LA Rams Draft 2021: Pre-draft meeting tracker and analysis

The LA Rams are not holding back on meeting with prospects before the 2021 NFL Draft. In fact, right now it seems to be quite the contrary. It feels as though the LA Rams are particularly social this year, and have upped their number of pre-draft meetings in an effort to compensate on shortcomings of standardized data typically provided by the NFL Scouting Combine or a full season and schedule of NCAA College Football.

The fact is that the LA Rams official 2021 NFL Draft picks include one pick in rounds two, four, six, and seven, and two draft picks in round three.  But I am curious as to how the current group of prospects who the Rams are meeting with is aligned with the Rams’ existing picks. Furthermore, how do the positions of these meetings align with the perceived needs for the team’s roster from the 2021 NFL Draft?

The truth is that any projection of prospects and which round those prospects may hear their name called is pretty tough to predict. Teams are not working off the same draft scripts as in years past. In this year, there are a number of critical factors that may heavily or be completely discarded by a teams scouting department.  Such factors as the 2020 NCAA college football season. Some players opted out.  Other players competed in a full season. How will 32 NFL teams resolve such different amounts of evidence?

How will teams resolve medical flags? Will teams weigh film/video as heavily this year, even though many players will rely upon 2019 game videos? How will teams weigh the semi-accurate data emerging from regional Pro Days across the country? Will teams weigh the Senior Bowl performance more heavily this year due to lack of other comparables? And through it all, the NFL teams are each scrambling to meet virtually with prospects to fill in the gaps of mindset and personality, key factors that determine a rookie’s ability to handle the stress and pressure of starting an NFL career.