NFL DRAFT NUGGETS – The Rams/Titans Trade

Draft Nuggets 2016: Entry #18

By Jeff Bowers of www.draftnarrative.com

Team Profiles Part 4 of 4 and Rams/Titans Trade

Here’s an interesting “behind-the-scenes” look at some of the prep work that goes into The Ticket’s broadcast on the NFL Draft. Every year, I or an intern prepares 4×6 cards on each team for quick reference. These cards include team needs, past records, stats, free agent moves and various other notes that can enhance the listener’s experience or provide insight into a particular selection. I thought it might be interesting to give the P1’s a glimpse at the info on those cards as well as give a thumbnail sketch of each team drafting before or after the Cowboys.

To begin, here is the update to the Rams and Titans profiles after their big trade. This trade affirms my belief that the Cowboys had a deal in place with the Rams for the 4^th pick until Tennessee offered them #1. It was a huge price to pay for the Rams for a QB prospect (either Wentz or Goff) that will likely be good, but not great QBs in the NFL. Wentz’s NFL comparison range is Joe Flacco on the high side and Alex Smith on the low. Goff’s comparison range is Aaron Rodgers on the high end and Ryan Tannehill on the low.

As far as how this trade affects the Cowboys, I see it breaking one of two ways. If the draft goes QB, QB, OT (Tunsil) prior to their pick, I believe the Cowboys will be stuck at 4 and must decide between Ramsey, Jack or Bosa. UNLESS rumors that the Titans still want Ramsey is true, in which case perhaps they could still trade down to 15 and get some extra picks in the 2^nd and/or 3^rd. If the draft goes QB, Ramsey, Tunsil then I believe the Cowboys will try to facilitate a trade down for Goff with SF, Philly, NYJ or someone else. Remember, just a few weeks ago we were speculating whether the Browns would still draft a QB after signing RGIII. After the signing the Browns also curiously released S Donte Whitner, perhaps signaling their intention to take Ramsey at #2. Either way, I expect the Cowboys will have a Plan A,B and C for #4 prior to going on the clock on April 28^th.

Tennessee Titans

Last Season 3-13

Picks (9)			Key Additions	Needs	Rankings
Rd	Pick	Overall	RB DeMarco Murray	OL	Tot Off 30^th
1	15	15 from LA	C Ben Jones	CB	Pass Off 25^th
2	2	33	WR Rishard Mathews	DL	Rush Off 25^th
2	12	43 from LA (Phil)	CB Brice McCain	OLB	Tot Pts 28^th
2	14	From LA	S Rashad Johnson	ILB	Tot Def 12^th
3	1	64	Key Losses		Pass Def 7^th
3	13	76 from LA	S Michael Griffin		Rush Def 18^th
5	1	140	CB Coty Sensabaugh		Pts All 27^th
6	18	193	LB Zach Brown		TO Marg -14 (T-30^th)
7	1	222	G/C Joe Looney

Los Angeles Rams

Last Season 7-9

Picks (5)			Key Additions	Needs	Rankings
Rd	Pick	Overall	CB Coty Sensabaugh	QB	Tot Off 32^nd
1	1	1	DE Quinten Coples	WR	Pass Off 32^nd
4	12	110		OL	Rush Off 7^th
4	15	113 from Tenn (Phil)	Key Losses	S	Tot Pts 29^th
6	2	177 from Tenn	DE Chris Long	CB	Tot Def 23^rd
6	15	190	TE Jared Cook		Pass Def 23^rd
			LB James Laurinitis		Rush Def 20^th
					Pts All 13^th
					TO Marg +5 (T-10^th)

Now here’s teams 25-32

Pittsburgh Steelers

Last Season 10-6

Picks (7)			Key Additions	Needs	Rankings
Rd	Pick	Overall	OT Ryan Harris	CB	Tot Off 3^rd
1	25	25	DE Ricardo Matthews	S	Pass Off 3^rd
2	27	58	LB Steven Johnson	DL	Rush Off 16^th
3	26	89	TE Ladarius Green	OLB	Tot Pts T-4^th
4	25	123	Key Losses	ILB	Tot Def 21^st
6	45	220 comp	OT Kelvin Beachum		Pass Def 30^th
7	8	229 from NYG	NT Steve McClendon		Rush Def 5^th
7	25	246	TE Heath Miller (ret)		Pts All 11^th
			WR Martavis Bryant (sus)		TO Marg +2 (T-15^th )

Seattle Seahawks

Last Season 10-6

Picks (9)			Key Additions	Needs	Rankings
Rd	Pick	Overall	DE Chris Clemons	G	Tot Off 4^th
1	26	26	G/T J’Marcus Webb	C	Pass Off 20^th
2	25	56	OT Bradley Sowell	LB	Rush Off 3^rd
3	27	90	DT Sealver Siliga	DT	Tot Pts T-4^th
3	35	97 comp	Key Losses	RB	Tot Def 2^nd
4	26	124	RB Marshawn Lynch (ret)		Pass Def 2^nd
5	34	171 comp	DT Brandon Mebane		Rush Def 1^st
6	40	215 comp	OLB Bruce Irvin		Pts All 1^st
7	4	225 from Dal			TO Marg +6 (T-6th)
7	26	247

Green Bay Packers

Last Season 10-6

Picks (9)			Key Additions	Needs	Rankings
Rd	Pick	Overall	TE Jared Cook	ILB	Tot Off 23^rd
1	27	27		DL	Pass Off T-25^th
2	26	57		OLB	Rush Off 12^th
3	25	88		OT	Tot Pts 15^th
4	27	125		WR	Tot Def 15^th
4	33	131 comp	Key Losses		Pass Def 6^th
4	39	137 comp	DT BJ Raji (ret)		Rush Def 21^st
5	26	163	CB Casey Hayward		Pts All 12^th
6	25	200	QB Scott Tolzien		TO Marg +5 (10^th)
7	27	248

Kansas City Chiefs

Last Season 11-5

Picks (7)			Key Additions	Needs	Rankings
Rd	Pick	Overall	OT Mitchell Schwartz	LB	Tot Off 27^th
1	28	28	S Stevie Brown	G	Pass Off 30^th
2	28	59	WR Rod Streeter	WR	Rush Off 6^th
Forfeited (Tampering)			DE Andy Mulumba	S	Tot Pts 9^th
4	28	126	Key Losses	QB	Tot Def 7^th
5	25	162 from Sea	CB Sean Smith		Pass Def 9^th
5	28	165	G Jeff Allen		Rush Def 8^th
6	28	203	QB Chase Daniel		Pts All 3^rd
7	28	249	S Tyvon Branch		TO Marg +14 (2^nd)

New England Patriots

Last Season 12-4

Picks (10)			Key Additions	Needs	Rankings
Rd	Pick	Overall	NT Terrance Knighton	DL	Tot Off 6^th
Forfeited (Deflate-gate)			TE Martellus Bennett	CB	Pass Off 5^th
2	29	60	DE Chris Long	WR	Rush Off 30^th
2	30	61 from Ariz	CB EJ Biggers	OL	Tot Pts 3^rd
3	29	91	WR Nate Washington	RB	Tot Def 9^th
3	34	96 comp	G Jonathan Cooper		Pass Def 17^th
6	21	196 from Hou	Key Losses		Rush Def 9^th
6	33	208 comp	DE Dominique Easley		Pts All 10^th
6	39	214 comp	DE Chandler Jones		TO Marg +9(5^th)
6	46	221 comp	WR Brandon Lafell
7	22	243 from Hou	LB Jerod Mayo (ret)
7	29	250	TE Scott Chandler

Arizona Cardinals

Last Season 14-2

Picks (6)			Key Additions	Needs	Rankings
Rd	Pick	Overall	DE Chandler Jones	CB	Tot Off 1^st
1	30	29	G Evan Mathis	C	Pass Off 2^nd
3	30	92	S Tyvon Branch	LB	Rush Off 8^th
4	30	128	Key Losses	TE	Tot Pts 2^nd
5	30	167	OT Bobbie Massie	S	Tot Def 5^th
5	33	170 comp	S Rashad Johnson		Pass Def 8^th
6	30	205	OT Bradley Sowell		Rush Def 6^th
			LB Sean Weatherspoon		Pts All T-7^th
					TO Marg +9 (4^th)

Carolina Panthers

Last Season 15-1

Picks (6)			Key Additions	Needs	Rankings
Rd	Pick	Overall	CB Brandon Boykin	OT	Tot Off 11^th
1	31	30	DT Paul Solial	S	Pass Off 24^th
2	31	62	C Gino Gradkowski	DE	Rush Off 2^nd
3	31	93	Key Losses	G	Tot Pts 1^st
4	31	129	OT Nate Chandler	RB	Tot Def 6^th
5	31	168	DT Dwan Edwards		Pass Def 11^th
7	31	252	C Fernando Velasco		Rush Def 4^th
					Pts All 6^th
					TO Marg +20 (1^st)

Denver Broncos

Last Season 12-4

Picks (10)			Key Additions	Needs	Rankings
Rd	Pick	Overall	DE Jared Crick	QB	Tot Off 16^th
1	32	31	OT Russell Okung	OL	Pass Off 14^th
2	32	63	OT Donald Stephenson	ILB	Rush Off 17^th
3	32	94	QB Mark Sanchez	DL	Tot Pts 19^th
3	36	98 comp	Key Losses	TE	Tot Def 1^st
4	39	136 comp	DE Malik Jackson		Pass Def 1^st
5	5	144 from Oak	QB Peyton Manning (ret)		Rush Def 3^rd
5	20	157 from NYJ	QB Brock Osweiler		Pts All 4^th
6	44	219 comp	OT Ryan Clady		TO Marg -4(T-19^th)
7	7	228 from SF	LB Danny Trevathan
7	32	253