it's only a kick a jump a block it's only a serve it's only a tackle a run it's only for the fans after all it's only pressure you got this Adidas this episode is brought to you by Shopify whether you're selling a little or a lot Shopify helps you do your thing however you CH Ching from the launch your online shop stage all the way to the we just hit a million orders stage no matter what stage you're in Shopify is there to help you grow sign up for a $1 per Monon trial period at shopify.com specialoffer all lowercase that's shopify.com slsp specialoffer I'm Alex Rodriguez and I'm Jason Kelly from Bloomberg this is the deal each week you hear us in conversation with business icons this show will explore deal making across Sports media and entertainment that is a harsh lesson in business Sports is not as simple as bringing a bunch of big names together I didn't want to do another stomp you outch it opened up so many more doors the show is called the deal listen to the deal listen to the deal on Spotify why take one vacation with the family when you could take all of them with Royal Caribbean you don't just go to the beach you visit a private island and race down the tallest water slide in North America you don't just go for a road trip you ATV and zipline Through the Jungle you don't just go somewhere new you repel down waterfalls and discover ancient temples because this isn't just any vacation this is all the vacations come seek the Royal Caribbean ships registry Bahamas welcome back Ram fans this is Rams up your favorite LA Rams podcast we are proud members of the fans first sports network that's ffirst sports.com you can also follow us on YouTube our channel is is at LA Rams up I'm your host Mark you'll hear from my co-host Tom on occasion as well hey we're not Rams insiders we're just longtime fans who love talking about our Los Angeles Rams let's get to it welcome to another edition of rams up round table I'm Tom your host at Rams beat on X joined by my Rams of podcast co-host Mark and regular guest Ian and Paul what's going on guys ready to talk about offense tonight it's gonna be more fun than the last one that's for sure y light up the scoreboard baby light up the scoreboard that's right yeah this is uh it's looking looking pretty good so far but uh there are some needs in so we're going to break it all down for everybody uh we're going to Dive Right In Here and so I'm going to uh go through these position groups give a quick fire question to each of you and then we'll talk about the bigger picture for the position group um afterwards so we'll start with quarterback and I'm GNA start with Mark does ston Bennett come back better than ever recovered from whatever his malady was in shape and ready to be the give the pro promise to Rams Fans that that we had when he was drafted in the fourth round last year well I don't have any inside Intel on the topic but I'm guessing he is I think I'm think he's I'm thinking he's going to be ready uh again just guessing here but you know there are some good reports we saw that he was working out and looked like he was in good shape and why not why not he's got a a potential NFL career staring in his face um let's hope he gets gets it together and is our backup quarterback week's one and two that's what I'm hoping yeah with Jimmy G being suspended for weeks I forgot about Jimmy G being a dummy forgot about that yeah yeah he also L he lost a B I still think hopefully this it's okay to add this I still think it's very possible the Rams draft a quarterback but that's all I'll say about that oh oh we're jumping ahead okay so um okay so uh Ian if Jimmy G had to fill in for staff for you know your typical staff got injured let's call it two to three games that's that's that's been standard operating for you know procedure for Stafford right and so you know one way or another you know good line bad line whatever it is that's kind of been the mo so uh if he if Jimmy G had to fill in for staff for two or three games how we look at I think I think he could be could be serviceable and I think he can do a decent job at the minimum truthfully let's just be honest with ourselves you know he understands this version of the Mike Shanahan offense right the core of it which Shan and Kyle the 49ers run obviously they have their varying versions now we're kind of more 49er esque now running a lot of the Gap stuff but the terminology the same the the instructions of where to go on your reads are the same and he was in that you know that was the best Jimmy ever looked was under Kyle in that style of offense no shocker that he chose here out of all the spots to be able to hopefully replicate that so I think would he be this Pro Bowl level quarterback no but would he be serviceful would he be better than Brett rien or ston Bennett we saw last year yes would he be would he be would he be better than Carson Wentz I I think and that's still that still bothers me truthfully because Carson didn't get a lot of money but you know based off what coach mcve said Les need have said that Jimmy could run this offense more seamlessly than Carson that's their own words they said it so I do tend to I do and I do tend to believe that truthfully but if Carson was around a little bit longer I think he could have learned this offense so that still pisses me off and I know Paul bothers him equally and I'm sure you guys deep down somewhere but yeah to answer it long story short I think Jimmy could play I think he could throw some touchdowns and it's just can you not do 49er Jimmy grapple end of game things that's really what we're trying to avoid right a dumb interception a bad read here and there Kyle begged him to do pegged him not to do for every before every game just stay within the Playbook um okay so uh Paul how many more years does uh our boy staff have in him how many more NFL season um high quality three three more this year and two more that's interesting yeah and I will and I'll put it I'll put a comment right behind it uh I said it in uh two podcasts ago I said the Rams and the coaching staff have to do a better job h mark and I were talking about this they have to do a better job so look Donald said he was burnt out look what they've done to Cooper Cup right he's a shell of his former self hopefully he comes back strong they have to do a better job of protecting their star players uh allowing them to have longe longevity in this league uh that's been a major failing on their part and listen look great coaching staff but that is something that has been glaring we saw it last year when he got rocked against Stafford I mean they they can't keep subjecting him to that abuse he spent a lot of money in this o line you know and listen you know was a smart move on their part but the bottom line is you have to know how to manage the game and make sure that Optimus nine is in optimal condition come playoff time and he could easily light it up for another three years easily no question mind I love it that's I think so too yeah um so now let's get into the bigger picture and you guys just go ahead and have at it have a conversation about it so do we you know do we draft there a very t a quarterback heavy draft right some people saying it's almost certainly three quarterbacks going in the top three maybe four in the top four maybe six in the first round um and that means there's some other quarterbacks after after that right so yeah do the Rams draft a quarterback in this draft and if so where um and you know how we feeling about our depth at this point goad leave off Mark I I can go first and and it it all depends on two things it depends on two things that we don't have the answer to um how they feel about STS and Bennett and how many if they're going to trade up if they're going to trade up in this draft I don't think they're drafting a quarterback they're gonna have fewer draft picks and more needs than they have draft picks and they will not draft a quarterback but my guess would be if they if they stick with 11 picks and they roll with 11 picks or even add a couple picks I think they'll find uh they'll take a shot at a guy with a potential to be a backup quarterback gotta later later round or something like yeah yeah I I have no idea who that might be I know people have talked about Spencer rattler but that' probably take a a fourth round pick third or fourth round pick I think if not higher uh but there's some other guys uh the Florida state guy I know Paul really likes he could probably be had in the sixth round I think um but that's my take on it right now what do you guys think Paul go ahead go ahead dude all right all right well look at it I agree with Mark's points about it depends on the flow of where we're going to allocate our resources and I think at the end end of this offensive segment here talking about every group there's some things that are interesting that have been coming out this last you know day and a half but in terms of drafting to QB it's not impossible truthfully Jimmy's on a one-year deal Stetson we don't know look at we've talked about there was some obviously personal things going on and who knows how that's going to turn out and then how we're going to know that he's going to be any good on the field too let's just be honest it was a disaster when we saw him play last year in the preseason against backups it just was garoppo hitting the latter part of his career we don't know if they're going to want to keep paying him premium backup money right to stay on this team for the foreseeable future Matthew Stafford the injury thing we just talked about you know dresser win is I think as a part of this roster but that's more of a camp arm it feels like right let's help out a dude who's you know gonna play in precent games and we can maybe help him get signed to other teams or maybe he's a practice squad candidate like before but I think if they do draft a quarterback it's got to be round four and below for me it can't be rounds one two or three those are two valuable even round four and five you can consider a valuable for us right because we hit on those rounds ironically more than a lot of squads do in the NFL so it's got to be round four below minimum it can't be rounds one two or three because of the potential starters in those rounds like we always seem to find in you know teams franchises value so would it be a Spencer Rattler round four and below I'm not totally against that he's got a lot of talent would it be the Tennessee quarterback uh what's his name Joe Milton who's got a mega arm and we see him on the highlight films for combine and even his draft stuff guys who have potential but you're not investing a whole lot of draft Capital into would those draft picks make me mad truthfully no as long as they are rounds four and Below preferably probably rounds six and seven we're just being real but those two quarterbacks I just named Rattler and Milton Carolina and Tennessee they have too much talent to be that low truthfully they're probably going to go rounds three and four anyway but that's the only scenario that I'd be okay with how about you Tom shoot so um I think the Rams uh I think the Rams have to do it first they have to decide you know how long they want to commit to Optimus 9 once they decide that I think that'll clarify how they're going to approach the quarterback scenario in this draft Mark Mark knows I'm I'm all in on Jordan Travis I think that as a late round pick you put that kid on the roster man and you just let him develop and you know I think that's like a really uh effective approach in this day and age is you every year you look for like a quarterback prospect you bring him in see what they got let them spend a a year or two see you know see how they develop how they respond to NFL coaching I mean this kid's got Uber talent I mean it's beyond words and what he did at Florida State man he took them to an undefeated record before obviously before that greu some injury so um I think the leadership capacity and you know um he hits the weight room that arm is going to develop even more and he's Electric in terms of you know he's a modern-day quarterback man he's mobile but he does you know Mark and I were talking about I said the one thing that stands out for me he's not the type of quarterback that when he gets flushed out he's just running because that's the only thing he can do he's running to buy time and make plays down field that's like the one thing that stands out for me every year you could get a prospect like that and and let them develop let Bennett and him you know fight it out let the two of them fight it out um and I think you know the garoo signing aside which I'm never gonna agree with I don't care what I don't care what anyone says I'm never gonna agree with that one but every year I think the ram should take that carpedm approach you never know who gets released who a team gives up on early right we talked about that before that's a common Trend in the NFL so you look at the situation with Carson Wentz man that was a dream scenario for the Rams to get him like the way they got him and for that uh for that price um I still think they should have brought him back I mean I agree with Ian I'm like when I saw the signing I was like wait he just signed for this that wouldn't have blown up the cap what are you guys kidding me and he would have been not only a great insurance policy but I think he would have just fit the roster so much better but you know using that Carson Wentz uh scenario that could literally happen every year you could you know if you're patient see see what's out there you know and take that best per and you never see you never know how it develops you never know how it develops you know the number of teams that have won a Super Bowl with a backup quarterback in play think about it it's impressive that is an impressive list yeah it's good stuff so so nobody's in favor of drafting our next franchise quarterback with our first pick we'll just we'll just sum it up that way oh I'll be up I'll be upset dude I'll be upset I like pen I like penic right I we all probably miss agree pretty much that he's the third best quarterback but the pool or I think so I think we've talked about it I think he's behind behind um he's behind Jayden Daniels and calebs in my opinion my w interesting yeah if he's the third best he's certainly not gonna last in 19 right I mean he' fifth best yeah yeah but even then I would even then it's more like why are we pulling a Packers Rogers Jordan love situation where that Capital could be used to try to win a championship like what we exactly exactly and I'm with you okay let's move on to tight end so throwing up the uh the depth chart here so higgy and um Hunter long are on the IR right who knows when they're come back higgy injury seems a little bit longer than Longs but seems serious though Tom truthfully man yeah long does yeah so both those guys are are pretty pretty well out and um and so obviously the Rams bring in one of their bigger free agent signings um is Kobe Parkinson right and so we you know he's huge a big guy and he can block uh he can hopefully they'll bring him into the uh into the passing game more than he has been in the past and you know certainly hopefully we have a a legitimate Red Zone threat like unlike we've had from tight ends recently higgy you know for all of his positives was pretty poor in the red zone for some reason so hopefully parkon adds that and then everybody's we're all excited about Davis Allen you know in Prior conversations so I mean let's just jump right no no specific questions on this group but I mean how do we feel do we do we draft another one or do we you know if so where how do we feel about going into the season with you know basically we're just assuming we're going to run with Parkinson and Parkinson and Allen Paul okay I'll start I'll start off so I was surprised about the Parkinson signing because everything we had seen from Allen I thought they were going to go all on Allen and then back him up you know like uh you know we were uh I think Mark and I were doing a mock draft and I had joke that Seattle had released all their tight ends um so yeah I didn't think they were gonna sign Parkinson I thought they were gonna sign the other guy I always forget his name because he was a great blocker um but in in this case um I think it is a good fit I think he is a really good fit he's a he's a solid blocker untapped potential in the Red Zone um I think the combination of he and Allen I think over the last five years there's been so many great developmental tight ends to come out of the draft it just makes sense to draft a tight end and to fill up that room you know my personal favorite uh Mark Mark and I know uh we've been talking about these two in particular Jared Wy and uh span Ford out of Minnesota University of Minnesota I think those two would be perfect fits for the Rams um I'm hoping both Higg and long come back healthy because you know they're just they're just Rams you know they're just I mean and and Mark said it best that that that long injury I think we all just shook our said oh man what what more could happen to this kid right he had he was like in a perfect situation with the Rams but um I think this is a perfect spot to draft a nice developmental tit and bring him just to balance out that room uh I agree with Ian I think that higgy's injury is more serious than they're letting on you know you don't spend that kind of money a tight end as particularly a sort of unproven tight end if you weren't um seriously considering the fact that Higg may not make it back so that's my take on it yeah and you know but we got to think about uh well anyway how do you we'll just jump around here and then we'll talk about the bigger picture for a few minutes but uh Ian how do we feel about Parkinson and Allen um holding down the fort here do or do we need more yeah yeah I like Davis Allen last year when he stepped in was it perfect in the blocking surface of what they were ask him because obviously look at man it's a lot Gap Zone combo blocks we askcar tight ends to do a lot man and for him to be a really good reliable receiving threat in multiple games when higgy was kind of banged up when he was targeted in I think all the big games I was happy now like Paul I was expecting him to be the guy uh in place of Tyler and we maybe draft or sign somebody else cheap so he's still GNA play a ton I think and now in terms of Colby he's super familiar with this offense speaking about familiarity about this Shanahan esque offense you he's up in Seattle with Shane Waldren our old coach who was their coordinator for many years so he knows his offense like the back of his hand this is not some learning curve that he's gonna have to be on to be able to learn all those things on the blocking surface and even in the passing game now he's a big son of a gun he is he may not be this big bulky Mark Andrews type or in joku where he's just like damn what a huge human being just you know Mass wise but he's tall and big and his own right I mean he look like he'd be an NBA player in an alternate life right and for him to not get Target a ton in Seattle scheme was puzzling but every time he was targeted he was making good catches and obviously the blocking is what he made his you know his name and what got him his contract truthfully he was bearing people in the dirt stealing off edges perfectly Le blocking on power tosses in outside zones so I think he's going to be incredibly valuable and then Stafford wants to have a damn Red Zone guy my goodness that's the way he made made all his money in Detroit with all the different receivers he had there you know Higg be a couple times here and there we tried to do it with Alan Robinson that didn't work we tried it with with Demarcus Robinson a few times when he get got his starts it didn't work out too great either so I think he's GNA be money on any type of Red Zone pass play because he's just taller than everybody and he's got great hands and then obviously you can do the heavy play action with him right 11 or 12 personnel and he'll sell it well and get open so I think the signing is going to end being solid at the minimum he'll be a contributor I don't know how many yards or touchdowns he's going to have hopefully it's a good amount but based off the money he got I mean Hick's knee injury is serious there's just no way around it and we just paid him too so that's unfortunate but I like those one I like the one and two and then the 1A 1B potential whenever Higby comes back because that'd be a great one two three right there but for now Parkinson and Allen they'll do the job for me and we'll see what happens though hey the jump ball the jump ball potential between Davis Allen and parkon is just off the charts I really hope I really hope they utilize it we need it we need it obj was the last guy to pull that off consistently and we won a championship because of it shoot I think I can see some 12 Personnel in our future kind of on the 10 yard line and and we've been saying that since McVey has been here he's not finally got he finally got his boys you know we'll see I mean um anyway yeah I mean Bryson Hopkins and and Tyler higgy were not the size of Davis Allen and Kobe Parkinson so hopefully we'll uh we'll see but um Mark the Rams often Carri three tight ends um sometimes they Carri two on their 53 man roster but I mean can they afford to go into this this season without you know obviously there's always the unrestricted guys that come in and we get those guys on the practice squad and whatnot but can they afford to go into the season with two healthy two only two healthy tight ends no I think they need a third guy and remember they do have two guys that are um on Futures contracts not sure how they feel about them I think they'll add a lot a tight end to the 53 man roster I think they need to because it's such an important part of this offense I just wanted to add uh one thing about something uh to note about Davis Allen that maybe we have forgotten about you know he is just a High character class guy to have on this roster as well if I remember corre correctly the Clemson coach I think he said that at when Davis Al was drafted he was his favorite player ever at the University of Clemson so that that's something and then and Ian touched on it you know and Tom you the 12 the 12 personnel with this interior offensive line and you run those two tight ends and puka and Cooper out there if you decide to run the ball uh I'm okay with that if you want to Chuck one up to Colby I'm okay with that too it just man you could really play some Smashmouth football with that offensive line and those two wide receivers and two tight ends yeah I like that good stuff okay moving on to running back uh so thr up this depth chart here kyen Williams Ronnie r rivers and Zach Evans so uh Paul I mean does let me ask you this does Kiron stay healthy this year does you know and not only from the standpoint of you know because he's been injury prone but also does McVey you know McVey loves to run his running backs into the ground and uh you know that whole that whole coaching tree they love to run all their players into the ground and uh so does McBay take a little bit of a load off Kiron he's not really the you know atypical number one back right he only came into this league as a blocking third down receiving back right just MCM running into the ground given how productive he's he's been and right now on our on our depth chart a lack of depth or does McVey go easy and play the long game with Karen so I mean the track record for running backs under McVey has not been uh Stellar that's for sure just as yeah and Todd Gurley Gurley right and U um so uh and Sony Michelle right shout out to Sony he was awesome for us he was the man underrated like they should have brought it back immediately but iron Kiren um so let's Go reverse so Zack Evans has completed his red shirt year under the Rams as MCB always does with with the younger players so hopefully we'll get a lot more of Zack Evans this year we might even see him on kickoff return hopefully or something like that kid is definitely one of Mark's favorites I know when they drafted him kid is explosive uh kid is tough as Nails you know Rivers really impressed me last year too I mean he showed a lot of Moxy I mean for me I've always been surprised that the Rams have not brought in that like one Sledgehammer back that they could use for like tough yard situations Red Zone scenarios uh iron Kiren has shown in the red zone that he is straight money you give him the rock it's in you and that was one thing that really stood out for me about him uh last year and Paul and Paul why why we couldn't do that in the playoff game my goodness it was May yeah exactly that's exactly my point so I think but you have to keep them fresh I mean that's a lot of carries for any running back you need to have a two-headed three-headed monster absolutely listen look at the interior of that Ram line if you're not going to run the ball then you're wasting a ton of cash so I really think within this group of three um and it's going to be interesting how they work it out um I know I think Rolls-Royce signed with a different team this uh just this morning yeah Cowboys with the Cowboys Right This I Gotta tell you this draft is loaded with late round running backs man and I'm I'm partial that kid uh M Melton out of Georgia man I think that kid is a beast and will just Hammer defenses and a perfect compliment to kir U but there are a lot of other like sleeper running backs I was just talking to the guys today Ram Nation Dylan lby uh the kid from uh out here on Long Island uh played for New Hampshire who get out of the back field is just Unstoppable just a pass catching monster man yeah so there's a lot of ways to go I would go young here uh but you never know um the Rams do really well after this draft and that's where I think a lot of people are sort of getting caught up is that the Rams are going to play Phase two and phase three a free agency perfectly that's where they that's where they live and breed phase two and phase three are free agency and I can see a lowcost veteran running back coming in to spell Kiren Williams if they're smart keep this kid healthy Optimus 9 iron Kiren healthy in the playoffs worth its weight and gold but they gota they got to improve this running back room these two kidss are great no question about it bang for the buck however when push comes to shove you have to be able to give the give the rock to somebody who's done it before that's just my opinion behind iron Karen gotcha and Mark is Rivers a like a legit number two running back in this league I think he is from what I've seen um I I we barely missed a beat with him in there I I'm really happy with him as a backup running back um yeah answer emphatic yes on that question okay and um and Ian does Zack Evans have a breakout year after almost kind of like a red shirt year I mean this guy came in out of Texas he was one of the top running backs in Texas he felt you know because he he transferred didn't play well he had some trouble so this guy you know had all the he's one of these guys right has all the potential in the world and you know they can either break good or break bad and you know so far we really didn't see anything from him last year but we still holding out hope for the Zack Evans sighting yeah I mean look at it it's all going to be dependent on what he does in Camp let's just be real the preseason games he's gonna get snaps and that'll matter obviously as well but if he's not earning the trust of Coach McVey then who gives a crap how talented he is that's really that's really the matter of a fact on being on any being in any role on this offense right can you you be trusted when you're out there and they did not trust him yeah we obviously seen the talent coming out of Old Miss right we saw the burst we saw the acceleration we've seen it in flashes and preseason last year but he cannot be trusted with the Playbook ACC you know quote unquote and then obviously in the blocking surface of protecting the quarterback he was unreliable so if those things don't change then nothing will change for his playing time but if he improves in those areas we definitely could see him in the rotation because to Paul's point we need we need move as many running backs as possible because I'm sorry I love Kiron but damn two years in a row you're missing significant time not good you only been in the league two years everybody that's not great Ronnie he's been out you know he's barely getting a chance he had you know a serious injury where he missed time not great and then we have you know an Evans who I just said you know the coaching staff did not trust him so again everybody in agree we're gonna go ahead yeah sorry no no again it's it's just it's all going to be about trust but I still think we draft somebody anyway we need to that position gets too injured and things can go into the hell hole fast if you know all these guys get hurt again yeah and I mean they drafted Kiren when there was still a perceived you know somewhat of a need and they so they dropped all the way down to the fourth round right they went went all out for a running back I think they do like I think they do like their sixth and seventh round running backs um so we're all in agreement uh that they're going to draft a running back I mean Mark I mean your Special Assistant says absolutely positively draft a running back every year right yeah and the Rams have followed that pattern for the most part and again it when we talk about all these position groups we're going have a running theme here at least from my perspective I'm okay with what we got we every position group I would not be heartbroken if we didn't draft in any of these positions but got an offense only offense yeah um but yeah I I still think you know you try to add a running back every year it's just a good thing to do a smart thing to do because as you guys have already mentioned they get banged up they get hurt it's you know one of the toughest positions to play physically in the NFL and uh sure and hey I just wanted to add one note on Zack Evans another thing as far as the trust issue he did have his draft profile did note that he had a fumbling issue and that could be part of it as well hey it's Kaye quo for Price Line ready to go to your happy place for a happy price well why didn't you say so just download The Price Line app right now and save up to 60% on hotels so whether it's cousin Kevin's kazoo concert in Kansas City go Kevin or Becky's Bachelorette bash in Bermuda you never have to miss a trip ever again so download The Price Line app today your savings are waiting go to youry for a happy price go to your happy price price line I'm Alex Rodriguez and I'm Jason Kelly from Bloomberg this is the deal each week you hear us in conversation with business icons this show will explore deal making across Sports media and entertainment that is a harsh lesson in business Sports is not as simple as bringing a bunch of big names together I didn't want to do another stomp you out speech it opened up so many more doors the show is called de listen to the deal listen to the deal on Spotify why take one vacation with the family when you could take all of them with Royal Caribbean you don't just go to the beach you visit a private island and race down the tallest water slide in North America you don't just go for a road trip you ATV and zipline Through the Jungle you don't just go somewhere new you repel down waterfalls and discover ancient temples because this isn't just any vacation this is all the vacations come seek the Royal Caribbean ships registry Bahamas with threats to our nation waiting around every corner adaptability is more important than ever when conditions change without notice quick strategic thinking is crucial and with obstacles consistently impending determination is essential in overcoming them it's this willingness decisiveness and resilience that sets Marines apart with our fighting Spirit we don't just fight battles we win them Marines are the constant our nation counts on to fight the unknown and through adaptable problem solving we do just that learn more at Marine gre.com and and what's interesting if you look if you go back to cam acres and you look at the running back room now it it looks like the Rams are committed to a very distinct profile of type of running back in terms of size and skill set and if you take a look at the commonality between Williams rivers and Evans in terms of their size and everything else so it looks like they have a particular profile that they are most comfortable with in the running back room which is really really interesting to me um but yeah it's also a an emerging profile after the uh Todd gley dead cap hit even though he did have a few good years couple good years for us in the cam acers deal first and second round picks that um yeah they're uh definitely viewing the right in line with the rest of the league viewing uh the running back as a um a devalued asset and and going after um you know guys in the later rounds and having a feeling like they can get a Pacho or somebody like that and they can do almost as good of a job as an early round guy so what what college did Pacho go to Tom uh somewhere in New Jersey uh Mark what college was that records I thought it was Princeton New Jersey right record guy um so uh okay moving on to wide receiver so let's throw up that the controversial group for for whatever reason let's see here next slide um okay a wide receiver group all right okay so we got cup ncua and Demarcus Robinson that was you know with the healthy cup and N Etc I mean you know and then we got Atwell scronic they brought back Tyler Johnson remember he had a great preseason last year a lot of people thought he was going to make the 53 um and uh yeah I just really really stood out and then and then Smith um you know who also had a good uh Camp I would say more than preseason um he just didn't get a lot of snaps but so I have a specific question for each of you and then we'll go on into the bigger picture and so forth so um okay I'll start with uh Ian does Cooper cup have a Bonafide bounceback year as puka nkua has suggested he may what are we qualifying as a bounceback what is that what is that what that coming healthy and vintage Cup right I'm not saying he's going to win the Triple Crown again or whatever but legitimate number one wide receiver you know along with like his productivity was you know back in the day right he's been injured for two years so essentially if he's if he's healthy we'll assume he's gonna have a bounceback year so maybe a better question is does cup stay healthy and have a productive year cup Cooper cup Style I mean I'm gonna based on this recent history I mean how can you how can you say how can you say yes I think he doesn't truthfully I mean I'm just being objective about it I don't wish that I don't hope for that but I mean guys I mean he's he's had season ending injuries or or injuries that have affected his season almost half of his career right we think 2018 the Toren ACL we probably win the Super Bowl if he played but that's that's in an alternate universe where we didn't get to experience that s sorry everybody I wish we did then we go 2019 it was like okay this is what we missed in that playoff run to win a championship it was awesome 2020 he gets injured in the wild card game I forgot what exactly was wrong with his knee I forgot it was some weird injury and then he can't play in round two if he plays in round two we have a good chance to beat the Packers but wasn't available 2021 is historic we win a championship shocker right and then 2022 he has the tight rope surg on his ankle he snaps his ankle you know all the ligaments and that and it was awful he missed rest of the season no bueno last season hamstring ankle again knee here and there and it's just not the same So based off all this recent history guys since he's been a ram how can I objectively say that he's going to be 100% healthy and be back to his full capacity I just can't I don't wish that again I hope I am wrong and he is Triple Crown cup again we need it but you know pukan nuu is the go-to guy now he was the go-to guy all last year and he was able to withstand and hold up to that mantle of a number one receiver so I think the times are changing puka will be the feature guy now yes will McVey call plays for cup of course cup is still an awesome route Runner but is it gonna be this oh my God we can't stop him like 2021 I think that I think that moment happened that season happened and it's not going to return you know the wrong side of 30 for receivers is real just like running backs there's few and far that have been able to conquer that right maybe a Bruce maybe a Holt in Rams history that's they're Hall of Famers and Hall of Famer is the only ones that seem to be able to advance and be good past 30 so long story short no and I don't like saying that yeah Holt's still a Hall of Fame snub unfortunately he keeps making the finals every year but he'll get in hopefully one of these years um okay next question to mark does puka keep it rolling does he continue his his just dominance um going into a sophomore season well I think that's going to be a function of how much cup contributes um but I think he will he he his numbers may actually be slightly off compared to last year and I don't think that' be necessarily a bad thing but he's going to continue contributing at a very high level I think I don't expect him to necessarily match those numbers though and I don't think uh I don't think that should be I don't think it's a fair expectation it's not going to be a sophomore Jinx nothing like that uh but yeah he's going to be uh he sounds like he's very confident and very eager to to improve upon his performance last year and I think he will numbers wise who knows probably be a little bit off I can't expect him to really match that year two right and Paul next question Demarcus Robinson who really been our first legitimate number three receiver even though it was only for you know part of the Season where they really just featured him at the end and he was so he was so productive and you know does Paul does DeMarcus Robinson continue to make a difference and how much you know in terms of Staff seems to love him I mean talk about Demarcus they brought him back seems like it was important it was one of their first signings talk about the importance of Demarcus Robinson in this offense two words Robert Woods right very similar type of dynamic on this team I mean they're two different two different players I mean Robert Woods is one-on one man that kid that dude was just um awesome but you know look at the difference in the offense when Demarcus Robinson hit the hit the field right it was legitimate number three uh threat so and when you do take a look at you know the questions that were posed uh just before that one I think last year was tough because I don't think they had time to really Define the roles for the receivers right Robinson got into the starting lineup at pretty much past the halfway point right uh nobody was expecting theud to break out except for you know so um and then of course cup was coming back from cup was coming back from the injury so I think here's here's here's the thing first thing about cup if I could comment about cup then I'll go back to Dr is that the one thing that was last year from cup is that that explosiveness at the top of the routes that's what made him special on those Choice routes when it was time to make a decision he came out of those cuts there was no loss no loss of speed it was just complete acceleration out of that and that's what made him Unstoppable and that's what he's they're trying to I guess get him back to so that that's number one number two is that his role might have to be refined a little bit that's all because one of the things that really stood out to me last year they had a hard time getting the rock to Cup and thein games right it was either one had a great game and the other was silent and that's not that's not a good way to approach it the one thing in Cup's favor is that nkua is such a vicious and willing blocker that's G to save a lot of the wear and tear that on cup hopefully so that he won't have to do a lot of that Robinson is also that's the other thing about Demarcus people sleep on the fact that that kid can block man Demarcus Robinson can block and he wants to block so you have two receivers that can take a little bit of that wear and tear off cup so the Rams have to really balance it so that all three of these players get a chance to really uh have a chance to cut into the defense and I think that's really so I think having an opportunity to have all three players in a full Camp full offseason to prepare Define their roles have them work their way into the to the system I think is going to be huge for the Rams I also think look this Tyler Johnson signing was a really smart move on the Rams part that kid definitely did show a lot to me last year I I think it's G to be it's gonna pay huge dividends you got the scom man you know he does his thing right a fullback and wide receiver Jersey right he loves to throw the body around I mean you always love a player like that I definitely think with in the first three rounds the Rams are going to go after a wide receiver that they really like no question about it they're gonna round you so look you got you got Xavier Smith Xavier Smith was signed because of punt return duties that's why he made the roster his kick return duties um and I think you know the Rams are gonna have to make a decision on tutu this is you know this is the you know final hurrah for this kid they're Paul quick and Paul I think tutu can play I mean feel free to chim in please anybody I mean I think he could play it's just the the the problem with him is that he's just small he's it's he's small that that's literally the issue cuz he can how how much fun was it to watch him block though cuz everybody has to block as a wide receiver and he can fun to watch him flying into the blocks yeah it was great and he could do it was it was it Demarcus Robinson level of course not because that's a size issue that's literally ch's issue is that he is small that is why he is not touching the field more it's unfortunate because I think he can play he has route running ability he's not Tavon Austin where the route tree was limited he is not Tavon Austin where he was not crispy in routes or he was only fast once he had the ball in his hands 2 two is fast all the time and he can run routes and he can block to to a decent degree but again the size issue is what is holding him back from cracking this lineup and I think he's gonna get traded I think he's gonna get traed I think's draft he's gonna get traded before week four easily because I think and I think we're drafting I think we're drafting receivers in round one two or three it's happening there's too many good ones there's too many bigger guys too much value way too much value there's just guys who are screaming to be in a McVey offense in m in different roles who could fill in the co roll fill a cup roll Robinson or even a two two for the speed and uh I think tutu's gone just like van was you know before whenever that was week four week five too right yeah so I but this is reality one quick thing one quick thing about 22 Atwell which always sort of cuts me deep because Humphrey was there but I won't keep bringing that up I know but with two when Tut two at was drafted a lot of because I remember his profile you know who led the country in Splash plays tutu Atwell when he when he was actually picked he led the country in number of plays 15 yards or more uh when he got drafted that year so in in like small doses if he can do that which is I think what the Rams had envisioned for him you know to be that for receiver that when he hits the field let's go vertical let's take it to the house that type so to find did that last year right he did that last year didn't he consistency yeah no I mean he was a spot player for sure but at one point he had some statistic he was leading the league at touchdown reception yardage or I don't know that's what he did at Louisville right yeah so the the one thing I will say for Ram Nation look at the yellow and one word and Stafford smiling from ear to ear clutch you got three wide receivers that at any given down third down fourth down whatever it is look at the yellow would you hesitate to throw it to any one of these three Dr Rob cup n that's that is something that the Rams have the starting three right here they are clutch they can move the chains they can put it into the end zone when they need to I think the three of them healthy to start the season man the I mean McVey has to get the teams uh Team rolling get his act together do not let up from Jump Street from week one try to accumulate as many wins as possible so that you can keep the team fresh down the stretch the the NFC West is there for the taking smash him in the mouth early that's it and take that um division early and I mean I look at the the starting three man wow Stafford is going to have a field day he better and real quick just add to just to add real quick about the drafting guys Robinson at well and scaran are all on expiring contracts you think we're not drafting a receiver in rounds one two or three you're crazy cup if he doesn't perform well they'll get rid of him because we're a Savage organization we'll get rid of anybody no matter what you've done for us let's just keep let's just keep it a buck so we're drafting a receiver in rounds one two or three it's happening it's happening and Ram Nation just just take a look at the videos of cup and N working out together tell me they don't look serious they got business on their mind they're going to take care of business I'm happy about that yeah Mark I wanted to you know this is the this this this receiver group is gives me the biggest you know as it relates to the draft the biggest kind of uh uh quandry is is this year we look like we're set right we got a one two and a three we got some legitimate backups um is a rookie really going to step in and you know we're going to get another NOA and you know really GNA step in and and be that kind of a guy um or are so in other words we're talking about from like from quarterback's perspective like we need to focus on our better picks in terms of filling in this year to go for it right we don't know how long cup is going to be healthy or Stafford and some of these other guys right we got to push the chips in and so you don't start drafting for the future but on the other hand like Ian mentions this particular position group that has three legitimate has all the starters penciled in also next year you know is in dire need of help so where do you where does the Rams go from here in this draft on the wide receiver room that's for me um yeah you know I was averse to drafting a wide receiver early but this team is so Reliant it's going to be reliant on on putting a lot of points up on the board just kind of like what we thought was going to happen last year didn't really play out that way but you know I've seen people uh on on the internet social media and I think maybe a couple of you guys I'm not even sure i' I've heard this various places you know let's just put 40 points up every game and we'll be good and this team this team really could but you know if you know someone of these receivers go down goes down it changes everything right so I don't have a problem with drafting a wide receiver early I'm not you know um could we should we package picks and move up and get romad dun perhaps or do we hang back and and maybe move up in the second round to get lad Maki um then there's the guys uh you know Paul and I have talked about a few you know third and fourth round wide receivers there's some guys there yeah so I I I think you might be right we might need to add a receiver for insurance this year because after those front three those top three I don't know and you know cup Cup's career may be winding down sorry to say guys we made an offer to Mike Evans not too long ago does everyone remember that I know he I know he signed you know quickly because Buccaneers gave him a lot of money but we were confirmed to have made an offer to Mike Evans receivers on on our minds I mean let's just be come on yeah and I will add one other thing you know that guy burnt the Rams when they played him so yeah he's he's awesome he's one of the best receivers of his generation for sure I don't think that's a debate yeah a thousand a thousand yard receiver for higher I I did want to add one thing you know I'm not opposed to trading 2 two but could he be the answer in the punt return kickoff return game now that they've especially the kickoff return game since they now that they've changed the rules and I know he's probably going to get hurt the first time he gets popped but that may be the Rams thinking gotcha uh all right let's move on to our last offense our last offensive uh position group offensive line so I mean this is as good as the offensive line has looked going into a season I think it even looks better than 21 I mean you know obviously we had easily we had big wit there but I mean that year what was it corbid and and it was Allen and we had uh uh who was the other guard though he ended up going Edwards and Edwards I mean yeah and havenstein so I mean these are the guys and and so I feel like this is a big it's a much bigger line the Rams realized like we need some girth right we're not we don't need to be this this small little you know Nimble group to get you know out on the outside Zone scheme and let's let's commit to some Gap and so forth so um so we got you know Eric Jackson Jonah Jackson you know signed over in free agency Steve ailla Kevin doson Rob havenon so three specific questions and then we'll get into the bigger uh the bigger uh conversation so uh so I'll start with Paul Paul specifically the guys that came in last year that made such a difference right Steve villan are our second round draft pick and Kevin doson a we got for you know a bag of peanuts from from uh from the Steelers thank yeah thank you yeah tip our hat to Pittsburgh um so do they they were said made such a difference for us last year obviously on this offensive line so but the question is it was their first year with the ramps right they wildly out you know performed their their even ailla you know coming in as a as a solid draft pick right so my question is do ailla and doson keep it up do they continue their essential dominance at their positions even with a villa moving to Center yeah I think they do I think they do um I was surprised that they moved to V to Center I thought they would have gone and brought in a veteran Center or invested heavily in the center leave a where he was but either way if Big Steve is going to be able to handle it he's played it before it's a no-brainer for him um I think that when you when you just look at this line and just to point something out what were the two positions on the old line that the Rams traditionally never spend money guard we talked about it for how many years it's been a real shift the Rams what's the other position safety the Rams spent money on safety this year so it's a very interesting shift when you take a look at the way the Rams attack this season and I think it's really really interesting H you know all championship teams regardless of sport they say the same thing first thing in every coaching Clinic they teach you you build up the middle and that's exactly what the Rams did they went back to doson doson makes it stays with his continues his form on the right side with the havin yeah absolutely look look on either side of him the havin monster on one side you got big Steve on the other man that gives you a lot of room for error not that he you know he's gonna his play is gonna drop off I think his play is gonna be so number one he's got job security now right he's got the contract right there he knows that the Rams are going all in so I think in my opinion he's got familiarity with the system now all arrows are pointing up in my opinion absolutely so for me the right side of the Rams line is really my comfort zone if I were you know the OC for the Rams that's my comfort zone right there Center to the right not that there's anything wrong with Jackson you know the Jack uh the Jackson 2 on the other side but what I'm saying is that if you look at this right side that looks Rock Solid to me I think Dawson's gonna have another Pro Bowl year mark how much does Jonah Jackson add to this offensive line well you know obviously L the Rams are familiar with him they saw him um well actually they didn't get to play against him in the playoff game but Stafford's familiar with them he seems like a great get you know it's just what they needed one more interior offensive lineman and man this I I was talking to some uh friends at work I was trying to explain to them that the Rams have the best interior offensive line in the league that could be Bluster but they're probably top three or four and they just wav me off oh you're just a ramp Homer you know yeah sure whatever but I really think it might be true you know um but yeah adding Jonah Jackson that just yeah I feel really good about that and hug huge individual yeah and and the Dotson trade that that's payback for the Drome Bettis trade take that Steeler fans that's the first popped into my mind too that's great I love it I love it okay next question to Ian we haven't let's talk about this depth is the depth good enough we got no boom who's still on a you know he took a little bit of a pay cut he's down to six million or something just to which is what he would have gotten if they cut him so he just basically take the same amount of money to stay on the team yeah and then a bunch of dudes right I mean all of these guys have yeah shown up every now and then like okay Grant Miller showed up Zack Thomas showed up McLendon kind of maybe you know just a new draft pick Logan bruss hasn't shown up um and so so so do we have what about the depth on this on this offensive line so no boom's a starter right but he's not a starter on this team but every time he is spot starting it's good right that we I don't think that's debatable either so that's nice right to be your six men on the o line who can play guard or tackle on either side which is I mean that's every coaches or offensive line room's dream is that six man to be able to play anywhere and be quality That Swing Swing Swing tackle I was blinging on the name right now thank you but outside of that I mean we've seen Thomas eat it on Monday Night Football terribly we've seen bruss get bodied by Third stringers and preseason football McLendon mallister and Miller are all improving could they be a good who knows we'll find out and again in Camp that'll tell a lot with how much they're playing and if you know MC vas comments in press conference oh we need to see more from these guys because you know those things will be asked appropriately by our reporters who ask good questions I think most most days and right now outside of not boom again the depth is not good which is why we're meeting with a fuaga from Oregon State who is a muler in the Run game why we are meeting with barnhard at Michigan who was a note boom S type of player who played everywhere on the Michigan o line while we're meeting with the Washington offive tackle Troy Fountain new so we're meeting with quality guys not on you know not just because hey let's just meet with these dudes for fun these are guys who have all played in a gap scheme Run game for big nasty offensive lineman so I think the Rams are aware that the depth ain't where it needs to be so again for me not good enough we need to address it just like a lot of other spots I feel yeah I got you yeah the depth is uh pretty questionable a lot of blue not a lot of uh Blue Chip yeah that's correct and again look everyone everyone on YouTube just pay attention to all the the yellow highlighted starters and obviously uh orange for Jackson uh Jonah Jackson being the free agent acquisition what a great old line but if any one of those guys go out right no slide in how about one more goes out how screwed are we with this current group right here we're in bad shape let's just keep it real so let's hopefully uh we get some quality lineman in this upcoming draft or a free agent signing a post June cut right we'll see we'll see um good stuff and then so in terms of drafting where are we at Paul where what what pick of ours are we moving to O backup o line well I think the Rams are lucky I mean there there are a lot of particularly at Center there are some really really like uh you know Tanner balini is one that really stands out for me uh the kid from Penn State stands out for me uh all those guys can play center and uh guard as well so I think they can go young I don't I think they are going to supplement what whoever they draft with a veteran there's no question about it you have to particularly in this day and age the Rams are highly dependent on their o line just like any other team the Rams throw the ball a ton to play on the Rams o line I think a lot of the Rams o linemen don't get a fair shake it is really tough to play in the ram scheme they throw the ball a ton right right when they do run it it's not with a lot of consistency so it makes it very hard on the o line just ask any o Lin right so they've invested a lot of money with run blocking types which I think is interesting think about the signings these are run blocking types so you know the signings say we're going to run the rock you know we'll see how the play calling follows but you know they're also going to throw the ball I mean everything everything is lining up like they're going to go for balance a balanced attack balanced attack which I think would be great for the Rams right and then you just turn it up in the playoffs you just turn it up to 11 in the playoffs right and and let Stafford do his thing but you know I think the Rams definitely have to improve their depth because you know the depth here is beyond questionable it is really really it's really shaky Ian Ian was uh respectful to our backups it's shaky to say the least but clendon is you know he's a good Prospect came out of Georgia he was a swing player he could play guard tackle um bruss we know is trying to like Salvage his career after that that injury um Zach Thomas I won't comment on I mean I hope the kid turns it around but I mean that was scary when he was out there so I think a good a good in a good I interior o lineman with a veteran that could handle maybe the two interior slots Center if they need to I think would be the perfect signing for the Rams in phase two phase three supplement that with some quality draft draft picks you know I think one sleepers the kid that we had drafted a while AJ uh a curry from Michigan State man I'd love to see that kid get a little bit more burn see what he can do he's been I left him off this didn't I but I would I would love to see I mean I don't know if you guys agree I would love to see him get some burn uh I remember when they picked him um he's got the size you know he's been in the system for a little bit let's see what he can do I think you know there's no uh downside to that but I think that's the way the ran should attack it play it smart and one veteran signing supplemented by maybe one or two drafted players gotcha gotcha anything else to add guys offensive line oh man I mean if this group stays healthy I mean it should be a top five unit there's just no question I mean is there's no excuse for it not to be how about that it's just I'll be upset if there're anything less truthfully the money that's invested in this group from Haven Stein the doson the Jackson Jonah Jackson excuse me and then the you know the young prowess of STA aula and then obviously Jackson being serviceable there's just no excuse for this unit not to be top five yeah there was a lot of film last year of uh Aila at the guard position picking off secondary uh yeah pass rushers for his for his buddies and at the center position I think he maybe have even more opportunities to do that so I'm looking forward to that he's got a little bit of nastiness in him when when it comes to that stuff oh yeah I think there going to be there's going to be a lot of Pancakes going on uh a lot of Pancakes being handed out by the big dog but one thing that stands out on this o line gentlemen I don't know if you agree man but look at the leadership on this line I think allar showed me a lot over the last two seasons he was outspoken he backed up what he said right he he's look at he's in the starting lineup listen he called everybody out he said stop running these guys out there when I'm standing right here give me a shot and he backed it up you know you got you got proven guards on both sides you got the havenstein monster I mean hav just did you guys see him at the press conference man cool as a cucumber knew the right thing to say you know you talk about a veteran and you and big Steve in the middle just fits right in the leadership across this line once this unit gels right because they're playing together as a unit for the first time once this unit gels this off offense is going to be off the chart it's going to be like 99 all over again yeah and you compare this compar this offensive line to the 49ers offensive line is quite a contrast and it hopefully like we've always said I you know Ram Nation this is this is you know my you know I'll say it till you I get bleue in the face t o Rams control the time of possession it's a wrap game over yeah it needs to be that way you know it's killing two burs one stone we can demoralize our defensive opponent and then protect Stafford as well and the play action will be better it's it's multi-layered of why that's a good idea Paul so hopefully coach M doesn't have the beginning of the Season whack play calling like he did this last year which was killing me killing me so we we'll see he get just just get a little bit in his own head so um I wanna uh we're next question surprise question not on the board we're going to take down the uh take down the depth chart and so somebody mentioned this earlier but I want you all to think of it I'm G to ask a question write down your answer no changing it as we go through the the answers right so who is GNA be the kickoff returner for the Rams next year in this new kickoff scheme which you know for people you guys people not listen you know people that aren't familiar with it it's kind of a similar very similar to what the XFL did and the ufl's doing this year um there's some slight changes but essentially the offens and defensive line line up you know around the 25 yard line and the kick returner receives the ball nobody can move until he touches it and then it's like a running play where the guy's getting maybe you know an extra five yards of of start time to run the ball so it's not like the old you know running kickoff returner with he has this huge amount of time to pick where he's going and so forth and so on it's much more like a running back running play right that's how I would describe it um with an offensive line a defensive line we're going to see we won't get into all the details of how those uh uh special teams units are going to change on the kickoff but they will you're not just going to run out your normal special teams guys anymore um yeah but anyway having said that everybody I want you to pick given that you know kind of a leadup of what this is like who is the ideal guy on the Rams roster currently to be the guy who would be your pick at least to give him first shot or who you think could be more most successful or is is there nobody on the team and we got to find another guy okay I give you a couple a couple seconds to figure out your uh your answer if you're ready go ahead and chime in give the other guys a chance to think well feel like we're on Final Jeopardy yeah it's obviously G to be they're going to resign Austin traml and he'll be the guy no I I think I I'm gonna cheat I think if it's a guy on the roster the way you described it it might be Ronnie Rivers uh if it's uh but but it very likely I don't know if you give that job to a rookie I hate it when you give it to a rookie so I'm Gonna Roll with Ronnie Rivers Ronnie Rivers who said 2 two earlier though that I was talking about 2 two but the way you described it I haven't given it a lot of thought okay gotta you you describe it as as the way you described it and characterized it I changed my mind yeah it is a little bit more of a it is definitely more of a uh a running back oriented kind of a a look looking for holes there you know there schemes on the blocking and the whole nine yards okay Ian do you have a guy yeah I was I was going to go with Ronnie Rivers but I don't think it'll be him at the end of the day so I guess I'm cheating as well if somebody if I had to choose somebody on the roster right now I'm choosing Ronnie Rivers because based on things that have been said about how this is going to unfold with this kick return is that there's going to be a lot of pulling guards quote unquote right there will be a lot of lead blocking runes looks and to your point earlier Tom I mean I think running backs will be best suited for that right the vision be able to follow your lead blockers right on the kick return in this new format so I think it'll if there had to be somebody it would probably be him but I truthfully think that there'll be somebody that is specialty drafted in our draft that could probably fill that role because that is going to be a unique role that's gonna man to be sought after identified and then hopefully drafted Andor signed in free agency so Ronnie Rivers for current but I think somebody that gets drafted is going to fill that role truthfully so you think gotcha Paul what's your thoughts I think the other aspect of these kickoff returns is about field position too so even if they don't take it to the house you got to establish field position so I agree I think you're going to see a lot of these running back type smaller running back types uh what we used to call allpurpose backs now have a more elevated role so I think I think the Rams are definitely going to draft another running back particularly with that in mind and also the ability to I think right now I would go with uh I think Zack Hans i' give him a shot I give him a shot to win that win that um win that spot I think um McVey has shown that he's not gonna take a chance at anybody that's even a fringe starter uh on special teams to get hurt and if he's going to give it to somebody the closest person I can see who has the experience and who has done it before and has the explosiveness is that kid and it's worth a shot to see what he has especially if you're going to bring in another running back anyway um it's you know no real threat to the depth chart so that's probably the way but I do think they're going to draft somebody particularly in mind and shout out to Dylan lby from Long Island hopefully he winds up in horns yeah that's great I mean I have to Echo exactly your sentiments but you took the words right out of my mouth I had Zack ev's written down for those exact same reasons like give the guy a shot to to contribute something you know he's probably not going to see the field a lot this year um in scrimmage plays and uh and the other thing is I mean you got to believe it's fresh in their mind that that iron Kiren got hurt on the first kickoff return uh year before last right his rookie year he goes down as a kickoff returner and could not you know have any kind of a year that year and then comes back this year so I think all of those things are in play for the Rams we're not going to risk anybody um you know it's just it's just not going to happen so I think it'll be a Zack Evans or like you guys said somebody that uh um you know that that they dra but I I don't think it's going to be one of these receivers I just don't think that that that this kickoff return play is suited for one of those guys um to try and read a whole I mean I was thinking scronic because you know he's played he's done it before yeah he's played that fullback roll and he's you know like your point uh Paul he might be able to get you know on an average an extra three yards or something like that but he just doesn't have that Breakaway speed and I do believe that in this uh in this particular scheme we are going to see a lot of guys breaking through those line those holes and there just aren't a lot of guys you know there's no secondary per se in this in this deal right I mean you got a bunch of dudes up on a line of scrimmage within a five yard thing and you can't you don't have free safeties you know you got your kicker back there another thing that you know I was thinking about and I I had I had heard this as well is that the kicker might not be the kicker right the kicker might be find your best safety or corner back or whatever linebacker that can kick a ball 45 yards you know it doesn't matter how high it is you don't need airtime to get get guys down the field it could be a it could be a line drive for all he matter as long as it goes in the air and lands in the you know this reception zone that they call it and um so yeah but I mean I'm telling you right now you're going to see a lot of crazy stuff you're going to find some dudes in the cornerback group and the safety group in particular linebacker group that can kick the ball a a long way right they're certainly can never be a kicker or a or you know a kickoff guy because they can't get it high enough and long enough in the current you know the old in Old rules um or they certainly can't be like a you know kick a field goal maybe in a pinch they could maybe they're like the backup Backup backup guy but I think that's going to happen because that guy is going to be really important and those kickers can't tackle with the as we know true so yeah to see I think people are going to start looking at those guys going you know hey we're looking at a couple of safeties to bring in any chance you can kick so anyway something to think about that's I think that's why there's been so many so much interest in the NFL about these rugby players because they because they can kick they can tackle they can also run it back and they're they used to running through a crowd so that's why I think there's been so much interest in the in the rugby style player that they've been a lot of teams have been trying to audition so it makes a lot of sense that's a good point it does make a lot of sense I really I really thought that if the if the NFL really wanted to juice up the scoring and make it exciting they should have turned the kickoffs into free kicks let the punchers actually do a little bit more because you only see them three times a game let you turn the kickoffs into free kicks that would have been exciting well you are if you're uh you know I don't know what who who punted a lot last year or something some punters got eight 10 punts a game um depends on your team Panthers looking at you Panthers they looking at you yeah no I'm with you Paul I'm with you but you know that kickoff I feel like the NFL like they really they want to preserve the skeleton you know they want to prever preserve the bones of the game and there's a kickoff after a touchdown and a field goal and but let's just get the thing right and I mean before we do away with the whole damn thing let's at least do our best to make it exciting yeah I don't yeah I don't know if this particular system achieves what they wanted I know nflpa was afraid about Los and rightfully so about losing jobs and they were absolutely right about that and I I just think they could have it it's not in line with the trajectory of the game right I understand like it seems like a a quick fix at the moment I I think they're going to going to move away from this within two seasons I think they're going to move away I I really do interesting yeah it'll be interesting to see I mean it is yeah it'll be it's it's going to be fun first year because it's going to be it's going to be the wild west you know even though we do have some comps in XFL like those dudes aren't you know those dudes probably be the most important thing to watch during the preseason actually yeah yeah good point good point okay so uh we're going to wrap it up there um this week Mark uh as our our primary host here on Rams up I'm assuming that the coming week is going to be chalk full of draft conversations right oh yeah and we hopefully uh th us four can get together I'm thinking next Tuesday night for our one and only Roundtable mock draft we got to figure out the groundwork for that how we're going to do it but uh hopefully you guys are available and we'll do that Tuesday night yeah yeah that's that's that's I think we might need more than one night but we'll uh we'll have to uh we'll have to see how it rolls um draft week 2024 yeah I just want I just wanna I just wanna we're gonna uh yeah draft week right um I do want to just make one note that I wrote made I wrote wrote down some things over the last two roundtables about what everyone thinks our first round traffic should be ready so here are the names that every depending depending on the position group we were discussing these are the names that were thrown out this is who we should draft with our 19th pick in the first round right verse latu or latu whoever's there we gotta get an edge in the first round that's critical we can't go into this you know we can't go into this draft with our you know with with uh with young and whoever right in Hoy yeah okay and then it was look at this defensive line group guys like we lost Donald and we got a lot of you know yeah we got Kobe Turner and then Bobby Brown but we we lost Jonah Williams we lost mares Copeland we have to get a defensive lineman I mean that's critical right we got to replace it you know and so Murphy's there now we're talking today about M about wide receiver it's an offensive driven scheme we got to get a the con or whoever um in you know with our early on um and uh and then at the end of the conversation today we're talking about the o line you got to get there's so many great o linemen go grab one they can fill in you know fashanu fuaga whoever it is right so we got six seven eight guys that we've all just beat the drum for so no need to comment right now just let it sift in we only get one pick I want to remind you we get one pick at number 19 not 19 Point Way 19 point B or 19 Point C so anyway I'm being I'm trying to be be for I know but hard choice right it's a hard Choice and then now this brings into the conversation do we trade back and try and get two of these guys you know and so forth and so on right yeah and so so uh anyway but I just wanted to you know point out that I've been taking notes on what what we've talked about what's top of Mind in front of our phase when we're looking at a position group and thinking about it um but we gotta ultimately take the you know take the uh take until next early next week and we'll to think about it what's your absolute positive drop debt if we stay at 19 what's our pick or do we drop back and try and grab a couple of position groups that are starters um and that's what I want you guys to think about and we'll dive into that next week so but uh good stuff final thoughts Mark got a lot to think about got a lot to think about and if you ask me uh three times in the next 10 minutes I'll give you a different answer on what yeah depends on what depends on what depends on depends on what slide is up on the screen but man just just now Paul missed it but man just I'm just going to remind you our reaction to looking at that defensive line depth chart it's pretty scary so that's all that's all I got to say about that but but we there are some good defensive linemen that can be had in the second round there we are yeah Paul final thoughts I I think it's an exciting season I'm really excited um because sometimes it's better to be the underdog you know instead of being the front runner so I think it's an exciting Season watching the puzzle pieces come together uh the draft I think um the approach should be just load up on players that can play today right so you can get instant contributions right um use the phase two phase three of free agency in a very intelligent purposeful way and more importantly if it winds up being hopefully right a championship season make sure Stephen Jackson is at the podium when they're doing the trophy so that he can get recognized and make sure he gets a ring there we go that's my final comment I love well what do I have to say We Don't Know Jack jly squat about anything do we we have our ideas of who we should take we went down every position group and how good or not good it looks but at the end of the day we don't know what coach V gay thinks we don't know what lesne thinks we have good ideas we just got to hope they make the right decisions and I think that's all our fan base is hoping for making proper and educated decisions please let's try to win another Super Bowl soon love it love it good stuff great job guys thanks a lot that's a good good breakdown of the offensive group uh if you missed it go back and listen to our breakdown of the defensive uh group and the depth chart there and where we're at and what our needs are and uh coming into next week when we go into the uh hardcore draft I mean Paul and Mark in particular have been holding down the fort on mock drafts very well versed in uh in what our options are and what could happen and different scenarios so next week we'll get together Mark will be leading it on the uh draft conversations and uh and certainly at least one maybe two nights of mock drafts um going into uh leading up to next week's draft so thanks a lot for joining us this has been the Rams up round table and look forward to uh getting with you guys next time Full Speed Ahead baby Ram Nation Rams 2024 please please don't make me [Music] sad that's going to do it for this episode remember you can reach us at Rams up Podcast gmail.com and don't forget about our YouTube channel our handle is at laams up.com till next time keep the horns up stay safe and have fun out there