LA Rams: Pre-Combine 7 round mock NFL Draft 1.1

Here’s an early February, pre-Combine seven round NFL Draft for the LA Rams. Here is mock NFL Draft 1.1

The LA Rams got good looks of potential prospects to draft at the East-West Shrine and Senior Bowls. Next to follow, in the Rams scouting sequence, is the NFL Combine later this month. Free agency will give an idea to which positions the Rams are targeting in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Free agent signings would eliminate the need to draft a certain position for need. In 2019, for example, LA did not select a quarterback due to signing Blake Bortles. Expect the Rams to pick a quarterback in this draft, especially after the success of last season’s rookie draft class.

Currently, the Rams have six draft picks. They traded their first and fifth round picks to Jacksonville for Jalen Ramsey and Dante Fowler, respectively. However, the will reportedly gain an additional fourth round compensatory selection as a result of losing Rodger Saffold, according to overthecap.com.

There has been plenty of conversation about the current state of the rushing attack throughout the past months. The Rams must return to effectively running the ball.  Remember, games are won and lost upfront, in the trenches.

Here’s a direction that the Rams might take in the upcoming draft. Expect someone to emerge and someone to fall based upon their Combine performance. Let’s get to it!

The Rams second round pick is …

Rams select Josh Jones, T Houston

Josh Jones is a big strong left tackle. He stands 6-feet-7 weighing 310 pounds. Jones played very well at the Senior Bowl.

He was voted, by the players, as the North teams offensive linemen practice player of the week. Not only did he impress his peers but has caught the attention of most NFL teams. He would be a great addition to the Rams offensive line.

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As the Rams second round pick, Jones would sign a four year deal valued at $6,113,290. There is a fifth year option within rookie contracts. Either the team could extend his contract or let him walk into free agency but can exercise the franchise tag to keep him until an agreement on the new contract is reached.

Expect Bobby Evans to move to left tackle if Andrew Whitworth plays elsewhere in 2020. Jones would be able to play swing tackle in certain situations. It’s possible that Evans moves to left guard next to Jones at tackle.

Jones is a very good prospect for the Rams to consider. In fact, there is great depth of tackles in this draft. Let’s hope that this first round talent gets pushed down into the Rams spot at #52.

The Rams third round pick is …

Rams select Anfernee Jennings, Edge Alabama

Anfernee Jennings would be great insurance against the loss of Dante Fowler in free agency. Physically, Jennings is very similar to Fowler. He stands 6-feet-3 weighing 259 pounds.

At Alabama, Jennings played in 48 games. He made a total of 193 tackles. He registered 14.5 sacks with eight of those being collected in 2019.

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Jennings played for the South team at the Senior Bowl. He made 2.5 tackles at outside linebacker in the 3-4 South defense. The Rams have the 3-4 as their base defense. He would fit nicely as the rush backer.

The Rams third round selection would sign a four year deal worth $2,895,932. Jennings would earn his biggest money in the third year of that deal. If he outplays his rookie contract, LA could extend him as soon as he becomes eligible under the new collective bargaining agreement in 2021.

LA has selected several round 3 gems in franchise history. They selected Jackie Slater in 1976, Leroy Irvin in 1980, Leonard Little in 1998, and Cooper Kupp in 2017. Let’s hope that Jennings is that next third round gem taken.

The Rams have two selections in the fourth round. The compensatory pick makes up for the lost round 5 slot. They will get to grab their fifth round target earlier that expected.

The Rams fourth round picks are …

Rams select Calvin Throckmorton, T Oregon and Antonio Gandy-Golden, WR Liberty

First,  Calvin Throckmorton gets selected first in round 4 at #123. He has a big physical presence on the field. Throckmorton stands 6-feet-5 weighing 309 pounds.

Throckmorton performed well at the East-West Shrine Bowl. In the Senior Bowl, he struggled against the various edge rushers. He might be better suited to play guard in LA. At Oregon, in 2018, he played multiple position on the offensive line.

As a fourth round selection, his contract should be a four year deal with $2,634,344. His versatility and athleticism should propel him into competition for the jobs at center and guard. The Rams need a big presence in the middle on third and short.

Wide Receiver

Next, the compensatory pick, Antonio Gandy-Golden is taken. He played two seasons, 2018-19, at Liberty University with big numbers. The big (6-feet-4 220 pound) wide receiver caught 150 passes for 2433 yards with 20 touchdowns.

If selected, he would be the biggest receiver on the Rams roster. Imagine him lining up in the slot receiver position. The key to the passing game is creating mismatches in coverage.

His contract would be similar to Throckmorton’s rookie deal. Gandy-Golden’s performance at the Senior Bowl got him invited to the Combine. Expect him to perform well in late February.

The Rams sixth round pick is …

Rams select Raequan Williams, DT Michigan State

LA selects Raequan Williams in round 6 at #199. Williams played defensive tackle at Michigan State. He stands 6-feet-4 weighing 303 pounds.

In college, he played in 49 games. He made 157 total tackles with 29 of the losses. He recorded 11.5 sacks. Most of all, Williams had five sacks in 2019.

As the round 6 draft pick, he will sign a four year deal worth $2,000,416. Unless he gets an early contact extension, it’s worth noting that he will earn $50,104 in year four of his rookie contract. Now you understand why some players hold out for extensions as their contract nears the end.

Williams played in the East-West Shrine Bowl in January. He drew some attention from Carmen Vitali of buccaneers.com. She reported the following:

"DT Raequan Williams, Michigan State – He impressed on multiple days in multiple ways, as well. Tuesday’s practice he stood out after I watched one of the nastiest spin moves I saw from any player at practice. He snapped his hips well off the line and then ended up batting down a pass at the line later on in the day."

Williams has the potential to make a contribution in the Rams defensive scheme. Aaron Donald will be there to mentor him. Williams should definitely develop under Donald’s influence.

The Rams seventh round pick is …

Rams select Anthony Gordon, QB Washington State

LA grabs Anthony Gordon in the seventh round at #234. Gordon followed Jacksonville’s Gardner Minshew at Washington State. He is the latest protege of the Mike Leach air raid offense.

Gordon played two seasons under Leach. He was Minshew’s backup in 2018. Minshew found his way into the hearts of the Jacksonville Jaguars fans in 2019. Will the Rams find gold as did Jacksonville?

In 2019, Gordon completed a whopping 71.6% of his passes. Also, he completed 493 passes for 5579 yards with an astounding 48 touchdowns. His passing efficiency rating was 157.9.

Gordon stole the spotlight at the Senior Bowl. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 69 yards with two touchdowns. One of his touchdown passes went to Gandy-Golden. Could there be a future passing combination there?

Gordon stands 6-feet-3 weighing 210 pounds. He has played baseball in high school. He is quoted after the Senior Bowl:

"“My baseball background allows me to throw the ball from some unorthodox angles and AGG making that play for me was big time,” Gordon said."

Gordon’s round 7 contract would run four years worth $1,903,520. Expect Gordon to compete with John Wolford for the backup quarterback job, unless Blake Bortles gets re-signed. Bortles will want to find a starting quarterback job elsewhere, you would think.

There it is, the pre-combine mock draft for the Rams. In the future there will be changes and updates, especially after free agency settles. Let’s see how everything unfolds.