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Southeast Missouri St. WR Paul McRoberts is your typical small-school athlete.
He has good height (6'3") and length (33.5" arms) to go along with impressive footwork and the ability to high point the ball making him a valuable big target for new franchise QB Jared Goff. He has good hands and has the ability to make tough catches.
But, like nearly all small school athletes, he also has some question marks. He's not going to run by anyone (4.6 40-yard dash) nor will he be a dominant run blocker (just eight reps on bench press). While his head coach at SEMO praised his work ethic, film shows inconsistent effort on the field. So he has size on his side, but he may have issues beating press coverage in the NFL as well - especially in the ultra-physical NFC West.
Roster Battle
As mentioned in the roster preview for fellow WR J.J. Worton, the Los Angeles Rams have a lot of bodies at WR. McRoberts is looking at four veterans (Tavon Austin, Kenny Britt, Brian Quick, and Bradley Marquez) above him on the depth chart (five if Stedman Bailey completes his comeback) in addition to likely looking up at 4th-round pick Pharoh Cooper and 6th round pick Mike-Thomas. I'd argue that Duke Williams has a leg up on him as well.
That put McRoberts at WR8 at best on the depth chart before considering the rest of the WRs the Rams brought aboard in after the draft.
Expectations
First and foremost, he has to show the coaching staff and teammates that his work ethic is beyond reproach. Play hard on 100% of your snaps, and show you can be an asset to the team. If he can get rid of that 'red flag,' his chances of making the roster improve if only because of the dearth of proven receiving talent on the team. Establishing a quick rapport with Goff wouldn't hurt either.
Chances of Making 53-Man Roster (3/10)
I have Worton at 2/10 and I feel that McRoberts' chances are a little higher. His deficiencies are far less substantial than Worton's, and he has size on his side. That being said, it's going to be tough sledding for McRoberts who may be better suited for the practice squad at this point.