FanPost

Teams are starting to figure out the draft

Or at the very least they are starting to figure out the first round. Fans routinely want to trade down and acquire more picks but the recent trends suggest that you really want to get the top 20 or so prospects.

Lets look at the 2010 draft:

Sam Bradford - Offensive ROY
Ndamukong Suh - Defensive ROY. Baggage. Should be a perennial pro bowler.
Gerald McCoy - Good when healthy
Trent Williams - Good with baggage
Eric Berry - Will likely be a perennial pro bowler
Russell Okung - Very good when healthy
Joe Haden - Will likely be a perennial pro bowler
Rolando McClain - Average with baggage
CJ Spiller - Bad fit but coming into his own
Tyson Alualu - Reach
Anthony Davis - Bust
Ryan Mathews - Above Average even as a reach
Brandon Graham - I guess college tape isn't everything
Earl Thomas - Will likely be a perennial pro bowler
JPP - Will likely be a perennial pro bowler
Derrick Morgan - I guess college tape isn't everything
Mike Iupati - Will likely be a perennial pro bowler
Maurkice Pouncey - Will likely be a perennial pro bowler
Sean Weatherspoon - Average
Kareem Jackson - Average
Jermaine Gresham - Average
Demaryius Thomas - Above Average; Peyton will make him a pro bowler
Bryan Bulaga - Very good
Dez Bryant - Very good with baggage
Tim Tebow - At least he is giving people some ratings
Dan Williams - A promising young player at an important position

There are a lot of good players on this list. The next 10 guys? Odrick, Wilson, Best, Hughes, Robinson, Saffold, Cook, Price, McCluster, Allen. Not that great. Sure, you have a stud in Rob Gronkowski - a guy who fell because of injury concerns - but as a whole there is a huge drop off in talent right before Round 2.

There are similar results with 2011:

Cam Newton - Offensive Roy. Maybe the best rookie season ever.
Von Miller - Defensive Roy. Will be a perennial pro bowler.
Marcell Dareus - Really Good
AJ Green - Will be a perennial pro bowler
Patrick Peterson - Good at CB, Elite special teams talent as we've seen
Julio Jones - Likely a perennial pro bowler
Aldon Smith - Will be a perennial pro bowler
Jake Locker - Project with upside
Tyron Smith - Already one of the best RTs in the game
Blaine Gabbert - Project, likely a bust
JJ Watt - Very Good. Helped in part to completely turn around a defense
Ponder - Huge Reach
Nick Fairley - Unknown with baggage
Robert Quinn - Good with upside
Mike Pouncey - Average
Ryan Kerrigan - Very good. Possibly excellent.
Nate Solder - Looked like a bust in waiting, turned out to be excellent.
Corey Liuget - Glad we didn't draft this guy
Prince Amukamara - Underwhelming with upside
Adrian Clayborn - Very Good
Phil Taylor - Good with upside

Although its only been one year, there seems to be a drop off with the next 10 guys: Castonzo, Watkins, Jordan, Carpenter, Baldwin, Smith, Ingram, Camiri, Wilkerson, Heyward, Sherrod. Whats interesting about that drop off is that the perception entering the draft was the value was at the end of the first round due to the quantity of stud defensive lineman.

I know there are a lot of people that want the Rams to trade down at #6 but I think you could certainly make the argument that the Rams need to trade back up to snag another top tier prospect in the top 20. The cream of the crop seems to be getting easier to spot for teams around the league and the Rams need some star power.