Tate declares for draft, Warren leaning that way: Will the Rams take notice?
by VanRam on Dec 8, 2009 7:53 AM CST
in 2010 NFL Draft
6 comments
Start getting your draft boards ready, the juniors are starting to declare. The latest player into the mix is Notre Dame WR Golden Tate. With the St. Louis Rams looking for help at WR, every name that gets thrown into the draft mix is worth mentioning at least.
Is Tate a pick in the top two rounds? That remains to be seen with the combine and other offseason activities adding much to the mix for lots of players. His numbers at ND certainly speak highly of him and the connection he had with QB Jimmy Clausen, a player sure to be in consideration for the QB starved Rams. Reading the Tate story at Mocking the Draft (linked above) one comment stood out to me:
Where Tate is the most dangerous, however, is after the catch. With legs like a running back, Tate breaks his share of tackles and can make just about any defender miss in the open field.
That's something the Rams really lack with their current group of receivers, though Brandon Gibson has shown some ability to pick up yards after the catch. It's something the West Coast offensive system is predicated on too. Now, does that make Tate the best possibility for the Rams at WR? We'll see.
Another player mentioned yesterday at Mocking the Draft that caught my attention it Michigan CB Donovan Warren, who played coy about his draft status but did indicate he leaned toward coming out. Why is Warren a name for Rams fans to keep their eyes on? Because he plays much like the Rams third round pick from last season Bradley Fletcher...or Fletcher Bradley as he's known at the Post-Dispatch. Warren's game is jamming receivers and playing a physical brand of man coverage, the kind that the Rams use. Fletcher is supposedly coming back next season, but we could still use another physical corner to add to the mix. He could be a 2nd or 3rd round pick.
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I love Tate as a receiver
I figure he’ll be a top round pick, but I could see him dropping out, as unlikely as that is.
I see Tate going late 2nd - early 3rd
This is shaping up to be a pretty deep draft for WRs, although the top talent doesn’t compare with drafts ahead. That being said, Golden Tate is an interesting prospect. He lacks ideal height (<6’), but has above average ratings in the other measureables. He’s also been a part of an offense that translates to most NFL offenses very easily. His combine will affect his status more than others due to his height.
Warren is a very good prospect that I would put in the same range as Tate. He played opposite Boubacar Cissoko who, before being dismissed for academics, was torched all season by multiple teams, partly because he’s a sophomore and partly because teams avoided Warren’s side of the field. He’s a little bit leaner than BradleyFletcherBradley, but I could see him bulking up. His stock entering this draft is certainly higher than Fletcher’s was going into last year’s draft, so I doubt we’d go after another CB that high given all the other issues we have, but we’ll see.
You don't seem to want to accept the fact you're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In *St. Louis* his job was to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by attrition. Well, *Steven Jackson* was the best.
Tate is extrordinarly interesting...
…especially if we end up drafting Clausen like I hope we do. But is he really worth a second or third round pick for the Rams? Let me explain:
There are a great number of good WRs that are going to be FAs next year (I’ll repeat a bit of my comment in the Clausen going pro thread):
Vincent Jackson
Brandon Marshall
Miles Austin
Braylon Edwards
The plus about all of these receivers is that they are all big, which is something we are really missing in our WR corps. Jackson is 6-5, Marshall is 6-4, and Austin and Edwards are both 6-3. One element the Rams have really missed on offense is a WR that can go up and get a jump ball (either in the endzone or in the vertical passing game).
Right now our roster is riddled with shorter speed receivers in the mold of Holt and Bruce. Avery and Amendola are both 5-11, and Gibson and Burton are 6 foot. Robinson has some good size (6-2), and in the early going showed some promise in the endzone and the vertical passing game but he only had a chance to play two games. So who really knows what he can do?
I guess what I am getting at is this: I don’t see the point of wasting a draft pick on Golden Tate because he is basically Donnie Avery part II. I think it would be more prudent to address the number 1 receiver role via free agency. Personally I would like to see the Rams add Miles Austin. He is young, has a knack for the endzone (9 TDs this year) and has very solid hands. We would then have a pretty decent 4-some of WRs in the form of Austin, Robinson, Avery, and Gibson. It would be a good mix of size (Austin and Robinson) and speed (Avery and Gibson).
Plus, if the Rams do draft Clausen, or any other QB of the future, in the first round they are going to want to surround him with play-makers, not another inexperienced WR that will have to develop for several seasons before being a threat.
Marshall and Edwards make me gag
I can’t see the Rams following the Avery pick with a WR in this year’s rounds 1 through 3, but I also would hate to see Brandon Marshall in the Lou.
Braylon “Second Coming of Roberto Duran” Edwards is not an attractive addition either.
Austin would be nice,
but I don’t think the chances are very good the Cowboys will let him leave. Same with Jackson and San Diego. Marshall is very talented, but has problems. Edwards is a disaster.
I guess the real question is which top level receivers will likely be free agents this offseason, not which ones have contracts running out but their teams will likely keep them.
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