Rams draft road leads to Rome? And other Day 3 combine recaps

The LA Rams did not send GM Les Snead or HC Sean McVay to the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. Why that is still some news, it's not new for the Rams football team, a team that has opted out of the full entourage of personnel executives, coaches and scouts. Now, the team is still represented at the event, and has even been cited as meeting with some surprising players (we will start naming the pre-draft meetings soon)

But the team has a different sort of challenge that many other NFL teams do not face. That is the annual pillaging of coaches from the staff by other teams, forcing the Rams coaching staff to reform and make introductions while the NFL Scouting Combine is taking place. That has forced the coaches and personnel executives to rethink the way they approach the NFL Draft.

And based on the success the entire scouting and personnel departments enjoyed in 2023, I'm all for it.

Rams 2024 NFL Draft strategy leads through Rome Odunze?

Even as the majority of Rams personnel remain in the office, they still are managing to have regional scouts meet with some top-tier talent during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. One such surprising name that the Rams have met with (Per NFL Insider Ian Rapoport) is Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze:

Now, here is why that is a bit of a shocker.

Washington WR Rome Odunze is one of the top talents in the 2024 NFL Draft and is projected to be off the board somewhere between the sixth and tenth overall picks in the draft. If the Rams truly hope to add Rome Odunze to their roster, they would need to trade up a significant number of spots to do so.

Is he worth that effort? The 6-foot-3, 212-pound receiver is an ideal fit for the Rams offense. He is tall, and physical, makes catches with his hands, can run virtually any route, and has great potential to put up yards after the catch (YAC), We featured him in our Combine preview article, and believe that he could excel in this offense. But, and I say this with conviction, some very talented players are projected for Round 1 and I hate to see this team sell out the chance to land a receiver.

The Rams will do what the Rams will do. But unless Odunze falls to 19, I hope that the Rams show some restraint.

Group III highlights worth noting

1. Fastest player in NFL history?
2. Speaking about WRs
3. More players opted out of the athletic competition
4. J.J. McCarthy proved that he can throw the football anywhere
5. More QB chatter
6. How about those running backs?

Fastest player in NFL history?

Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy made our Group III cheat sheet, and he was a player whose projected selection was late Round 2 to early Round 3. While that may have been too rich for the Rams liking, his 4.21-second time in the 40-yard dash has made him the talk of the town in Indianapolis, Indiana.

He was an option for the Rams before blazing his name into the NFL Scouting Combine record books as the fastest player in combine history:

Now, I'm not so sure.

Speed, without the ability to catch the football and avoid tacklers is simply . . . well, speed. There is such a thing as being too fast. If you look at the list above, there are few if any great NFL players among the group. And for good reason. Fast players can outrun defenders in pursuit, yes. But they can also outrun their own blockers. And ultra fast receivers are not the easiest targets to hit in full stride when running routes, because they are so fast.

Worthy stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 165 pounds, which is certainly tall enough but a bit on the light side for a three-down NFL player. His best season at Texas was his freshman year when he pulled down 62 passes for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns. In 2023, he caught 75 passes for 1,014 yards, but only five TDs.

Adding to his intrigue, Worthy is a bona fide kick and punt returner as well.in 2023, his 22 punt returns averaged an impressive 16.7 yards. He even managed to score on one return. That would be great to fold into the special teams.

Unfortunately, his draft stock will skyrocket now. And the Rams are better off targeting a versatile punt return/kick return/wide receiver on Day 3. I love Worthy's potential, but he just priced himself off the Rams draft board.

Speaking about WRs

The 2024 NFL Draft class is loaded with speed at the wide receiver position.But is speed the end-all attribute for the NFL receiver position? In the past, the Rams have been lured into the belief that speed equals production. The team signed speedy veteran WR Desean Jackson. In that same year, the team selected small but speedy wide receiver Tutu Atwell.

Jackson was cut halfway through the season. Atwell remains on the roster, but his opportunities seem to be very dependant on another receiver suffering injury. That's just not good enough in my opinion to chase down another speedster for this roster.

So, who made the fastest times?

Fast times did not translate into on-filed production automatically. Here are the top college wide receivers in terms of Pro Football Focus' overall grades. You may notice that none of the speedy receivers are listed below.

But you can bet several (if not all) of the fastest receivers will be off the board by the end of Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft.

One player who I continue to follow and enjoy studying is Western Kentucky WR Malachi Corley. Standing 5-foor-11 and weighing a robust 215 pounds, he has become the favorite player for former NFL WR Steve Smith Sr., who loves his toughness.

Rumored reports from the Combine indicate that some NFL teams want to know if Corley is willing to play at the running back position in the NFL. He has a background at running back, so that makes some sense. But I see his optimal role in the NFL as one who plays a very similar game to San Francisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel.

Malachi Corley is projected to come off the board late in Round 2. I am not sure he falls that far.

More players opted out of the athletic competition

If you were not aware, several top players opted out of competing in athletic events at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. They include USC QB Caleb Williams, North Carolina QB Drake Maye, and Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. Well, you can add two more names to the list of 'ain't doing that,' rookie prospects: LSU QB Jayden Daniels and LSU WR Malik Nabers.

I was a bit surprised by Nabers opting out. While Marvin Harrison Jr. is the consensus top WR in this draft class, Nabers is getting a lot of push from Washington WR Rome Odunze and his LSU teammate WR Brian Thoms Jr. for the second wide receiver to come off the board. And in Round 1, when you are selected can mean a huge difference in that first NFL contract.

Will his gamble pay off? We shall see.

J.J. McCarthy proved that he can throw the football anywhere

One of the wild cards in the 2024 NFL Draft is what to make of Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy. In sine circles, he is a Top-5 pick, a quarterback whose poise and leadership were matched by his ability to put the outcome of the game on his shoulders, and win. But there is the other camp, the nay-sayers who cite the fact that he had a strong run-focused offense. They go on to say that he was able to pick his battles, his throws, and are skeptical that the young man can withstand the pressure of playing in the NFL on a bad day.

McCarthy set out to prove his nay-sayers wrong. But he struggled early in the passing portion of events.

But he quickly warmed up, and began to hurl bullets to receivers at long distances. Was it enough to warm his reception by NFL teams? DId he do enough to bump LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels from the third quarterback to come off the board in the draft?

ESPN insider/analyst Louis Riddick certainly thinks so:

That is good news for McCarthy, and for the LA Rams. We'll explain why in a minute.

More QB chatter

With the ever shifting 2024 NFL Draft big boards, the rearranging of hot players whose stocks are rising rapidly to higher spots on the draft board may seem like a non-event for the LA Rams draft strategy. But the thing is this, if the team is not targeting one of the rapid risers, they will take a spot of other players, who will fall to the Rams at 19. That is why the Rams should weigh any decision about trading up in Round 1 very carefully.

But there was more quarterback information from Group III that simply Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Some great news was reported about Washington quarterback Michael Penix that could boost his stock as well:

Washington QB Michael Penix entered the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine with significant medical questions. After suffering a shoulder injury and a pair of ACLs, he was one of the players whose stock could rise or fall simply from the medical results. But the word is that he passed his medical exam with flying colors.

If early projections hold, Washington QB Michael Penix may very likely be on the board when the Rams make the selection at 19. Should the Rams opt for a future franchise quarterback if he is there? It's a tough decision, because the team may not have a high enough pick to land a highly talented quarterback down the road.

Pay me now, or pay me later? Tough decision.

How about those running backs?

The LA Rams may have three running backs returning for the 2024 NFL season, but the value of the position has become so depressed in terms of team impact that prospects at the position have become insane value for NFL teams to reconsider investing in the position once more. And you can bet that the Rams are leading the way.

It helps that the team has found a new hero for the running game. RB Kyren Williams put up over 1000 rushing yards for the team, despite missing four games. But the team has to be very cautious, as the willingness to stick with one hot rusher has proven to be problematic in terms of long term success at running the football.

Williams is a great runner, but injuries in his first two seasons is a clear red light on the offensive dashboard to aim for another runner. And yes, there are some pretty fast rookie prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft class.

Word is already out that the team has met with Notre Dame power back Audric Estime, and Estime is absolutely one of the running backs who I could easily get behind if chosen.

Estime is a sold 5-foot-11 221-pound workhorse who loves to run with the football. That is not just from handoffs and pitch-outs, but rather as a receiver after the catch as well.

This young man is a bona fide touchdown machine, putting up 29 rushing touchdowns in the past two seasons at Notre Dame, and 18 in 2023. He was a teammate of RB Kyren Williams in 2021, but was a seldom used freshman that season.

Estime is an ideal addition to the offense. He is a potential thunder runner to Kyren Williams lightning. He breaks arm tackles, won't be denied from crossing the plane if he is near the end zone, and just runs with power and authority. He could be one of the missing links to an unstoppable offense.

If he is on the board when the Rams step up to make the 100th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, I will be ecstatic if his name is called out. He is a stomper, and could extend the career of Kyren Williams by years if the team allows Estime to share the load.