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SOME IDEAS ABOUT THE 2000 DRAFT
BY DK COX (March 5)

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD. While missing Coach Vermeil, I am feeling good about the defending WORLD CHAMPIONS.  (Although I plan on visiting THE COACH if I can,  since he lives very near to my hometown, and is a spokesperson for my cable company,  & has always been a very accessible guy). 

I trust Armey & Martz as much as I trusted THE COACH.

ZYGMUNT. Zygmunt already showed us his poker abilities with Denver in the Jenkins trade. That's something  everyone wishes Vermeil had been able to do instead of showing his hand to the media and killing the value of players. It wasn't until he laced the Saints with Kennison that Vermeil showed he was learning....but that was easy because Ditka was involved.  I'll also add that Zygmunt should have kept the high fiving & celebrating out of the papers after the Jenkins deal because it may effect him in the future.

BE ALL YOU CAN BE---THE ARMEY PLAN. Armey has always indicated his clear plans for the future, which are simple:

1. Identify your core players & keep them while they are in their prime. "Prime" is the key.

2. Develop depth on your roster by making smart draft picks. You don't avoid cap suicide by over paying your depth (Jay Williams, Charlie Clemons,  & good but not unreplaceable starters like Fred Miller, Mike Gruttadauria & Billy Jenkins)   Sure McCollum & Tucker got good contracts but nothing like Miller & Gruttadauria got, which is all about "Bang for the Buck."

How is his record?

* FAs. Armey came on late, but was still available for input & signed away some NE guys like Agnew & Mike D. Jones in year 1 & Todd Collins in year 2.

The Rams rookie FA's have been widely publicized & admittedly they have done a very good job in this department by looking for guys who may have negatives in regards to combine measurements but play well---period. Positional coaches have earned much of this credit also (eg. John Bunting for finding London Fletcher).

* Drafts.  It is true that Vermeil let the best players win and made the tough decisions like starting Fletcher over Clemons & the veteran Styles (the odds on favorite). And playing Jenkins over Bush was another example, as well as playing Nutten & Gruttadauria and sticking with Warner. But I also remember Armey being quoted as saying that they look for "VERMEIL TYPE" players in the draft, which is obviously people with intangibles, not merely combine measurements.

Armey focuses on:

#1-Game Film study
#2-Personal interviews with players & learning their history
#3-Potential

With combine measurements way down on the list.

The key? Keep finding players with Grant Wistrom's motor;  Dre Bly's confidence;  Kurt Warner's devotion, commitment & faith;  D'Marco Farr's exuberance;  Todd Collin's efficiency;  Mike Jones's errorless instincts;  Adam Timmerman's ferocity;  London Fletcher's spirit... and  an OVERALL TEAM THAT ENJOYS EACH OTHERS COMPANY
....and all will be just fine.

As long as we draft value and pure football players instead of "camp creatures" & let guys like Armey get the credit he has earned, than we could continue tasting this sweet success for awhile to come.

DEPTH ANALYSIS. The Rams still need to fill several other recently developed holes.  Rams needs are easy to see and  although the ranking may differ  from person to person, everyone seems to see the following:

* 1st-Big DT to help against the run. Considering Farr's size & Agnew's age, a good rookie DT could very well be a valuable starter for us in a year or two. Also, while I for one love D'Marco & London as much as anyone out there & believe they are very important players in our success this year-and would not even think of losing or replacing them due to their heart, intensity & production in the big picture----nevertheless, I still feel that they have issues at the point of impact,  when the plays comes right to them.  They are very good in vertical & lateral pursuit as you will find in the league but struggle when plays come right at them (not unlike Kearse & I would love to have him also).

We can hope a DT drops in the draft, but even then it's not going to be anyone to have a party over. The only way I see we should keep this pick if we Armey has someone rated in the top  15-20 who drops down into our laps and offers upside against a current player.

* 2nd-OL depth. Sure it's nice having our potential starters locked up for 3 years, but questions need to be answered about Tucker,  Nutten & McCollum. The promise of Cameron Spikes & Todd Frohbeiter is nice to dream about, but there are real question marks about them.

* 3rd-LB's depth. I believe we are thinner here than most realize. Collins (soon to be 30) & Jones (soon to be 31) all both are  getting up there in years. Although they are obviously not retiring next year, at their age, there are questions about their speed and  recovery time if they get nicked.  L.Fletcher & L. Little will be at Rams Park for many years to come, but how secure are L. Styles, M. Morton, B. Jones, T. Pelshak & M. Chatham?

* 4th-Wide receiver (one with some height would be nice). Chances are good Az Hakim will be a salary cap victim when his rookie contract expires. R. Proehl is probably playing out his contract. That leaves Bruce & Holt as the clear cut 1 & 2. Hopefully, Tony Horne can  fill Hakim's position. Darrius Blevins is the only other guy who  shows promise. They need to draft a decent receiver who can grow with time & coaching. Someone from the mid rounds.

* 5th-Another TE (one with equal ability to catch & block). Conwell will be unquestioned # 1 next year & barring set backs, should  start for awhile to come. J. Robinson offers a lot of flexibility.  That leaves Roland Williams, who could easily become another salary  cap victim down the road. Considering his inconsistent blocking,  the loss will be marginal.

* 6th-Another running back to challenge R. Holcombe & Justin Watson. With Marshall in the fold for the foreseeable future all we need is someone who has the skills to be a 3rd down back & to push the incumbents.

* 7th-Another defensive back. Last year, because Ron Carpenter played too well to cut him, they went with the unconventional mixture  of 5 safeties & 4 CBs It was obvious,  though,  that if a CB was hurt for an extended period of time, we would have been in trouble. At 31, Lyght will be signing his last contract. McCleon & Bly are both starters in this league but McCleon is a UFA next year & possibly a cap casualty due since he is not a core "irreplaceable."  Taje Allen has few fans and Darwin Brown is the only other roster CB with some skills.

You may flop the positions around and with extra 5th, 6th & 7th round picks the Rams will have the flexibility to move up if someone they like is still hanging around when they pick.

DRAFT STRATEGY 2000: Here are two ways to look at it:

1. Trading Down Theory: This is  appropriate  considering the Rams overall depth, needs,  & the short drop off in talent from the # 31 pick to the 2nd & 3rd rounds. On the other hand, there is another consideration. Once a rookie contract expires and you offer them a tender in their "restricted" year, the compensation is  the round they were picked in, which obviously means that several years from now the # 31 pick will be significantly more important  than the # 32 pick. That of course depends on the quality of player  you pick, but you see the point.

2. Best Player Available Theory. For arguments sake let's say that OT-Chris McIntosh-Wisconsin drops & we can let him & Tucker battle it out for RT. If Tucker wins, than we have great depth for a year.  If McIntosh wins, than Tucker can battle it out at center  or remain 1st lineman off the bench regardless of position. I view that as a overall upgrade in talent--- a possibility that can't be ignored. But to take someone like DT Darwin Walker at #31 just to fill a need means you get nothing more than a player who fits in the rotation and who could have been taken later in the draft.

Another thought would be trading some of our extra lower round picks to move up to Chris Hovan's spot, which is the best case scenario in my opinion.

WHO TO TAKE AT #31? So...let's talk about the # 31 pick.

I have completed more mocks than I care to confess, but one thing becomes obvious when do the mocks over & over again. Do some  mocks & you will see that other teams's needs will push several of  these guys down (maybe even farther than #62).  But when you look at the guys most likely available at the # 62 pick that fits our needs you will see a much larger drop off.

Below is a list of guys we could get at # 31 & than at # 62.

DT: DT at # 1  is reach unless Chris Hovan drops down, which isn't likely.  My opinion is, unless Chris Hovan is available we should take a DT at # 62 & the highest rated player on our board at one of the key depth positions (OL, OLB, WR, CB or TE). A DT taken lower could even be a better pick because often 1st round talent is categorized by "ability" and after that guys start getting drafted on production. A guy like Fred Robbins in 3rd round or Jerry DeLoach in 3rd or 4th. Both of these guys can work behind Agnew and produce in the rotation now and still offer something down the road.

Personally, I rate the rest as Cornelius Griffin-Alabama, Steve Warren-Nebraska, Darwin Walker-Tennessee than Jerry Johnson-Florida State. I think they all offer something different from Hovan but of equal value next year & down the road. You can rate them however you want, but the fact is several of them will be available at # 62.

OL for pick # 31: C. Coleman-Tennessee, Todd Wade-Mississippi, Marvel Smith-Arizona State, Adrian Klemm-Hawaii, Leander Jordan-Indiana (Pa.) & John St. Clair- Virginia are potential picks here.

OLs who will be gone by pick #62: Michael Thompson-Tennessee St., Darnell Alford-Boston College & Chad Clifton-Tennessee.

OLs available at # 62: Baline Saipaia-Colorado State, Bobby Williams-Arkansas, Kaulana Noa-Hawaii, JOnathan Gray-Texas Tech & Damion McIntosh-Kansas State who also plays DT.

LBs for pick # 31 possibly: Keith Bullock-Syracuse, John Abraham-South Carolina, Julian Peterson-Michigan State, Raynoch Thompson-Tennessee & Rob Morris-BYU.

LBs who will drafted before # 62: Barrett Green-West Virginia, Corey Moore-Virginia Tech, Na'il Diggs-Ohio State, Matt Beck-California & maybe Brandon Short-Penn State.

LBs who will be gone by pick  # 62: Mark Simoneau-Kansas State, Sekou Sanyika-California & Marcus Bell-Arizona

WR's for pick # 31 possibly: Jerry Porter-West Virginia, R. Jay Soward-USC, Todd Pinkston-Southern Miss, Darrell Jackson-Florida & Kwame Cavil-Texas.

WR's who will be gone by pick #62: Danny Farmer-UCLA, Dennis Northcutt-Arizona, Anthony Lucas-Arkansas, Laveranue Coles & Ron Dugans-Florida State Wr's

Left at #62: One of the above left or Bashir Yamini-Iowa, Chafie Fields-Penn State & Marcus Knight-Michigan

WHO IS BEHIND MARSHALL? I'm of the opinion that the Rams coaching staff did Robert Holcombe a big favor in finding him a position to play in the NFL...and it's not as a # 2 RB. I'm not so sure he was worth a 2nd round pick, but I also feel he is still developing at his position of FB and greater things are ahead for him there.

But IMO we will still need a backup RB. Considering cap space, ages, health issues, style of play & all, I would like to see us find this player in the draft. The rookie who I think  who will go on to a have solid NFL career is Lamont Jordan from Maryland. He has the size, speed,  & elusiveness that all good NFL backs have. If he is there at the 62nd  pick, I would not mind if they took him....& if he is there at 93.... SNAP HIM UP.

Only thing is, Armey apparently has focused on defense & considering how easy it is to sign FA RBs late,  it would seem like a easy position to fill with little or no long term effect on the cap. As I see the options among FAs  they are  these:

* Unrestricted Free Agents: Adrian Murrell, Karim-Abdul Jabbar, Ron Rivers, LeShon Johnson, Eric Bieniemy,  &  possibly even Greg Hill.

* Restricted Free Agents: Tiki Barber, Byron Hanspard, Kenny Bynum,  & Richard Huntley.

My choice among the FAs would be LeShon Johnson. He will likely be available late into June, has shown last year that he has completed his miraculous recovery from cancer, is a good team guy,  & is a very hard & unselfish worker. He still has enough outside speed.

Another possibility would be Natrone Means. Means is begging to simply be a backup this year. He has come out and said he would like to play behind Fred Taylor and several other teams & when the KC opportunity presented itself he seemed to be stalling instead of jumping in at the chance to start for a decent team on grass in a familiar division. I guess  those (3) surgeries since the season ended has him looking for a paycheck only. What a shame,  since when  healthy he is hell on the field at 5-10, 245 lbs...he will just turn 28 next month. He has been nicked up in his career (especially ankles...I guess form the weight), but then again doesn't have much mileage for a 8 year NFL back.