5 Pick #5 - Joshua Holsey CB Auburn
Summary: Holsey is another guy on my list of underrated CBs. This is such a deep and talented class that a guy like Holsey can go unnoticed. Holsey had two torn ACLs in his career, so that is a concern with him. However, he has exceptionally quick feet, the speed to run with WRs deep, loose hips, and good ball-skills. He can get a little grabby at times, but as we all know, some CBs use that to their advantage (*cough* Richard Sherman). Holsey is a CB who hides it well and uses it to his advantage. Holsey handled a number of top college WRs, including Mike Williams, during his senior season at Auburn.
Round 6 Pick #5 - Michael Roberts TE Toledo
Summary: Roberts is a very intriguing kid because he's 6'4" 260 with 11.625 inch hands. He also posted 16 receiving TDs in 2016 for Toledo and has the potential to be a major red-zone mismatch. Obviously, Roberts possesses strong hands and good athleticism for his size. He has the potential to be a good pass-catcher in the NFL. The real issue with him right now is that he doesn't show consistent effort as a blocker. When Roberts wants to block, he has shown that he has the strength and size to be effective as an inline blocker. But he too often just half-asses it and more or less gets in the way of the defender while not trying to do much else. NFL teams don't have much patience for disinterested blockers. Roberts has a high ceiling, but he'll need to develop a better attitude to reach it.
Round 6 Comp Pick - Joey Ivie DE Florida
Summary: Ivie is an underrated player in this class. He's an underrated athlete with a relentless motor who has the ability to be a productive rotational interior DL at the NFL level. Ivie uses his hands well and does a nice job of stacking and shedding blocks in the run game. He's athletic enough to disrupt plays in the back-field and pressure QBs in the passing game. I think there's a strong chance that Joey Ivie's best football is ahead of him.
Round 7 Pick #5 - Praise Martin-Ogbuike OLB Temple
Summary: Praise is a guy that I was very intrigued by while watching Haason Reddick. Praise has very crazy backstory. He was kicked off Temple's football team after being accused of rape. He refused to give up and eventually proved that the girl made it all up because he didn't want to be in a relationship with her. Praise returned to Temple and posted 29 TFLs and 19 sacks over 3 years. At 6'2" 250, Praise has the right size for a 3-4 OLB. He has shown the ability to dip under OTs and use his short stature to effectively win the edge. Praise has had a lot of success beating college OTs around the corner due to his bend, burst, and hand use. At the NFL level, he'll need to develop a more diverse set of pass rush moves and get stronger to allow him to convert his speed to power. He has potential to develop into a rotational pass rusher behind Quinn for us.
Projected Starters
QB: Jared Goff
HB: Todd Gurley
FB: Cory Harkey
XWR: Juju Smith-Schuster
ZWR: DeSean Jackson
SLWR: Tavon Austin
TE: Tyler Higbee
LT: Greg Robinson vs. Rodger Saffold
LG: Ronald Leary
C: Stefen Wisniewski vs. Jon Toth
RG: Jamon Brown vs. Greg Robinson vs. Rodger Saffold vs. Louis Vasquez
RT: Rob Havenstein
LDE: Desmond Bryant
NT: Michael Brockers
RDE: Aaron Donald
SOLB: Jabaal Sheard
SILB: Manti Te'o
WILB: Alec Ogletree
WOLB: Robert Quinn
LCB: Trumaine Johnson
RCB: Ahkello Witherspoon vs. Joshua Holsey vs. E.J. Gaines
SLCB: LaMarcus Joyner
FS: Maurice Alexander
SS: Mark Barron
K: Greg Zuerlein
P: Johnny Hekker
LS: Jake McQuaide
KR: Benny Cunningham
PR: Tavon Austin
Cut
HB Tre Mason
TE Lance Kendricks
DE Eugene Sims
C Tim Barnes
Re-sign
CB Trumaine Johnson - 5 years $55 million
K Greg Zuerlein - 3 years $7.5 million
HB Benny Cunningham - 3 years $4.5 million
DT Dominique Easley - RFA Tender
DT Louis Trinca-Pasat - ERFA Tender
DE/OLB Matt Longacre - ERFA Tender
Trades
Rams trade DE William Hayes
Browns trade DE Desmond Bryant
The Rams and Browns swap two guys who are better fits for each team's new scheme.
Free Agency - Big Money Acquisitions
Ronald Leary LG - 5 years $40 million
We need OL help. There were rumors that Dallas was trying to trade Leary before the season. With the injury to La'El Collins, Leary stepped back into his starting spot. He was also a starter on the dominant 2014 Cowboys OL. Leary is a mauling run blocker who has the versatility to play in either a ZBS or a PBS. He's also a quality pass protector. Either ways, he's a huge upgrade on what we have.
Jabaal Sheard SOLB - 4 years $26 million
Sheard comes over from the Patriots defense where he played a similar role. Sheard has proven to be a disruptive pass rusher throughout his career in the NFL. He's never been a 10+ sack per year guy, but he's often sat in the 7 to 8 sack per year range. Sheard doesn't need to be J.J. Watt on our defense. He just needs to give us an additional credible pass rushing threat, which he does. Sheard also can drop into coverage and stop the run.
DeSean Jackson WR - 3 years $24 million
Initially, I had some concerns about Jackson coming to LA because of his reported ties to gang members. However, it genuinely seems like McVay and Jackson have a very close relationship. With Jackson being from LA, I think he'd be willing to come here if we match his best offer. He definitely offers us a nice skill-set. He put up 1000+ yards in McVay's offense this year.
Free Agency - Cheaper Signings
Stefen Wisniewski C/OG - 2 years $5 million
Manti Te'o ILB - 2 years $5 million
Dekoda Watson ILB/OLB - 2 years $2 million
Sean Lissemore NT/DE - 2 years $2 million
Louis Vasquez OG - 1 year $1 million
NFL Draft
Round 2 Pick #5 - Juju Smith-Schuster WR Southern Cal
Summary: Juju was a very productive WR for the Trojans. At 6'1" to 6'2" 215 to 220 pounds, he's a built to be a possession WR in our scheme. Juju does not possess breakaway speed to win vertically with consistency or the hands to dominate at the catch point like Alshon Jeffery or Mike Evans. However, he is an incredibly strong and physical WR who uses his size and craftiness to bully CBs and create separation. Juju also is an intelligent WR who understands how run routes to create separation against man coverage and find the soft spots against zone coverage. Juju is also arguably the best YAC WR in this class using his strength, physicality, balance, and quickness to create yardage after the catch. I think Juju compares favorably to Michael Crabtree and Hakeem Nicks. My biggest concern with Juju is that his physical style of play will shorten his NFL career (like it did for Nicks).
Round 3 Pick #5 - Ahkello Witherspoon CB Colorado
Summary: Ahkello is one of my favorite under the radar prospects in this draft. He was one of the national leaders in passes defensed in 2016, and his coverage metrics when targeted were off the charts good. Ahkello is 6'2" 195 with outstanding ball-skills, impressive quickness and hip flexion for his size, and the long speed needed to play outside the numbers in the NFL. Ahkello is one of the most physically talented players in this class. He's a tad raw in terms of technique, but he has gobs of upside at CB. Plus, he's a highly intelligent kid who has aspirations of becoming a doctor. We need more intelligent players. This kid has the potential to be one of the best CBs in the game.
Round 4 Pick #5 - Jon Toth C/OG Kentucky
Summary: Toth started 48 games in his college as a four-year starter at Kentucky. He had a strong Senior Bowl week and graded out as the top offensive lineman in the Senior Bowl game according to PFF. Toth has NFL size at 6'5" 308 with 33 inch arms. Some feel that he's too tall to play Center and will be better off at OG. I disagree. I thought he did an impressive job of keeping his pad level down while firing out of his stance in college. Toth is a technically sound player who lacks dominant physical talent. He's a solid athlete with solid strength. But he more than compensates for his only solid physical tools with his great body control, polished footwork, and consistent hand use. He will not make it easy for Wisniewski to hold onto the Center job.
Round 4 Comp Pick - Josh Carraway OLB Texas Christian
Summary: Carraway is built like you would expect a 3-4 OLB to be built. At 6'4" 250, he's long and lanky. Carraway is an easy mover with the bend to threaten the edge and the length to develop into more than just an edge rusher with development. At this point in time, Carraway is just an edge rusher using his speed, bend, and length to attack the edge. When he doesn't win with speed, Carraway shows the motor to make effort sacks and tackles. Carraway has the movement skills to be able to drop into coverage; although, he did not do that much at TCU. Carrraway needs to get stronger at the POA, learn to better use his hands as a pass rusher and run stopper, and build a more diverse set of pass rush moves in order to become an impact player in the NFL.
Round 5 Pick #5 - Joshua Holsey CB Auburn
Summary: Holsey is another guy on my list of underrated CBs. This is such a deep and talented class that a guy like Holsey can go unnoticed. Holsey had two torn ACLs in his career, so that is a concern with him. However, he has exceptionally quick feet, the speed to run with WRs deep, loose hips, and good ball-skills. He can get a little grabby at times, but as we all know, some CBs use that to their advantage (*cough* Richard Sherman). Holsey is a CB who hides it well and uses it to his advantage. Holsey handled a number of top college WRs, including Mike Williams, during his senior season at Auburn.
Round 6 Pick #5 - Michael Roberts TE Toledo
Summary: Roberts is a very intriguing kid because he's 6'4" 260 with 11.625 inch hands. He also posted 16 receiving TDs in 2016 for Toledo and has the potential to be a major red-zone mismatch. Obviously, Roberts possesses strong hands and good athleticism for his size. He has the potential to be a good pass-catcher in the NFL. The real issue with him right now is that he doesn't show consistent effort as a blocker. When Roberts wants to block, he has shown that he has the strength and size to be effective as an inline blocker. But he too often just half-asses it and more or less gets in the way of the defender while not trying to do much else. NFL teams don't have much patience for disinterested blockers. Roberts has a high ceiling, but he'll need to develop a better attitude to reach it.
Round 6 Comp Pick - Joey Ivie DE Florida
Summary: Ivie is an underrated player in this class. He's an underrated athlete with a relentless motor who has the ability to be a productive rotational interior DL at the NFL level. Ivie uses his hands well and does a nice job of stacking and shedding blocks in the run game. He's athletic enough to disrupt plays in the back-field and pressure QBs in the passing game. I think there's a strong chance that Joey Ivie's best football is ahead of him.
Round 7 Pick #5 - Praise Martin-Ogbuike OLB Temple
Summary: Praise is a guy that I was very intrigued by while watching Haason Reddick. Praise has very crazy backstory. He was kicked off Temple's football team after being accused of rape. He refused to give up and eventually proved that the girl made it all up because he didn't want to be in a relationship with her. Praise returned to Temple and posted 29 TFLs and 19 sacks over 3 years. At 6'2" 250, Praise has the right size for a 3-4 OLB. He has shown the ability to dip under OTs and use his short stature to effectively win the edge. Praise has had a lot of success beating college OTs around the corner due to his bend, burst, and hand use. At the NFL level, he'll need to develop a more diverse set of pass rush moves and get stronger to allow him to convert his speed to power. He has potential to develop into a rotational pass rusher behind Quinn for us.
Projected Starters
QB: Jared Goff
HB: Todd Gurley
FB: Cory Harkey
XWR: Juju Smith-Schuster
ZWR: DeSean Jackson
SLWR: Tavon Austin
TE: Tyler Higbee
LT: Greg Robinson vs. Rodger Saffold
LG: Ronald Leary
C: Stefen Wisniewski vs. Jon Toth
RG: Jamon Brown vs. Greg Robinson vs. Rodger Saffold vs. Louis Vasquez
RT: Rob Havenstein
LDE: Desmond Bryant
NT: Michael Brockers
RDE: Aaron Donald
SOLB: Jabaal Sheard
SILB: Manti Te'o
WILB: Alec Ogletree
WOLB: Robert Quinn
LCB: Trumaine Johnson
RCB: Ahkello Witherspoon vs. Joshua Holsey vs. E.J. Gaines
SLCB: LaMarcus Joyner
FS: Maurice Alexander
SS: Mark Barron
K: Greg Zuerlein
P: Johnny Hekker
LS: Jake McQuaide
KR: Benny Cunningham
PR: Tavon Austin
