LA Rams 2020 NFL Draft class saving the day like the cavalry

The LA Rams 9 rookies from the 2020 NFL Draft will be counted on to contribute almost immediately. Let’s revisit just how talented they are

The LA Rams selected nine players during the 2020 NFL Draft, despite trading away their first and fifth-round picks. And after each draft, there is a host of questions to answer: Who are they? How well do they fit our team? How well will they play?  To answer the question, NFL scouts borrow the tools used by home appraisals and evaluate each player by giving them a player comparison for their floor and a ceiling. While I’m not a licensed professional NFL scout, I’d like to think that my willingness to yell at the TV for years without hesitation while football is on is enough qualification to have some idea of what I’m talking about.

Player comparisons, or comps for short, can be made in a variety of ways. It can range from a player’s performance, strengths and weaknesses, size and measurements, athleticism, background, and the style of play each player has.

In case you missed any of my previous articles going over all of the Rams’ new draft players, I’ve taken another look at the draft class as a whole to offer you a condensed summary of the overall class featuring each player. We will focus on each of the nine player’s ceiling. If you want the full breakdown, a link to each article will be provided at the end of each summary to review the player’s entire comparison, including his attributes and floor as well as the ceiling.

Please feel free to critique each comp and leave your comments in the section below to let me know just how good you think each player will be.

Round 2 Pick 52: Cam Akers

I compared running back Cam Akers ceiling to that of versatile running back Brian Westbrook. Both are shorter backs who use their lower center of gravity to stay balanced. They run with a lot of explosiveness and can be shifty in the open field. What makes them even better is they know how to finish runs by putting a shoulder down and try to punish defenders.

While Akers never had the receiving production Westbrook did in college a lot of backs get a jump in production when they reach the pros. He had the potential to get 300-500 yards receiving if he can make that jump and get around 1600 all-purpose yards if he can become a feature back.

Akers was the center of the Florida State offense. He was the only offensive weapon they had and other teams knew it. Because of that teams tried to stop him and he would still make them look like fools. Imagine his potential behind a real offensive line with other weapons surrounding him where he isn’t always the defenses main focus.

Even with his workhorse potential, Akers may not carry the entire load. You can expect him to split about a third of the carries with second-year running back Darrell Henderson for Aker’s first year or two. Even Westbrook shared a backfield in his early years giving him time to develop.

If you want the full breakdown of Cam Akers, just click here to see his full profile.

Round 2 Pick 57: Van Jefferson

The Rams chose a mature receiver from the second round of the draft with some elite route-running skills at 57 when they named Florida’s Van Jefferson. His college career was one of surprising speed, crisp routes, and an uncanny ability to get open, which is very similar to that of LA Rams veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp.  Jefferson suffered an injury that flagged him and prevented NFL teams from getting a true reading on his speed at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine.  Still, the similarities with Kupp are undeniable. Not only do they share route-running skills but they were both 24 when their rookie season started.

Another weird fact about how much these two have in common? Everything from their arm length, to height and hand size, is either an inch or less apart.

Stat wise Jefferson didn’t have anywhere near the production that Kupp had in college. While Kupp was breaking records, the University of Florida offense embraced a share-the-ball philosophy,  which translated into Jefferson seeing fewer targets and reducing his yard totals.

Even with fewer targets in college, Jefferson still should have the ability to make a massive leap in receiving totals in the NFL. I expect a 700- 800 yard average per season. While he has the ability to crack over 1,000 yards,  it doesn’t help him that Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods are both topped the 1,000 yards receiving mark last year and that three receivers doing so in a single season are a hard thing to do.

Expect him to compete as e a backup this first year behind Josh Reynolds but should see starter reps his second year in the league. Sean McVay loves precision in his route runners and Jefferson should fit in well.

If you want the full breakdown of Van Jefferson, just click here to see his full profile.

Round 3 Pick 84: Terrell Lewis

The LA Rams began to address their defensive needs in round three, beginning with an edge rusher at pick 84 named Terrell Lewis.  Another SEC product that fell to the third round all the way back in 2011 was Justin Houston. If Terrell Lewis can manage to stay healthy for a full season in his career his statistics should compare favorably to those of Houston.

Houston generated remarkable stats for a third-rounder with a 9.9 sack average per season. The most remarkable thing is that he was one sack away from making his average a perfect 10 per season.

Being paired next to All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald should help buoy Lewis’s stats as they will enjoy a symbiotic relationship. Either Donald collapses the pocket pushing quarterbacks towards Lewis or Lewis will make the opposing quarterbacks climb the pocket into Donald.

If Lewis can successfully get to the quarterback for multiple sacks early in the season, that will likely force opposing offenses to respect him. In turn, that immediately helps to lessen the double and triple teams on Donald, which in turn will give him an easier time of making plays. Of course, another result could be opposing teams setting two tight end formations and keeping in more players to block.   That will give the defensive backs fewer people to cover, which will give new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley the green light to fire up the blitz packages.

Lewis’s greatest competition will likely come from Rams veteran outside linebacker Samson Ebukam.  Ebukam had five starts for the Rams in 2019, and will likely be the first player extended that role to this year.  The Rams allowed Samson Ebukam to see action on 51 percent of the defensive snaps, so he will likely start on the opposite side of Leonard Floyd.

I do believe he will have a slow rookie season in his first year but by the next year, he should get a massive spike in production.

If you want the full breakdown of Terrell Lewis, just click here to see his full profile.

Round 3 Pick 104: Terrell Burgess

The LA Rams returned to the defense with their next selection in round three.  They wisely chose a swiss-army knife to bolster their defensive secondary, a hybrid safety/cornerback out of Utah named Terrell Burgess. Burgess truly can do it all. While it appears he is taking over for former Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman in the slot, Burgess can do so much more. Defensive back Tyrann Mathieu possessed the same skillset coming out of LSU in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Mathieu primarily played corner in college, while Burgess primarily played safety.  But they both flip-flopped positions in the defensive backfield based on where they were needed the most. This strategy was used to create a new and confusing wrinkle in the defense, setting the team up to exploit some sort of mismatches in coverages.

While Burgess didn’t have the same statistical production as Mathieu, their playstyle is nearly identical. As such, you can expect Burgess to be used in a similar sort of role as that of Mathieu in the NFL. That means, Burgess, could assume the primary coverage to the offense slot receiver, roam high as a free safety, or read the quarterback’s eyes as a rogue defensive back.

His skill set allows the defense to create a mismatch against the receiver that the offense is trying to set up as their own mismatch. A running back motioning from the backfield into the slot or a tight end out wide typically triggers coverage by the defender responsible for that area, or a linebacker But adding versatile Burgess to the defense allows the Rams to turn the tables on the offense. Mismatches are timing routes, and that places the quick-strike pass from the unsuspecting quarterback directly at Burgess.  Those types of deceptive coverages truly allowed Mathieu to jump routes for easy interceptions.

That trait of fluidity, or flowing the best coverage towards a targeted receiver, allows the defense to match their better defenders against the offensive route-runner. Just as Mathieu helped defenses that he has played for, so can Burgess help in a similar role for the Rams.

If you want the full breakdown of Terrell Burgess, just click here to see his full profile.

Round 4 Pick 136: Brycen Hopkins

The second pick of round four had the Rams selecting tight end Brycen Hopkins at 136. He is a great receiving-type tight end who has a solid knack for getting solid yards-after-catch. His skillset and college production align with former Rams Jared Cook.

While most scouts said Hopkins will have issues with drops like Jared Cook did throughout his career I disagree with that notion.  Most of his “drops” were simply poorly thrown balls arriving in hard-to-catch spots. But Hopkins did manage to just get his hands on the ball, meeting the criteria of a “drop”.

However other comparisons could be made as well. Cook was always a better receiving threat than blocker just like Hopkins and had enough speed to pull away from the defense. They’re both big targets with a huge catching radius and if a ball is thrown high both tight ends should make the catch if someone less athletic, such as a linebacker, is covering them.

If you want to break down their college stats they almost mirror each other up to both players in their junior year. Their receiving yards, receptions yards per catch and touchdown numbers are very similar up to their junior years. Even their career yards per reception are very similar at 15 and 15.2 respectively. The only difference is Hopkins took a massive jump in receiving totals his senior season while Cook went to the draft his junior year.

Hopkins contribution might be limited his rookie year in the NFL with Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett in the depth chart, but should see the field more next season with Everett in a contract year.

If you want the full breakdown of Brycen Hopkins, just click here to see his full profile.

Round 6 Pick 199: Jordan Fuller

The Rams sixth-round pick at 199 resulted in Ohio State safety Jordan Fuller. His potential is that of another late-round pick out of Ohio State in Kurt Coleman. Both players lack that sideline to sideline speed but still have the ability to find themselves in good positions to take the ball away.

Surprisingly, both players have a decent amount of picks off balls batted by a DB or tipped by the defensive line that just happens to fall into their hands. However, once the ball is in their hands they are great at returning the ball, sometimes advancing the ball across the 50-yard to set up great field position for their offenses.

Just as Coleman was, expect Fuller to also be limited in space. While he can play single-high safety, as he so often did at Ohio State, He was not the best at being sideline to sideline and could have issues keeping the lid closed on defense.

While he should primarily be a depth player as a late-round selection he might have to start some games if John Johnson III health comes into question. It’s also worth noting Johnson is in a contract year and the Rams might need to rely on Fuller more than they intended to if an agreement cannot be reached.

If you want the full breakdown of Jordan Fuller, just click here to see his full profile.

Round 7 Pick 234: Clay Johnston

The LA Rams new linebacker Clay Johnston seems like the perfect late-round steal that matches with the Vic Fangio style defense that Brandon Staley is trying to build for the Rams.  Johnston’s role should be close to that of Danny Trevathan. a shorter linebacker who specializes in run defense.

Johnston excels at finding a running lane and shooting the gap to blow up runs. He has great tracking speed in shirt distances and can move parallel at the line before charging downhill. However, don’t expect too much out of him in pass coverage.

While he has had a couple passes defended and two interceptions, don’t expect him to cover well in open space. If he is in pass coverage he would be better in a zone where he has a short area to worry about as he isn’t athletic enough to man up with tight ends and running backs.

Both Johnston and Micah Kiser seem to be the favorites to be the Rams starters at linebacker. The problem is both specialize at run defense and suffer in coverage. Just as Trevathan had Roquan Smith the Rams need to find a balance with their linebackers. However, if these Kiser and Johnston are the starters expect a stout run defense.

If you want the full breakdown of Clay Johnston, just click here to see his full profile.

Round 7 Pick 248: Sam Sloman

The LA Rams went special teams in the seventh round at pick 248 and selected a limited-range kicker with a high kicking percentage. Kicker Sam Sloman’s kicking statistics from his senior season are close to those of NFL veteran kicker Stephen Gostkowski‘s career averages. While equivocating one person’s senior season to another’s career averages isn’t always the best idea, you have to work with what you’re given in trying to make a player’s projection.

Sloman kicked 19.23% of his kicks from longer than 50 yards while Gostkowski kicked 14.96% from the same distance. When it comes to the medium range from between 20-39 yards Sloman kicked 57.96% of kicks in this range while Gostkowski kicked 66.84% in that same distance. Neither is trusted with over 60 yards or more with Gostkowski only making one kick past this range in his career.

Extra points should be easy for Sloman as well since he only missed two throughout his entire college career.

Expect Sloman to be straight money if a kick is 40 yards or less. Even at the 50-yard range, he should be accurate. Just don’t expect him to be like the Rams former kicker in Greg Zuerlein at 60 yards out.

If he wins the starting job he should have a long successful NFL career ahead of him. He has shown himself to be reliable and that shouldn’t change in the NFL.

If you want the full breakdown of Sam Sloman, just click here to see his full profile.

Round 7 Pick 250: Tremayne Anchrum

The final pick for the Rams in the 2020 NFL Draft was the 250th player chosen, offensive lineman Tremayne Anchrum. Physically he matches up with Raiders offensive guard Gabe Jackson. While Jackson is slightly heavier, both players’ arm measurements and height are nearly identical.

Both players demonstrated better success at run blocking than pass blocking. Part of that is because of the short arm length, allowing defenders to get into the lineman’s pads, which allows the defender to push back or to the side in a bull rush. However, there are reasons why Jackson was a high second-round pick and Anchrum was a late seventh-round selection.

Anchrum was primarily a right tackle in college. That means he will need to make the awkward adjustment to switch from tackle to guard. Thankfully, he had some experience playing in the interior offensive line at Clemson, which will ease his transition to guard a bit easier in the NFL. The Rams will likely cross-train him to a number of offensive line positions to allow him the ability to back up several positions in case of an untimely injury.

I would expect him to start off as a depth player for his first year or two before expecting him to earn the opportunity to play in the starting lineup. That’s not a statement of no confidence in Anchrum. It’s simply reality as the Rams are stacked at the interior offensive line with veterans Austin Corbett, David Edwards, Joseph Noteboom, Coleman Shelton, and even possibly Austin Blythe, depending on whether he starts at center or guard.

Still, offensive linemen do tend to have a higher success rate for starting position players in the later rounds of the draft.

If you want the full breakdown of Tremayne Anchrum, just click here to see his full profile.