NFL Draft Grades: High praise for Rams' first-round pick
by Ryan Van Bibber on Apr 29, 2011 9:08 AM CDT
in 2011 NFL Draft
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PrintNFL draft results for the first round belong to the history books now. Pre-draft arguments about prospect valuation now morph into arguments about teams' draft grades and wisdom of the picks turned in last night. The St. Louis Rams selected North Carolina DE Robert Quinn, and the pick is getting high praise from (almost) all quarters. With a day-two kinda twist on Random Ramsdom, here's what the talking heads are saying about the Rams' pick.
Here's Rob Rang from NFL Draft Scout, via Mike Sando's blog at ESPN:
To have Chris Long on one side as your base end and then have Robert Quinn's explosiveness on the other side, I mean, he reminds me a little bit of Leonard Little, but bigger. You watch, Robert Quinn is going to be a better player for the Rams at 14 than Aldon Smith will be for the 49ers at seven.
The Rams have the right idea with this selection. Yes, they could have used a defensive tackle as well, but pass-rushers are harder to find. Spagnuolo now has another young prospect for his rotation up front.
Devaney and others' reactions after the jump.
Devaney, who didn't think that Quinn would be available, said this about the pick:
The grade we had on Quinn was significantly higher than the others in the pool. It was a really easy decision.
Pete Prisco at CBS gives the Rams an A:
I love this pick. Steve Spagnuolo loves pass rushers and this is the best of the group.
More praise, and another A, from Walter Football:
With all of these quarterbacks going way early than they should, there are bound to be a couple of lucky teams that land blue-chip studs in the teens and early 20s. The Rams are fortunate enough to be one of them.
Robert Quinn would have been a top-five pick if he played in 2010. The Rams are landing the best player available and filling a huge need across from Chris Long. This is a fantastic pick.
Mocking the Draft says Quinn could have been the first overall pick this year had he played his senior season.
Quinn is a great value pick because if he played this year he could have been the #1 selection. He really completements Long very well and the tandum will create a ton of pressure. The question is can Quinn rebound after an a full season away from footbal. Good pick with a ton of value.
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Luv the pick and this guys speed on our turf ! This is the guy that i sd i had a man crush on when you had that post! Now lets get my other crush in kyle rudolph !
by kevio3000 on Apr 29, 2011 9:18 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
Well I am happy the Rams got Quinn but I hope they don’t get Rudolph bigger needs imo than TE.
by bobhugehands on Apr 29, 2011 9:57 AM CDT up reply actions
Fairley was completely
off the Rams board, according to reports. Character concerns.
I watched him in college.
Nick Fairley is one of the dirtiest players I have ever seen. If he purposefully goes after QB knees in the NFL they way he did in the SEC someone is going to seriously hurt him.
Some men just want to watch the world burn. Others set it on fire accidentally and call their friends to come over and watch. Les Miles is both.
- Spencer Hall
This may be totally unfair (and it probably is)
but when I see Fairley, I see a future Haynesworth.
by Ray Lankford on Apr 29, 2011 9:42 AM CDT up reply actions
Both him and Suh could cost their team field position
With late hits and (at least with respect to Fairley) dirty play. I hope their coach doesn’t mind lots of free 1st downs happening.
Follow me on Twitter, if you're bored: lannyosu
I don't want to be guzzling the kool-ade
but isn’t Prisco usually extremely critical of this team’s decisions? Or am I thinking of someone else? If so, says a lot if he’s actually applauding this pick.
"Fac Fortia et Patere"
i think i remember him giving the Rams a B for drafting Bradford
by IrishRamsFan on Apr 29, 2011 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions
Looks like reggie bush’s days are numbered in New Orleans, that would he a huge addition for the rams.
by beer me on Apr 29, 2011 10:12 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
I thought Quinn was projected to be a 3-4 OLB.
Is he big enough to hold up on the line?
I can take a beating ... I'm a Rams fan.
Or did we just use a first round pick on a 3rd down only player?
I can take a beating ... I'm a Rams fan.
by Midasknight on Apr 29, 2011 10:33 AM CDT up reply actions
he fits better as a 4-3 DE
but some teams thought he was athletic enough to play 3-4 OLB
Turf Show Times writer and a proud rams fan. follow me on twitter @jmwehrle
by Josh Wehrle on Apr 29, 2011 10:47 AM CDT up reply actions
An A grade is nice
but it doesn’t mean crap. He can get all the A grades in the world but it doesn’t mean he’ll be any better of a DE. It really is astonishing how people are saying this is a great pick, a wonderful value, a fantastic steal.
Nobody has a single damn clue how good Quinn is until he plays. Right now, everyone should be getting an incomplete, considering guys were just drafted YESTERDAY.
They're being graded based on how they performed in college over all, if I'm not mistaken.
I bet Sarah Palin can learn a playbook faster than Mardy Gilyard.
Leonard Hankerson to the Rams in the 2nd round!!!
They're being graded on how
people predict they’ll do in the pros. Otherwise, why would they talk about the great pairing between Long and Quinn? People are guessing he’ll do well in the NFL, so they think it’s a great pick. In reality, NO ONE has any clue how good Quinn is going to be, so any opinions are massively premature.
Who pissed in your Wheaties?
I can take a beating ... I'm a Rams fan.
by Midasknight on Apr 29, 2011 10:53 AM CDT up reply actions
The point of a prediction
is that you don’t know the answer.
Better to wait on giving a weather report until after it start raining?
We get it.
Stop posting this everytime someone says something good about Quinn. What do you expect us to do?
"And a boring game for boring people. Did you ever watch golf on television? It's like watching flies FUCK. Think of the intellect it must take to draw pleasure from this activity: hitting a ball with a crooked stick and then WALKING AFTER IT" -George Carlin
by stlcardsfan4 on Apr 29, 2011 11:01 AM CDT up reply actions
I expect people to be realistic
I didn’t know that was such a rarity. Why get so excited? Nothing has even happened yet. It’s just annoying hearing people judge players before they even play.
In 2005, people gave the Texans so much grief for picking Mario Williams over Reggie Bush and VY. Today, who looks like the idiots? The Saints just chose a new RB, and the Titans chose a new QB.
Stop looking for attention
You posted the exact same thing last night in the open thread. People are evaluating the decisions made by the teams, not the actual player. We all know that each player has to prove themselves at the next level. Nothing is a given. Any high grades the Rams get for drafting Quinn reflect the general opinion that he was a steal at #14, considering many had projected him as high as the top 5.
Stop being a downer and tell me who you would have taken if you were in BD and Spags’ shoes.
I have no idea who I would have taken
I don’t have any strong opinions for or against any player. I just don’t like seeing people get so excited for a guy who has done absolutely nothing on a professional level. Who cares if some draft experts rated this guy so high? We should be excited about a pick simply because someone says it’s a steal?
In 3 years, Quinn could very well be out of the league and all the same people who were saying it was such a great steal and a wonderful pick, will be cursing the Rams FO and ridiculing they’re stupidity.
I've noticed something...
When people give themselves user names like smart1 or genius, they are generally insufferable douche bags and more often than not stupid as sh*t.
I think we'll reconcile it by winning!
-Kim English
by Jack618 on Apr 29, 2011 11:38 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I've noticed something...
When people can’t think of any meaningful response or reply, they usually resort to insults. I guess the real smart one here is the one throwing insults around.
Quinn tremendous pass rusher bar-none Grade-A
The Rams get themselves a true elite athlete here. Perfect DE size, there aint too many offensive tackles with the quickness to keep Quinn from getting around the edge.
Can anyone tell me why
the 9ers selected Aldon Smith over Quinn. Was it because of the tumor or did they simply rank his skill-set/athleticism higher? I was under the impression that Quinn was more athletic, better against the run, and more likely to become a 3-down end. Let me know what I’m missing.
I think Aldon is leaner, has a little more bend and is a better fit for 3-4
but that’s purely from what I see, not anything I’ve read.
I have Quinn higher even though I was huge on Aldon, mainly coz I assumed RQ would be gone. Thank god he wasn’t!
Bradford to Onobun!
I didn't read the open thread from last night
so excuse me if I’m re-hashing old news, but I’m sure we’re all having visions now of Wistrom and Little all over again! Add another impact D-Tackle and the D-Line is gonna be a nightmare for opposing O-Lines!! Go Rams!!
thing is quinns faster than wistrom! he will be competing with long for most qb pressures.
by Mark Jaramillo on Apr 29, 2011 12:47 PM CDT up reply actions
I was thinking
more that Long compares to Wistrom and Quinn to Little
Nah, Long will still have most pressures.
Quinn will have the most SACKSSSSSSS! Great SDE, WDE combo.
"I kind of stepped my swagger up. You look at the Madden game and the swagger's so low, maybe they'll bump me up. Before it was a meatball flex, so you've got to liven it up a little bit." - Animal Jr.
Quinn...
…. looks to be a solid pick. Don’t forget that Spags built the Giants Superbowl winning DL out of guys with similar questionmarks.
PS: Don’t be shocked if they pick a DT in the second round. A beastly DL can do wonders to compensate for a spotty secondary and lackluster OLB play.
The emotions of the game do not change.
by Jack Youngblood on Apr 29, 2011 1:59 PM CDT reply actions
I FREAKING LOVED THIS PICK!
Now Long doesn’t have to finish all of the sacks he was oh, so close to getting. Quinn is faster and will blindside the qb with Long in his face :)
"I kind of stepped my swagger up. You look at the Madden game and the swagger's so low, maybe they'll bump me up. Before it was a meatball flex, so you've got to liven it up a little bit." - Animal Jr.
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