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Jeff Fisher and Les Snead Need To Improve In 2015 NFL Draft

By Blaine Grisak

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The 2015 NFL Draft is quickly approaching. Over the past three years, St. Louis Rams general manager Les Snead and head coach Jeff Fisher have been praised for the jobs that they have done in the drafts. In their first year they pulled off the infamous RGIII trade, the next year they got a steal in Alec Ogletree at the bottom of the first round, and last year they got another steal and drafted defensive Rookie of the Year in Aaron Donald.

However, the two have not done as well as some may have thought. Horseshoe Heroes, also apart of the FanSided Network, put together a chart consisting of the percentage of selections still on the active roster from 2012-2014, the exact years that Fisher and Snead have been in St. Louis. What might come as a surprise is that the Rams rank in the bottom ten in the NFL as they have only retained 64.3% of their selections.

Compare that to some of the league’s best teams like the Denver Broncos who retain 80%, New England Patriots who have retained 77.3%, and Green Bay Packers who retain 71.4%.

Over the past three years the Rams have had a total of 28 picks, nine of which were top 50, thats the most of any team in the NFL over that span. Of those 28 picks only 18 are on the active roster. Remember, the active roster doesn’t include Isaiah Pead, Brian Quick, or Barrett Jones.

Here’s a recap of the last three drafts:

2012

1-14 – Michael Brockers

2-33 – Brian Quick

2-39 – Janoris Jenkins

2-50 – Isaiah Pead

3-65 – Trumaine Johnson

4-96 – Chris Givens

5-150 – Rokevious Watkins

6-171 – Greg Zuerlein

7-209 – Aaron Brown

7-252 – Daryl Richardson

2013

1-8 – Tavon Austin

1-30 – Alec Ogletree

3-71 – T.J. McDonald

4-113 – Barrett Jones

5-149 – Brandon McGee

5-160 – Zac Stacy

2014

1-2 – Greg Robinson

1-13 – Aaron Donald

2-41 – Lamarcus Joyner

3-75 – Tre Mason

4-110 – Maurice Alexander

6-188 – E.J. Gaines

6-214 – Garrett Gilbert

7-226 – Mitchell Van Dyk

7-241 – Christian Bryant

7-249 – Michael Sam

7-250 – Demetrius Rhaney

While the Rams may have had 28 picks and 21 of those are on the team’s full roster, if you take an even deeper look into it, it becomes even less impressive. As I’ve pointed out the Rams have 21 players that they’ve drafted still on the full roster.

However, of those 21 players, 11 include Tavon Austin, Greg Robinson, Brian Quick, Isaiah Pead, Chris Givens, Barrett Jones, Brandon McGee, Zac Stacy, Lamarcus Joyner, Maurice Alexander, and Demetrius Rhaney, all of which have either shown a couple flashes or haven’t had much of an impact.

On that list, aside from Austin, Robinson, Quick and maybe Joyner, how many of these players will be on the team next year or the year after? Maybe just those two, three if they are lucky.

What’s even more disappointing is the players that the Rams have missed on or let slide by them. In 2012, the Rams traded away the 45th overall selection to Chicago who in turn selected Alshon Jeffrey. Five picks later, the Rams selected Isaiah Pead.

In their careers Pead has 17 carries for 75 yards and has torn his ACL. Jeffrey has 198 catches for 2,920 yards and 20 touchdowns.

In 2013 instead of trading up for Tavon Austin with the 8th overall pick, they could have stayed put at 16 and taken safety Eric Reid instead. Safety has been one of the Rams’ biggest need since 2013. In that Austin trade to move up to eight, the Rams surrendered their second round pick as well, and with that pick the Bills took 2013 defensive rookie of the year, linebacker Kiko Alonso.

Sure, the Rams took a linebacker earlier in the draft, but instead of taking Ogletree at 30, wouldnt it be nice to have a pro bowl center like Travis Frederick?

That 2013 draft was thin, and the Rams did good getting players like T.J. McDonald and Stedman Bailey, but it’s in the first couple of rounds that they could be really helpful now.

Lastly, looking at last season. Greg Robinson or Sammy Watkins are still the top selections for the Rams. Both are question marks, but given the Rams current situation, I stick with Robinson and although they could have traded up or back for Odell Beckham Jr., Donald is a top defensive tackle.

However going into the second round, the Rams took Joyner when they could have taken a potential number one receiver in Jordan Matthews. They took Maurice Alexander when they could have, once again, taken a top receiving threat in Martinis Bryant.

Moving into the later rounds they took Garrett Gilbert, when they could have traded up two spots to take a quarterback with some upside in Tajh Boyd.

The Rams were stacked with 7th round picks last season which you can only hope you get lucky, which they did not. However, a player that went undrafted that they could have drafted in that 7th round is guard Andrew Norwell who was solid for the Panthers last season. Instead the Rams took Mitchell Van Dyk and Christian Bryan, both who aren’t even on the roster.

Now, Im not here to bash the Rams recent results in drafting. It’s a lot easier for me to see what they could have done after the fact. Fisher and Snead have drafted promising players, however, they have also just done an average job and made crucial mistakes in the early rounds in their tenure.

The 2015 draft will be a big one for the St. Louis Rams. They have numerous holes on the offensive line and holes in the secondary that they need to fill. In order to take the next step in 2015, this draft will have to be a good one for Fisher and Snead.

Next: Should The St. Louis Rams Consider CB In the Draft?

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