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The Senior Bowl is done. We've still got the Super Bowl on Sunday, but it's nearly time to crank the draft up to 11.
With that in mind, NFL.com's Chad Reuter went in on a four-round mock that offers plenty to consider. Top 14:
# | Team | Pick | POS | School |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tennessee Titans | Laremy Tunsil | OT | Ole Miss |
2 | Cleveland Browns | Jared Goff | QB | California |
3 | San Diego Chargers | Ronnie Stanley | OT | Notre Dame |
4 | Dallas Cowboys | Carson Wentz | QB | North Dakota St. |
5 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Jalen Ramsey | CB | Florida St. |
6 | Baltimore Ravens | Joey Bosa | DE | Ohio St. |
7 | San Francisco 49ers | Laquon Treadwell | WR | Ole Miss |
8 | Miami Dolphins | Shaq Lawson | DE | Clemson |
9 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Vernon Hargreaves III | CB | Florida |
10 | New York Giants | DeForest Buckner | DE | Oregon |
11 | Chicago Bears | Myles Jack | OLB | UCLA |
12 | New Orleans Saints | Andrew Billings | OT | Baylor |
13 | Philadelphia Eagles | A'Shawn Robinson | DT | Alabama |
14 | Oakland Raiders | Jaylon Smith | OLB | Notre Dame |
This is one of the more offensive-laden top 14s we've seen so far thanks largely to a top four comprised entirely of offensive prospects. So what does that leave the Rams with at 15?
Paxton Lynch (QB, Memphis)
A new town for the Rams (same as the old town) means the need for a new strong-armed, agile gunslinger at quarterback such as Paxton Lynch.
Fair enough. Take a look at the mock, because the first round and early second sets up the Rams' double at #43 and 45.
You've got offensive tackle in two of the three picks after the Rams take Lynch with Ohio St.'s Taylor Decker at 16 and Michigan St.'s Jack Conklin at 18. Alabama LB Reggie Ragland, a popular early Rams BPA option, goes at 20 to the Jets. Ohio St. RB Ezekiel Elliot is your first running back off the board at 22...and you've got a WR pair at 23 and 24 in TCU's Josh Doctson and Senior Bowl standout Braxton Miller out of Ohio St. LSU G Vadal Alexander cracks the interior linemen prospects at 30 to the Broncos.
The early second round sees another two wideouts off the board in Ohio St. WR Michael Thomas and Baylor WR Corey Coleman. Arkansas TE Hunter Henry, a popular Rams mid-round option, is off as well.
So at 43 and 45, who does Reuter mock to the Rams?
Kendall Fuller (CB, Virginia Tech)
Tyler Boyd (WR, Pittsburgh)
The Fuller pick was one Dan Kadar tabbed over at Mocking the Draft in his post-draft mock nine months ago. He's also the younger brother of Vincent Fuller, the Tennessee Titans' fourth-round pick in 2005 under then-Head Coach Jeff Fisher (Kendall and Vincent have two brothers in between them who also played for Virginia Tech and also made the NFL).
Boyd's a tough nut to crack as a prospect, largely because of the surrounding talents much like former teammate DT Aaron Donald.
The rest of the second round has plenty of offense to go around with two QBs gone: Michigan St. QB Connor Cook and North Carolina St. QB Jacoby Brissett. You have to wonder how much the decision to skip the Senior Bowl could come back to haunt Cook's draft stock.
The Rams' third-round pick?
Jack Allen (C, Michigan St.)
Hard to see the Rams coming into 2016 with a Barnes>Rhaney duo at center...but stranger things have happened in Fisherball. I like Allen as a prospect, and to grab him in round three is pretty comfortable. Some really interesting prospects we've seen in first rounds in the past there with Notre Dame CB KeiVarae Russell, Penn St. QB Christian Hackenberg and Texas A&M OT Germain Ifedi.
And there's so much in the fourth round that's hard to come to grips with as prospects that won't make the Day 2 cut for the draft, but that's an annual issue.
So for the Rams at #107, it's:
Joe Schobert (OLB, Wisconsin)
It's hard not to support full-on BPA at this point, so it's tough to gripe with Schobert. A ton of interesting questions across the round. Is Oregon QB Vernon Adams an NFL QB? Where do the FCS prospects start creeping in en masse? How heavily do major injuries drop a player, especially a top prospect at a non-premium position like say USC C Max Tuerk?
And maybe the most fun 2016 NFL Draft question of all...
How early will someone spend for Florida State K Roberto Aguayo?