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Time for a counter-mock. We got a hyperrealistic Fisherball mock from Brandon Bate this AM, but there's an updated mock from NFL.com's Bucky Brooks that's worth leaning into as well as we head into the weekend.
His top 14 is certainly worth taking a look at from a Los Angeles Rams perspective:
| # | Team | Pick | POS | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tennessee Titans | Jalen Ramsey | CB | Florida St. |
| 2 | Cleveland Browns | Carson Wentz | QB | North Dakota St. |
| 3 | San Diego Chargers | Laremy Tunsil | OT | Ole Miss |
| 4 | Dallas Cowboys | Ezekiel Elliott | RB | Ohio St. |
| 5 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Myles Jack | OLB | UCLA |
| 6 | Baltimore Ravens | Joey Bosa | DE | Ohio St. |
| 7 | San Francisco 49ers | Jared Goff | QB | California |
| 8 | Philadelphia Eagles | Ronnie Stanley | OT | Notre Dame |
| 9 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | DeForest Buckner | DE | Oregon |
| 10 | New York Giants | Vernon Hargreaves III | CB | Florida |
| 11 | Chicago Bears | Shaq Lawson | DE | Clemson |
| 12 | New Orleans Saints | Laquon Treadwell | WR | Ole Miss |
| 13 | Miami Dolphins | Kevin Dodd | DE | Clemson |
| 14 | Oakland Raiders | Sheldon Rankins | DT | Louisville |
It's certainly a unique top 14.
Elliot to the Cowboys at 4. Dodd and Rankins both ahead of the Rams. Treadwell, Goff and Wentz off the board.
Heading into free agency, this was an automatic mock for Memphis QB Paxton Lynch.
Not so much anymore:
Reggie Ragland (ILB, Alabama)
The loss of James Laurinaitis could prompt the Rams to insert a downhill thumper with a high football IQ into the traffic-cop position.
Now on one hand, you can deride the mock since the Rams have publicly stated they're moving LB Alec Ogletree to the mike spot. On the other, that would open you up for derision for taking something Jeff Fisher said publicly as fact. There's absolutely nothing stopping the Rams from drafting Ragland and moving Tree right back on over to OLB.
I do wonder how much of James Laurinaitis' use under Jeff Fisher and Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams was due to Laurinaitis' skill set. In the last few years, we saw the Rams run much more Tampa-2 and slide JL55 deeper into the second tier. Was that a system requirement? If the Rams took Ragland, would he be asked to do the same? or were the Rams attempting to make the most of their assessment of Laurinaitis' skill set and might Ragland be asked to play tighter? Of course, the loss of FS Rodney McLeod changes things too a bit.
It's just another wrinkle in the most unpredictable Rams offseason in a long, long time.