6 takeaways from Les Snead and Sean McVay's pre-draft comments - Rams Wire

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6 takeaways from Les Snead and Sean McVay's pre-draft comments - Rams Wire

Sean McVay and Les Snead met with members of the media on Tuesday to discuss everything from the 2021 NFL draft to the addition of DeSean Jackson. They obviously didn’t give anything away when it comes to their plans in the draft, but they did share some insight on the evaluation process and their thoughts on a few positions of need.

In addition to learning that they’ve already talked to teams about trading back, they’re interested in keeping Darious Williams for the long term and that Corey Bojorquez won’t be competing with Johnny Hekker, here are six key takeaways from McVay and Snead’s comments this week ahead of the draft.

1 Rams feel good about their internal options at center

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Center is seen as the Rams’ biggest need in the 2021 NFL draft after letting Austin Blythe leave in free agency, and it’s not necessarily an inaccurate assessment. But the team might feel differently, even if only slightly.

McVay made it clear that the Rams like their internal candidates and they don’t feel forced to add a center in the draft. He mentioned Brian Allen and Coleman Shelton, as well as guards who can also play center – like Austin Corbett.

“There’s absolutely candidates in our building right now. Brian Allen is a guy that started at the center position. Coleman Shelton, and then we’ve got starter-caliber guards. Guys that have started at guard that absolutely have the position flex. So, one of the things that we’ve tried to do over the last couple of years is really have some position flex, especially with those interior players. But, definitely have more than enough guys in house and it’s that’s something that we feel really confident about.

“I think it’s not something that you feel like you have to fill because we’ve got a lot of guys in house that we feel like are more than capable of being starting-caliber NFL centers. And so, if it’s something dependent upon how everything falls, it might be something that you address. But I think the one thing that’s been really good and Les and I’ve talked about this, and it’s a real credit to Les and his group, and really everybody in its entirety, is that we don’t have any major glaring holes where it’s like, OK, you’ve got to address this position or else,’ we’re not really asking anybody to feel like they have to come in and immediately start.”

2 Snead mentioned Jabril Cox twice

(AP Photo/Michael Woods)

Whether intentional or not, Snead made mention of the intriguing LSU linebacker twice in his press conference. Cox held his own individual pro day on Monday, one day before Snead spoke to the media, so he had the linebacker on his mind when asked about the impact of COVID-19 on the prospect evaluation process.

“Instead of having a lot of workout numbers at the combine in the middle of February, if you’re looking for the LSU linebackers’ numbers, you didn’t get them until yesterday. So, there’s been some delay gratification in that type of thing,” Snead said.

He elaborated a bit further when asked about the linebacker position, saying it’s interesting to see how that spot has changed over the years. He once again mentioned Cox – though not by name – as a player who can do it all as a linebacker.

“I’ll keep my true assessment in house,” Snead said. “The one thing I will say is the interesting part of evaluating inside linebackers is with how the game is changing. Seeing who’s playing it, how college defenses are utilizing players. Again, the kid that ran yesterday at LSU, go out, transfer from North Dakota State and go cover the number three receiver in the slot, similar to what nickel corners do. So, it’s fun. It’s an assessment of trying to work through what types do we have, what types do we need, who can help also cover kicks and those type of things. So that’s a very important position to scrutinize.”

3 Homework has been done on cornerbacks

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Cornerback rose near the top of the Rams’ list of needs when Troy Hill left in free agency, especially with Darious Williams only getting the one-year tender. The Rams haven’t hidden their interest in cornerback prospects with their pre-draft meetings, making it likely that they’ll take one at some point – possibly even at No. 57.

Snead made it clear that the team has done its homework on the corners in this class, studying which ones can play where. He said the Rams are “definitely well aware” of the cornerbacks in the draft and acknowledged that they typically go early because of the positional value.

“It’s always important to add corner depth. And I do think, like we have been able to over the last few years, we’ve been able to draft, have that player not come in and have to cover teams’ number one or number two wide receivers immediately,” he said. “But again, I like where we’re at in the draft, 57 and then 88 and 103. Really at that point in time, you don’t want to go into it saying, ‘Hey, we have to have this position.’ That’s where you may reach. So, we’re well aware of the corners and whether they play inside, out, both or just outside. Whether Joe D. and Coach Stukes like what they’ve done covering kicks in college and whether they’ve returned some punts or kicks in their time. So, we’re definitely well aware, but that’s a position that’s sought after and a lot of good players usually go early in that position because it does take a special human to be able to go play that position for sure.”

4 Kevin Carberry is helping in OL evaluation for the draft

(AP Photo)

The Rams replaced Aaron Kromer with Carberry, who was Stanford’s offensive line coach last year. He’s not going to have a major say in who the Rams draft or what they do this weekend, but McVay made it clear that Carberry has helped evaluate these incoming offensive linemen thanks to his college roots.

Could that mean a guy like OT Walker Little or C Drew Dalman lands with the Rams and their former offensive line coach? It’s certainly possible.

“I’ll tell you what’s been really helpful is Kevin Carberry, the mastery that he’s had from recruiting and a lot of the crossover with whether it’s Pac-12 guys, or even just when you’re looking at a lot of these linemen now that are coming out, he’s got a great command of this draft class because he was at Stanford for three years,” McVay said. “I’ve really, really enjoyed working with him and the rest of our offensive coaching staff and Les and his group and collaborating and kind of understanding, ‘All right, where are there some possible players dependent upon where we decide, if we decide to utilize a pick on an offensive lineman, that can add depth or provide real value for us,’ and those are things that we’re excited about seeing how this week unfolds, but a lot of good options and that’s a huge part of what the last couple months have entailed.”

5 DeSean Jackson won’t exclusively be a deep threat

(AP Photo/Chris Szagola, Pool)

The Rams added Jackson as a free agent and while he’s primarily known for his speed, he won’t exclusively be a downfield threat for the Rams. McVay has coached Jackson before and seen up close what he can do on the field, and he views the veteran as more than just a speed demon.

He likes the way Jackson complements the Rams’ current receiving corps, giving them a different element as a field-stretcher and likely a big-play weapon on the outside.

“I think first of all, the history that I have with DeSean and talking through some of the things that we felt like would help add to our offense – really smart, explosive player,” McVay said. “I know he’s had some injuries over the last couple years. But we are confident in his ability. I mean, you even look at the impact that he has – he comes off the broken ankle, has an explosive, long touchdown where he’s just floating past Dallas late in the year, I want to say it was in late December. So, he brings an element to our offense where he adds to an already really solid receiving group with Robert (Woods) and Cooper (Kupp), kind of headlining that group. Really ascending player and Van Jefferson and what the different amount of personnel groupings that you want to activate, being able to have four and five guys that you feel like can make major contributions from the receiver room is something that we valued. He’s known for the ability to stretch the top shelf of the defense and create an add to some of those explosives. But it certainly isn’t exclusive to that and being able to come back home and the experience.”

Snead added the following, also pointing to Jackson’s ability to create big plays despite being on the older side.

“Well, I think there’s two ways you can do it – you can go to our film and you can sort by, let’s call it big plays and explosive plays over the last few years and watch all of those and go, OK, even though he’s an older gentleman, he can still roll’ and you can tap into some of your next gen stats and go, ‘OK, yeah, he’s still running with the young guys.’ So I guess some people were born to run, but he’s a pretty simple eval based on the resume that he’s put on film, on ESPN highlights, on the grass over the years. So, jacked to have him,” Snead said.

6 Rams won’t punish opt-out players

(Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)

Several prospects opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, turning their attention to the NFL draft. Those players range from surefire first-rounders like Ja’Marr Chase to Day 3 picks. Those prospects can be more difficult to evaluate and project because their last games were in 2019, but the Rams aren’t going to punish those guys and wipe them off the board.

McVay said character is a big part of this process and it puts more on the team to go back to their 2019 tape as a way to study prospects who opted out.

“I think Les and his group do such a great job with the background,” McVay said. “The tape is always the best guiding light. So, you go back to their ‘19 film and you use that as the most important reference. Then the character is all a big part of it. Les and his group do an outstanding job of vetting these players and really our coaches as well, it’s all part of it. But the most important thing that guides our decision-making is, first and foremost, the tape. You don’t punish a guy. This past year has certainly been, I think one that is different in so many ways, but you don’t punish guys for that. You go back to the tape. You look at what they’ve previously done – and then there are some projections with guys that maybe have less tangible evidence on the tape and it all is a part of the evaluation process. But certainly, nothing weighs more than when you’re evaluating them playing the game that we’re going to ask them to do.”

2021-04-28 20:53:03Z
https://theramswire.usatoday.com/lists/rams-nfl-draft-mcvay-snead-press-conference-comments/

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