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Eine Kleine Kipermusick (insider Abonnement weit boo).
| # | Team | Pick | POS | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tampa Bay | Jameis Winston | QB | Florida St. |
| 2 | Tennessee | Leonard Williams | DL | USC |
| 3 | Jacksonville | Shane Ray | DE | Missouri |
| 4 | Oakland | Amari Cooper | WR | Alabama |
| 5 | Washington | Randy Gregory | DE | Nebraska |
| 6 | New York Jets | Marcus Mariota | QB | Oregon |
| 7 | Chicago | Danny Shelton | DT | Washington |
| 8 | Atlanta | Arik Armstead | DE | Oregon |
| 9 | New York Giants | Brandon Scherff | OT | Iowa |
This one's interesting. Kiper does march to the beat of his own drum, but he's also got the pulse of where the conventional wisdom is moving before most do. So the Armstead and Shelton picks lend them some real credibility. Armstead's a real freak of an athlete. His brother played at USC and flashed on the NFL radar for a year with the Patriots before retiring after the 2013 season. Arik, though, was an O-line and D-line stud in high school who has flashed potential but not across an entire season. For a top ten player, he's one of the least productive in my recent memory.
But for the Rams, this leaves a ton on the board with the five D-linemen in that top nine. Kiper mocks:
Andrus Peat (OT, Stanford)
The Rams have built an impressive portfolio of defensive talent at every level, and I think they have to focus on the offensive side of the ball. There's an obvious temptation to look for another weapon in the passing game here, and Kevin White or DeVante Parker are options, but this is another draft class where I think not just good players, but potential stars can be found at wide receiver beyond Round 1. Peat has the potential to be the best offensive tackle drafted in 2015 because even as he's an unfinished product, he's already pretty good and has shown he can deal with pass-rushing speed on the edge. I think he has the chance to come in right away and compete for the starting job at right tackle.
Again, I'm left with the impression of trading down. Kiper's rationale does little to persuade me otherwise. Claiming the need to go after a wideout is lessened because of the depth of the class and then pointing to "an unfinished product" when, as he points out, the Rams' O needs help (and I might add "now" to that as a qualifier) doesn't exactly satisfy.
The reality is though, the Rams are stuck in a soft space. They can't get a top prospect which I'd say makes up the top five in Kiper's mock, and they can't really sit for late round value coming in at 10. On to the rest of the mock.
Some frequent names through 14, but then a new one for me to San Francisco at 15: Central Florida WR Breshad Perriman. Some comfortable names follow, though I guess I'd point out it's been common to see Clemson OLB Vic Beasley and Alabama SS Landon Collins much higher than 21 & 22 where Kiper has them. Same for La'el Collins who's down to 29 to Indianapolis.
But we're a week out from the combine. Things are in flux. This is just a good baseline to set going into the draft's most visible event before the big show in Chicago this April.