LA Rams 2021 NFL Draft : Mock Draft 1.1

Creed Humphrey, center Oklahoma

With the pick 57th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the LA Rams select Creed Humphrey, center, from the University of Oklahoma.   With the possible departure of Austin Blythe in the offseason, the Rams will need to shore up the offensive line. Humphrey from a physical standpoint is an improvement. He is two inches taller and 20 pounds heavier at 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds.

His size alone makes him hard for a defender to move. Humphrey is quick off the ball, putting himself in better positions to block defenders, whether they’re in front or he has to do a reach block. Defensive line stunts, such as a twist, hardly fool him and he is always where he should be from a schematic standpoint.

Even a player this great has a couple of negatives. While his explosiveness off the ball sometimes is a good trait,  he can put himself in an awkward position throwing him out of balance. When this happens, even though he is where he should be, when he is out of balance defenders who cross over and pull a quick move, such as a rip or swim can quickly beat him.

A possible negative of his game could be pre-read snaps. Oklahoma has a quick tempo air raid system. The center’s minimal responsibility to make adjustments to the line during pre-snap reads. However, this is only a possible negative. He could have a very shallow learning curve and pick it up easily.

On a lot of big boards, you find that he typically lands between the 10th and 30th best player in the draft. However, some big boards project him to slide to the second or third round based on team needs. If that is true the Rams could fulfill their needs by getting a first-round talent later in the draft.