UA-59049186-1 2017 NFL Team Preview: Los Angeles Rams - Good if it Goes

2017 NFL Team Preview: Los Angeles Rams

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Last Year:

Record: 4-12

Offense: 14.0 ppg (32nd)

Defense: 24.6 pa (23rd)

Offseason: 

Key Acquisitions: RB. Lance Dunbar, WR. Robert Woods, LT. Andrew Whitworth, C. John Sullivan, LB. Connor Barwin, CB. Nickell Robey-Coleman

Key Losses: WR. Kenny Britt, OT. Greg Robinson, C. Tim Barnes, DE. William Hayes

2017 Draft Picks

RD(PK) PLAYER POS SCHOOL
2(12) Gerald Everett TE South Alabama
3(5) Cooper Kupp WR Eastern Washington
3(27) John Johnson S Boston College
4(10) Josh Reynolds WR Texas A&M
4(19) Samson Ebukam OLB Eastern Washington
6(5) Tanzel Smart DT Tulane
6(22) Sam Rogers FB Virginia Tech
7(16) Ejuan Price OLB Pittsburgh

2017 Outlook 

Coaching Staff

  • HC: Sean McVay
  • OC: Matt LaFleur
  • DC: Wade Phillips
  • ST: John Fassel

Offense

QB. Jared Goff, Sean Mannion

RB. Toddy Gurley, Lance Dunbar

WR. Robert Woods, Mike Thomas

WR. Tavon Austin, Pharoh Cooper

WR. Cooper Kupp

TE. Gerald Everett, Tyler Higbee

LT. Andrew Whitworth, Pace Murphy

LG. Rodger Saffold, Jake Eldrenkamp

C. John Sullivan, Austin Blythe

RG. Rob Havenstein, Cody Wichmann

RT. Jamon Brown, Andrew Donnal

Defense

DE. Dominique Easley, Matt Lonacre

NT.  Michael Brockers, Ethan Westbrooks

DE. Aaron Donald, Louis Trinca-pasat

OLB. Connor Barwin, Carlos Thompson

MLB. Alec Ogletree, Bryce Hager

MLB.  Mark Barron, Cory Littleton

OLB. Robert Quinn, Morgan Fox

CB. Trumaine Johnson

SS. Mo Alexander, Isaiah Johnson

FS. Lamarcus Joyner, Cody Davis

CB. E.J. Gaines, Kayvon Webster

NB. Nickell Robey-Coleman

Specialists

K. Greg Zuerlein

P. Johnny Hekker

 Breakdown

Offense:

The Rams should be better offensively in 2017 thanks to some quality free agent signings. It starts on the offensive line where the Rams signed an elite LT in Andrew Whitworth and a quality starting center in John Sullivan. They will be the best two offensive lineman on the team and should impact major change across the entire line. The incumbents are Roger Saffold who will remain at LG, Rob Havenstein who will move from RT to RG, and Jamon Brown who will get the nod at RT. Saffold and Havenstein were both solid a year ago and now that Havenstein is moving inside to guard he should be even better. Brown filled in off the bench last year and ended up starting five games. He showed some potential in his second season and now the team’s 2015 third round pick will get his shot to start full time. The Rams also made some changes at the skill positions. They replaced Kenny Britt with Robert Woods in free agency. Woods had the best season of his career and finally started to look like a guy worthy of being a second round draft pick. They also drafted tight end Gerald Everett in the second round who could be a steal. He is a very athletic player who may have been devalued because he played in the Sun Belt conference at South Alabama. Tavon Austin is still on a team and he simply needs to play better. He has all that speed and athletic ability but just has not been able to translate it into quality receiver play. Speaking of players who need to play better Todd Gurley is at the top of that list for the Rams. The Rams need Gurley play at the elite level he did in his rookie year. His talent demands more of him than the 3.2 yards per carry he produced in 2016. I think with an improved line and new coaching staff Gurley will be reinvigorated and play a lot better. The play of none of these players will matter nearly as much however if the QB play does not drastically improve. Goff gets a pass for his rookie year playing on a bad offense with an outdated coaching staff. However, the o-line is improved, he has one of the most talented backs in the league behind him and though his receiving corps is not great it is good enough to get some things done if a team has a competent QB. So the question is can Goff just be a competent starting QB? Forget great franchise QB they just need him to look like a starter first and things can start to turn around for the Rams next year.

Defense:

Defensively the Rams have a chance to be elite. And it is not because of any new free agent they brought in on that side of the ball but because they added what may be the best defensive coordinator in the league in Wade Phillips. With Phillips arrival in LA the team will be switching to a 3-4 look. If the Rams had hired just about any other 3-4 defensive coordinator I would have considered it a questionable move as it goes against the strengths of their best player Aaron Donald. However Phillips does not play a traditional 2 gap 3-4 scheme. Instead he opts for a more aggressive 1 gap attacking scheme. As a matter of fact smaller quicker interior guys like jay Ratliff and Derek Wolfe have thrived in Phillip’s defense and I expect the same from Aaron Donald. Joining Donald in the interior will be Michael Brockers at nose and Dominque Easley at the other end spot. Brockers is a big run stopper that should do a good job clogging things up in the middle. Easley is another really quick undersized guy that should be able to use his quickness to penetrate gaps in the run game and get after it in pass rush. With the switch to a 3-4 defense comes edge linebackers and former defensive end Robert Quinn will be converting to fill one of those spots. Injuries have hampered Quinn’s performance since he led the league in sacks years ago but the talent still remains and he is still young enough to get back to that level. At the other OLB spot will be free agent pick up Connor Barwin who is a solid pass rusher with experience playing both 3-4 OLB and 4-3 end so he should have no trouble fitting into this defense. At the off-line linebacker positions will be Alec Ogletree and Mark Barron. Ogletree has talent but his play has been inconsistent his entire career. They need him to step up and be a leader for the defense in 2017. Barron is a former safety turned linebacker who brings a versatile hybrid skill set to the position. As you would imagine given his lack of size he has his issues when defending the run but is a very good coverage linebacker. The secondary has a talented group of guys but there are some questions and position shifting going on. At corner Trumaine Johnson is the top guy and had a good year in 2016. However on the opposite side EJ Gaines was not so good and will need to play a lot better this upcoming season. Free agent pickup Nickell Robey-Coleman will be the team’s new nickel man. He had a good year for the Bills in 2016 and is a fiesty undersized guy who signed a 1 year prove it deal Andy should be highly motivated. At safety Lamarcus Joyner will be moving from nickel corner to FS. This will not be a big adjustment for Joyner as he is used to moving all around in the secondary and started full time at safety in college. At SS will be Maurice Alexander who may not be a household name but should be. He had a breakout year in 2016 establishing himself as one of the best coverage safeties in the NFL. According to pro football focus he allowed no TDs when in primary coverage the entire season. If Gaines can play better and Joyner makes a smooth transition to safety the Rams can have one of the best secondaries in the NFL. With Phillips now in charge there is no reason the Rams should not have a top ten defense in 2017.

 

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