As the official 2022 NFL Draft lurks in the near future, it’s time to finish off our first first-ever Los Angeles Rams mock draft. Thanks to Turf Show Times for allowing the fantasy to be printed and of course, to the forum community for weighing in on the selections and offering interesting and original ideas of their own.
Les Snead and Sean McVay keep their draft cards close to their chest and studying the recent draft history does not offer much insight into any tendencies or possible moves. Last round draftees are usually long shots, but LA still has six 7th rounders, Travin Howard, Nick Scott, Tremayne Anchrum, Jake Funk, Bennett Skowronek, and Chris Garrett still on the team. So, who knows? On to the candidates.
Cornerback
#244 Issac Taylor-Stuart-USC 6’ 1 1/2” 201 lbs.
Draftable on physical, athletic, and speed traits alone. Needs a lot of work in man coverage. Has some zone coverage traits but needs to be more aggressive.
Tackle
#239 Bam Olaseni- Utah 6’ 7” 349 lbs.
Frankenstein’s monster from the Great Salt Lake. Underwhelming athleticism, but how do you get around that reach if he gets his hand on you. Good lower strength to force rushers to try outside.
#248 Luke Tenuta- Virginia Tech 6’ 8” 319 lbs.
Swing tackle candidate. Not exceptionally agile or strong, makes it go with hustle and football IQ. Good strong hands and punch in pass protection.
Trying to win around the outside of 6’8” Bam Olaseni, who incidentally has 36 4/8” arms, is something of a fools errand!
— PFN Draft (@PFNDraft) January 29, 2022
The Utah OT is impressing early at the #ShrineBowl…
pic.twitter.com/d031UbKmT0
Edge
#258 Jeremiah Moon- Florida 6’ 5” 249 lbs.
Freakish mix of size, length, speed and explosion. Plays both edge and linebacker. Had three years of injury struggles in college. Boom or bust prospect, perfect for the 7th round.
Interior offensive line
#252 Tyrese Robinson- Oklahoma 6’ 3” 317 lbs.
Heavy-footed mauler who needs a downhill power scheme. Strong hands, good anchor, and good punch makes him a load in a telephone booth.
#254 Xavier Newman-Johnson- Baylor 6’ 2” 297 lbs.
Offers G/T versatility in a smaller package. Uses good leverage and strong punch in run blocking. His lack of mass creates anchor issues in pass protection.
#256 Josh Rivas- Kansas State 6’ 6” 330 lbs.
Powerful road grader who gets off first. Not a stellar athlete but has that “few steps” quickness that might fit him into a zone run game. Gap/power is his best fit.
#262 Dawson Deaton- Texas Tech 6’ 5 1/2” 306
Long, tall center with enough strength, athleticism, and move skills. Keeps his pad Low enough to create some leverage and gets to second level smoothly.
Defensive line
#251 LaBryan Ray- Alabama 6’ 4” 293 lbs.
Former five-star recruit who has struggled with three years of injuries. Good size and athleticism. Strong vs. run game, but needs pass rush improvement.
#259 Noah Ellis- Idaho 6’ 4” 346 lbs.
Nose tackle. His size and power dominated small school competition. Adequate athlete for his size, but needs an NFL strength/ conditioning program to improve his mass to “good weight”.
Running back
#240 Kennedy Brooks- Oklahoma 5’ 11” 209 lbs.
Smooth, gliding back with consistent college production. Good patience and vision. Average speed and doesn’t offer much in blocking or receiving.
#241 Jashaun Corbin-Florida State 5’ 11” 202 lbs.
Originally signed to Texas A&M. Good all-round back. He flashed at the East-West Shrine game, but mostly in drills where there is not a lot of traffic or pursuit.
#246 Tristan Ebner- Baylor 5’ 10 1/2” 209 lbs.
Offers value as a runner, pass receiver, and kick returner. All-State receiver in high school with good speed and ability to cut at speed. Good open field runner.
#257 Isiah Pacheco- Rutgers 5’ 10” 216 lbs.
Compact, powerful and fast. Red hot motor. Needs to show a little patience to fit into a outside zone attack, but has the burst, speed and low pads to get through holes,
#260 Ty Davis-Price- LSU 6’ 211 lbs.
Power back with nimble movement skills. Probably best in a downhill run game ,but has vision, cutting ability, and burst to play in Rams offense.
Big 12 Running Backs with the highest career grades since 2014
— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) April 23, 2022
Deuce Vaughn: 93.7
Kennedy Brooks: 93.3
David Montgomery: 92.2 pic.twitter.com/BhsIiIKW7E
Off ball linebacker
#238 Tariq Carpenter- Georgia Tech 6’ 3” 230 lbs.
Making transition from college safety. Very good speed, agility, and explosion traits. Physical player with good length. Can play special teams right away while learning the pro ILB position.
#242 Mike Rose- Iowa State 6’ 4” 245 lbs.
Old school, thumping two-down backer. Quickly diagnoses run plays and plugs or disrupts gaps, when he gets there he has lower body strength to hold them closed.
#261 Darien Butler- Arizona State 5’ 10” 221 lbs.
Plays much bigger than his size and length. Hot motor makes up for only adequate speed/athleticism. Tenacious vs. the run and good in coverage.
#ArizonaState LB Darien Butler feels very well-liked by NFL clubs.
— Eric Galko (@EricGalko) April 20, 2022
Viewed as an immediate special teams impact player, Butler can be a team leader, high impact interior run defender, and a blitzer/mid-range coverage LB.
Day 3 pick you want your team to make. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/n76XxmakRO
Wide receiver
#247 Bo Melton- Rutgers 5’ 11” 189 lbs.
Solid all-around receiver that can play inside and outside. Good speed, explosion and route running creates separation. suffered with mediocre QB play abate Rutgers.
#250 Samori Toure- Nebraska 6’ 1” 191 lbs.
Plus speed and burst. Needs play strength. Looks best at NFL slot receiver, Creates separation with quick feet and cut at full speed.
#253 Isaiah Weston- Northern Iowa 6’ 3 1/2” 214 lbs,
Ran limited route tree at FCS level, so he needs some grooming, but a real sleeper. Has plus hands, contested catch, speed/agility, and size/length traits.
#255 Braylon Sanders- Mississippi 6’ 194 lbs.
Outside wideout with limited route tree. Has speed and talent, but long history of injuries. His speed is linear, but has averaged over 20 yards per catch.
Safety
#243 Quentin Lake- UCLA 6’ 1” 201 lbs.
Speed, athleticism, and physicality are adequate. Gets it done with football IQ, vision, and ball skills. Profiles best to cover two and cover three formations.
#249 Juanyeh Thomas- Georgia Tech 6’ 1” 212 lbs.
Good size and physicality in this strong safety prospect, shows plus athleticism and good speed. Good length and 100 precent effort. Adds value on special teams.
Tight end
No prospects this round.
Quarterback
#245 Aqeel Glass- Alabama A&M 6’ 4” 233 lbs.
Small school dominator with prototypical NFL size. Adequate athleticism, good arm and can throw on the move. GULP! Smaller hands than Jared Goff?
And the pick is in
Picks in the seventh round are usually limited to special teams ceilings, whether it be for coverage and returns or kicking specialists. Others are camp bodies filling out positional units or those long shot one-offs with some freakish trait. In 2022, as for remaining developmental talent, there seems to be some gas left in the tank.
Last season, the Rams special teams coverage and return units early season performance was mediocre at best. The addition of Brandon Powell sparked the return game, but the coverage units still left a lot to be desired. At pick #238, Tariq Carpenter has the traits to help right away on special teams while he transitions from safety to linebacker.
As for the final LA pick, #253, Sean McVay needs a playmaker. Wide receiver Isiah Weston needs technique and route tree improvement, but is a tremendous combination of size, length, speed, and athleticism. He’s a deep threat, playmaker with good hands. Try him as a gunner on special teams.
So that’s it. My draft board from #104 to #262, and who the Rams could take in each round. Heres a final recap.
- #104 C/G Luke Fortner- Kentucky
- #142 E/OLB Adam Anderson- Georgia
- #175 CB Damarri Mathis- Pittsburgh
- #211 G/T Joshua Ezuedo- North Carolina
- #212 CB Dallis Flowers- Pittsburg State
- #218 TE Daniel Bellinger- San Diego State
- #238 LB/S Tariq Carpenter- Georgia Tech
- #253 WR Isaiah Weston- Northern Iowa
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