Why the St. Louis Rams failed on draft night

The draft is over and we are now in a waiting game until training camp kicks off in a few months. The St. Louis Rams headed into the draft with several needs. Offensive guard help, offensive tackle help and a need for a number one receiver.

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Everyone expected the Rams to either draft an offensive lineman or a wide receiver with 10th overall pick in the NFL draft but that is not what happened. With offensive lineman Brandon Scherff and Ereck Flowers already off the board, the Rams elected to go best available and selected running back Todd Gurley out of the University of Georgia.

There is no question that Gurley, when healthy, is a machine. Gurley played in just six games in 2014 but rushed for upwards of 911 yards.

After serving a four game suspension for selling his autograph for money, Gurley made his return in prime time to take on the University of Auburn in Athens, GA on November 15th. and what happened next, nobody expected.

The stage was set. I was sitting in a bar 300 feet away from Sanford Stadium watching the opening kickoff when number three took the kickoff 100 yards to the house, only to be called back for a penalty that did not even effect his return. Gurley then opted to shred Auburn’s defense, going for 138 yards on 29 carries and a touchdown.

But carry number 29 would be his last as a Bulldog as Gurley tore his ACL and elected to forgo his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

Many projected Gurley to be selected in the second round immediately following his injury, but as the draft grew closer, Gurley’s stock rose and rose and was projected to fall somewhere in the mid to late first round.

So why did I just go into detail about a player that the Rams didn’t need? Well, because they drafted him. They drafted a running back that was unable to compete in the combine while already having two running backs on the roster in Tre Mason and Zac Stacy. If this pick surprised you, you better believe it surprised Stacy as well. Enough to request a trade because of it.

And it wasn’t long before Stacy got his wish.

So, the Rams choose not to address their top two needs in the draft and selected a running back with an injury rattled past instead of sticking with the two-headed monster of Stacy and Mason. If Gurley gets hurt again this will be the worst pick in the draft by far, but if he succeeds, it will be one of the best picks of the draft. It’s as simple as that. It’s obvious that the Rams want to pound the rock for years to come, but did they make the right move here? Because of his body of work and his “potential” I will still give this pick a great grade for the Rams.

Todd Gurley, RB, Grade: A

With gaping holes on the offensive line headed into day two, The Rams elected to trade back and selected OT Robert Havenstein with the 57th pick in the NFL draft. While many Rams’ fans like this pick, I however hate it. The main argument as to why the Rams didn’t decide to draft a lineman in the first was because they felt as if they would be reaching to take the third lineman in the top 10. So instead of doing that, the Rams reached for a lineman in the second round. Many experts projected Havenstein to be available in rounds three or four and I fully agree. Havenstein might have a decent career, but taking him in the second was a bit of a reach. He’s extremely slow, not good against the rush and won’t be very effective when the Rams elect to throw the ball.

Here will be the complaint people will argue at me with what I just explained. You will say, well he is good against the run and that’s what we are going to do. Run the ball.

Now that’s fine. We all know that’s what the Rams are going to do. But, what happens when the Rams are down seven with 1:30 seconds to go in the game? Run the ball? Regardless of how much a team likes to run, you must have an effective passing attack. Even the Seahawks throw the ball very effectively. My argument is that the Rams will not be able to protect Nick Foles in the way he needs in order to lead his team to victory with the game on the line. Gurley will not be able to do it by himself. After previously grading Havenstein with a B. I feel that is a little to high.

Rob Havenstein, OT, Grade: C+

With the 72nd pick in the NFL draft, the Rams selected another offensive tackle, Jamon Brown out of Louisville. This is another guy the Rams drafted a little too early. With the trade down in the second, the Rams added another third round pick. That is the pick the Rams should have selected Brown with. With a big hole still to fill in the receiving core, the Rams should have used this pick to select a wide out that could become a game changer.

Here are two wide receivers taken after the Rams selected Brown.

1) Chris Conley, University of Georgia and great friends with Gurley. Could have been a great fit. 

2) Sammie Coates, University of Auburn. Another fantastic receiver taken in the third round.

Brown had great size. there is no denying that. The main thing he has going for him is he has experience at both tackle spots and at guard. Brown will likely see time at the guard position to start his career but has the ability to move over to the tackle spot if needed.  I like the pick, but again, too early to take him here.

Jamon Brown, OT, Grade: B 

In the offeason, the Rams made several moves to improve the quarterback position. The Rams made a blockbuster trade with the Philidelphia Eagles and swapped injury plagued Sam Bradford for young gun Nick Foles. There is no doubt the Rams won this trade even with the broken collarbone of Foles. I will take a broken collarbone over jello kneecaps any day of the week. The Rams also added veteran Case Keenum to the mix so what did the Rams do with their second pick in the third round? They drafted a fifth round quarterback in Sean Mannion. It’s not surprising that the Rams elected to select a quarterback in this years draft, but not selecting Bryce Petty with this pick is mind-boggling. Mannion is a huge project and was considered to be a backup for his entire career. Yay. Just what the Rams need is a backup talent to start.

Sean Mannion, QB, Grade: C

With the first pick on day three, the Rams selected another offensive lineman. Andrew Donnal from Iowa. Another lineman and another reached pick. Donnal was projected as a 6th round pick yet went in the fourth to the Rams. In my opinion, it’s never good to draft the second best lineman from a team in the draft. Scherff was far and wide the best lineman in the draft, who also played for Iowa. Donnal is decent at both the pass and run and will likely compete for playing time in 2015 due to the lackluster talent the Rams have. Drafting lineman in the later rounds are either a home run or a dumpster fire. Only time will tell with this one.

Andrew Donnal, OT Grade: C+

With no fifth round pick in this years draft the Rams finally decided to draft a wide receiver with the 215th pick. And who they selected was very suspect. Bud Sasser was selected with the pick out of Mizzou. Sasser was the 37th ranked wide receiver in this years draft and wasn’t projected to be drafted. This is enough to sell me. Sasser’s film is mediocre. Nothing about him jumps off the television screen. The only reason Sasser was even on people’s draft board was for the reason that Dorial Green-Beckham left the team, giving Sasser the number one spot on a team that did a poor job of completing passes.  The Rams could have done a much better job at selecting a receiver in this years draft. 35 receivers were selected and they take the 37th ranked WR in the sixth round.

Bud Sasser, WR, Grade: D

The Rams selected three more times in the draft, selecting another offensive lineman, a linebacker and a defensive end. Cody Wichmann OG, Fresno State. Bryce Hagar OLB, Baylor and Martin Ifedi DE, Mempis.  Three picks that may or may not work out. Time will tell.

Overall team grade: C

Here is what an average Rams’ fan sees. They see four offensive lineman drafted, the best running back in the draft and a WR. They will think that they did everything they needed to do in the draft to the best of their ability. Sadly, that just isn’t the case.

Yes, you get the best running back int the draft. One who tore his ACL. And yes, you get four offensive lineman, all of which were taken too early. And you get one of the worst wide receivers in the deepest class of receivers in quite some time. The Rams didn’t have a good draft. Part of the reason was due to some bad luck. The Rams had great players get selected just picks before they drafted.

I feel like they settled for mediocre players but like I said before, only time will tell.