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Todd McShay dropped his third mock of the season (insider subscription required because boo). Top 9:
| # | Team | Pick | POS | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tampa Bay | Jameis Winston | QB | Florida St. |
| 2 | Tennessee | Leonard Williams | DL | USC |
| 3 | Jacksonville | Dante Fowler Jr. | DE | Florida |
| 4 | Oakland | Kevin White | WR | West Virginia |
| 5 | Washington | Randy Gregory | DE | Nebraska |
| 6 | New York Jets | Marcus Mariota | QB | Oregon |
| 7 | Chicago | Danny Shelton | DT | Washington |
| 8 | Atlanta | Shane Ray | DE | Missouri |
| 9 | New York Giants | Brandon Scherff | OT | Iowa |
Nothing crazy here. Tons of options for the Rams. McShay goes with:
Amari Cooper (WR, Alabama)
The Rams' biggest need is at quarterback, but in this scenario they aren't getting one. We don't project trades in these mocks, and it's hard to see St. Louis being able to draft Winston or Mariota on April 30 without trading up to do so. The next-biggest need is offensive line, but with Scherff off the board, there isn't a great value match at this point. (My highest-rated tackle is Andrus Peat, but he's more of a pure left tackle who doesn't fit this team's physical approach perfectly.) So I have them filling their need at wide receiver with a great value pick in Cooper, our No. 3 overall player. He is NFL-ready with great savvy as a route runner, separation skills, ball skills and run-after-catch ability. His 4.42 40-yard dash at the combine confirmed he has good speed.
Rational. As he notes, the mock just doesn't consider trading but it's gaining more and more traction among the cognoscenti.
Surprises? Wake Forest CB Kevin Johnson at 14 jumped out at me. McShay does note, "This is a bit of a reach here." And Virginia OLB Eli Harold is starting to pick up hype; McShay puts him at 24. Two RBs in Melvin Gordon (at 27) and Todd Gurley (at 31)...let us pray. And this is one of the few mocks of mind that doesn't plug TE Maxx Williamsin the first.
Looking toward the Rams' second round pick, McShay has Dorial Green-Beckham, Ereck Flowers, Cameron Erving, T.J. Clemmings and La'el Collins all off the board. My man Jaelen Strong's still there though.
Put this one in the conventional wisdom binder, kids.