Rams 2023 draft: Do Bijan Robinson, Andre Carter, or Hendon Hooker make sense for LA?

It has been a couple of weeks since I last highlighted the incredible work done by one of our own community members, Ferragamo15, in his profiles of 2023 NFL Draft prospects. In the last one, there were 10 potential day three running back targets for the Los Angeles Rams and it’s worth browsing those names. Even if Cam Akers has done more since then to earn a shot to start next season.

This week, I want to highlight 10 more fanpost draft profiles by Ferragamo, including fringe first round prospects like running back Bijan Robinson and edge rusher Andre Carter II, plus a polarizing quarterback out of Tennessee who will have a wide range of draft projections.

Which prospects will you pound the table for? Click the Draft Profile links for the full breakdown, I’m only pulling out a portion of the article to preview each name.

Texas RB Bijan Robinson (Draft Profile)

I don’t want to speculate too much, but bottom line is there probably needs to be a thorough medical evaluation on Robinson for NFL teams. It is possible that some of these “strains” are related or there is more going on below the surface. Colleges understandably don’t share very much information when it comes to player injuries.

For such a huge star, Robinson has a refreshingly grounded and humble personality. Easy going, personable.

Summary

Bijan Robinson isn’t a Saquon Barkley or a Christian McCaffrey. He’s not the next LaDainian Tomlinson. I don’t understand why many experts are super high on him as a draft prospect. Maybe, it is because he was so super hyped as a high school prospect. I feel that Robinson is overrated. He has a high ceiling and has potential to be an elite NFL RB, but IMO he’s a raw talent, not a finished product. I’d be surprised if he took the league by storm as a rookie, especially if he landed on a team like the Rams and the OL for the Rams in 2023 performed similarly to 2022.

Texas A&M RB Devon Achane (Draft Profile)

Texas A&M running back, Devon Achane is probably one of the fastest players in the 2023 draft. NFLDraftBuzz lists Achane’s 40 time at 4.24 seconds. In high school, Achane (pronounced “A-Chain”) ran the fastest 200 meter time in the country (granted, Covid disrupted the track season that year.) He also ran track in college and qualified for the NCAA championships in the 100 meters (he finished last in the field, but he also ran a wind aided 10.02 seconds and his best official time is 10.4 seconds. He ran the 200 meters in 20.2 seconds and the 60 meters in 6.63 seconds.) If you enjoy fast 40 times, and I know some of you TST fans do, Achane is one of the top prospects to watch at the Combine.

On draft boards, Achane is typically ranked as the 3rd best RB in the draft. Mel Kiper ranked him as the 2nd best running back, behind only Bijan Robinson. Should he be getting more love on TST? I don’t recall anyone mentioning him as a top Rams target. Is Achane the next Chris Johnson?

Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker (Draft Profile)

I didn’t struggle much with assigning Hooker a draft grade. I see him as a very similar prospect to a QB I wrote about back in 2021, Kellen Mond from Texas A&M. Mond was drafted by the Vikings near the very top of the 3rd round in 2021. I had a 5th round draft grade on Mond, comparing him to Dak Prescott. The Vikings waived Mond after only 1 season. Sean Mannion beat out Mond for the 2nd string job in 2021. Kevin O’Connell became the new Vikings HC in 2022, but apparently wasn’t impressed by Mond. So, the Vikings traded for Nick Mullens and dumped Mond. The Browns picked him up and he’s listed as their 3rd string QB.

My grade for Hooker is exactly the same as the grade I had on Mond. But, will Hooker’s pro career more closely resemble Mond’s or will he become the next Dak Prescott?

Army EDGE Andre Carter II (Draft Profile)

Taking a break from watching RBs, I wanted to try to find a “fun” prospect to write about. I watched a bunch of punters and kickers. There’s a K who might enter the draft who is 5’11’’ and 254 pounds. They call him the “Thiccer Kicker” (I don’t know why they spell it like that.) The prospect I finally settled on is the highly touted Army defender, Andre Carter II (His dad isn’t the former NFL player who played for the Niners. His dad is a restaurant franchisee and worked in the airline industry. His mom used to be a lawyer. He’s the youngest of 5 kids.) Currently ranked on most draft boards as a 1st or 2nd round player, Carter could be a prime candidate for the Rams to draft in the 2nd round. KA recently mentioned him in an article about unconventional players the Rams could draft.

Draft Grade and Pro Comp

3rd round grade, Anthony Barr (1st round, 2014, Vikings, UCLA)

Andre Carter II is a project player. He’s a great athlete, but his football skills are rudimentary and his football awareness is lacking. He also lacks play strength and has an odd build, resulting in him playing too high and getting pushed around or stuffed by offensive linemen. I see him as a boom or bust prospect and I feel his best position in the pros would be as a stand up OLB, not as an EDGE rusher.

Florida G O’Cyrus Torrence (Draft Profile)

Photo by Chris Leduc/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Strengths

Tall, heavy, with gigantic hands, but unlike many big guards he’s not stiff and slow, he is relatively fluid and athletic. He’s not athletic compared to all offensive line prospects, but for such a big person he moves well.

Desired mass in lower body. Can drop anchor and become difficult for the defender to push backwards.

While he’s not ideal for a zone scheme, he was used on zone runs in college and does have sufficient baseline mobility to play for a zone team. On a zone run, he made a great backside seal block and his large frame made it difficult for the defender to run around him. On easier reach blocks he has adequate range to flow wide and some fluidity to swing his hips around and seal the defender.

Kansas State RB Deuce Vaughn (Draft Profile)

Draft Grade and Pro Comp

7th round, Kerwynn Williams (7th round 2013, Colts, Utah State)

His final season in college, Williams had 1,512 rushing yards, 15 rush TDs, caught 45 balls for 697 yards and 5 more TDs. In the NFL he was used primarily as a return specialist. Initially, he was a practice squad type. He did start a few games at one point, but if I remember correctly, I believe it was because his team had a bunch of injuries at RB. Williams was one of my favorite late round RB prospects in his draft class.

I found Vaughn’s game tape to be disappointing relative to his impressive statistical production. He’s not as good a prospect as I was hoping to see. In my view, he’s not a backup RB, he’s only a gadget, niche player in the NFL. He could compete with someone like Brandon Powell on a team’s roster. Return kicks, then on offense once in a while he could get a few plays either to catch a pass or a couple of carries. He’d be a 4th string RB type of player.

Kansas State G Cooper Beebe (Draft Profile)

The Wyatt Teller Overture

2022 has been a disappointing season for the Rams OL. As a case study for how a team in a similar situation tried to fix their OL and how they ended up making a massive mistake, I want to revisit the story of Browns guard, Wyatt Teller, but this time from the POV of his original team, the Buffalo Bills.

I just want to highlight here how awesome Ferragamo’s stories and comparisons are to other players and teams in history. You must click and read these full articles, I’m only giving you 5% or less of what he writes!!!

Background

Name: Cooper Beebe, turns 22 years old in May. Redshirt junior, I don’t know yet if he’ll stay in school or declare for the draft.

Position: Left guard

School: Kansas State. Secondary education major.

Size: Sports Illustrated lists as 6’2 3/4’’ tall, 326 pounds, 5.12 sec (40 time). NFLDraftBuzz has him as 6’4’’ tall, 322 pounds, 5.32 sec (40 time). Notice the 40 times are 2 tenths of a second different from the 2 sources.

Minnesota RB Mohamed Ibrahim (Draft Profile)

Weaknesses

Was a good college RB, but there could be substantial questions about whether his style and traits translate to the NFL game. In the pros, there isn’t as much space and time for the RB to operate. The defenders are big, fast, athletic and some college players are pretty lousy. Ibrahim had space to set up LBs and make moves, but it is possible that what will happen to him in the NFL is even if he makes the 1st guy miss, the 2nd defender will get to him and make the tackle before he can get away. Or, Ibrahim will think he’s set up the cutback, but before he can get through the hole it will close on him, because the gap isn’t as big and doesn’t stay open as long as it did back in Minnesota and he doesn’t have enough speed to get through it.

Runs slow. No 2nd gear in open field, easily gets run down by defensive secondary. Not a home run hitter.

Very little short area burst. Doesn’t make explosive cuts. Has to gear down to make sharp angle cuts, causing him to run even slower or pause.

UAB RB DeWayne McBide (Draft Profile)

Most draft boards have McBride as about a 4th round prospect. Is he the best RB in this draft, only no one realizes it yet?

I doubt it. Some prospects are fun to watch. Not McBride. His game tape drove me nuts, I hate him so much as a draft prospect. Not only would I not draft this player in any round, I have a difficult time even making a convincing case to rank him as a priority UDFA. I just don’t think he’s a good player, to the point that I’m not even going to try to think of an NFL comp. It would shock me if McBride goes on to become a good NFL RB, even if we’re only talking about being a good backup.

Northwestern RB Evan Hull (Draft Profile)

Draft Grade and Pro Comparison

UDFA (Jake Funk, 7th round 2021, Rams, Maryland)

Evan Hull isn’t great at any particular area of the game. He a jack of all trades, but master of none prospect. On the other hand, he doesn’t have a huge flaw either. Across the board in every single category, Hull is at least “adequate”. Many of Hull’s peers in the late round or UDFA range have at least one big weakness (e.g. they fumble too much, they have no value on 3rd down, they’re too small, they can’t play special teams, they are injured or injury prone, they have unreliable character and professionalism.) Hull at least has a fighting chance to stay in the NFL, but to me he’s “just another guy” and there’s nothing special about him that would make me want to use a draft pick to acquire him, even a 7th rounder.

Everybody say Thank You to Ferragamo. Now, go to the Fanposts section, read it in full, and tell us who you want the Rams to draft.