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We’re turning into the backstretch of the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine and with it the on-field work of the defensive prospects comes to the fore.
With the defense getting their time to shine, here’s the daily slate:
2017 NFL Scouting Combine - Day 6 Schedule
| Group | Status |
|---|---|
| Group | Status |
| Group 7 (DL), Group 8 (DL), Group 9 (LB) | On-Field Workout (timing, stations, skill drills) |
| Group 10 (DB), Group 11 (DB) | Psychological Testing, NFLPA Meeting, PK/ST Workout, Media, Bench Press, Interviews |
We’re down to the final groups, so not a ton of background chatter is going to surface. It’s on-field work for the front seven and the build-in day for the secondary.
- Put bluntly, the Los Angeles Rams are going to need edge rushing talent soon. In recent years, the starting-caliber talents of DEs Robert Quinn and Chris Long supplemented by William Hayes and Eugene Sims sufficed beyond demand. Well beyond. In 2017, the Rams are now faced with the task of refilling that cupboard without immediate and/or obvious response. With so many needs on the offensive side of the ball, how long do the Rams wait to supply new Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips with the edge rushing talent he needs?
- I have no real understanding of what former Head Coach Jeff Fisher and then-and-still-General Manager Les Snead were trying to accomplish at linebacker outside of ignoring it to address other needs. Now, the Rams head into 2017 with Alec Ogletree having no assigned position until Wade finds one for him, Mark Barron on a very expensive contract without any obvious fit in Phillips’ defense and second-year, sixth-round pick Josh Forrest hoping to be granted an opportunity. We could see a ton of activity here in the next two offseasons.
- The overriding concern I have is that the front seven isn’t perhaps the talent gap that exists elsewhere on the roster. That being said, a year without supplement...and we could be back here in 2018 looking at the front seven asking how the hell we got to this point needing so much support. Until we get there, we’ve got bigger issues in front of us. Just something to put on the back burner.