Not anymore but until recently the NFC West has stoically remained out of
the news headlines, following the Rams
return to the City of Angels the most
controversial thing coming out of the NFC West was Seattle QB Russell Wilson and his engagement, no 49ers drinking and driving, no domestic
violence reported, but then the NFL decided to release the 2016 schedule and
the proverbial damn was broken.
Last year the Rams front office duo of Jeff Fisher and Les Snead were adamant all the way up to and through the combine
that Sam Bradford was their man no
matter what, only to trade him to Philadelphia
for Nick Foles. So when they tried the same tactic this year
singing the apparent many virtues of Case
Keenum, not many of us were buying.
Having said that, and with the knowledge that the Rams needed a
Quarterback, something that the move to Los Angeles only highlights, to trade
up from number 15 to number 1 was a surprise.
Tennessee
Titans GM Jon Robinson made sure that everyone knew
the possibility of a trade was on the table, but with the cost of moving up
just a few spaces in the draft order (measured ironically enough by what the
Rams received from Washington for Robert Griffin III) seemingly so high,
no one was really looking much below Dallas
Cowboys or at a push the Philadelphia Eagles as the lowest lying trade
partners. That is now blown out of the
water with the Rams passing over in total two first round, two second rounds
and two third rounds over the next few seasons for this year’s first pick and a
couple of lower round selections. You
would be forgiven for thinking there was some sort of cosmic balancing act at
work for the Rams to be the one who gave up the picks for this deal.
The reason everyone was considering a deal
with the Titans was of course to get above Cleveland
whom everyone believed was odds on to take a QB at number two, however they
have picked up Griffin III of all QB’s which in some ways closes some of these
draft loops in the narrative, and now the Browns
may not be going the QB route. Everyone
assumed correctly as it seems that the Titans with Marcus Mariota were set at that position, and if GM’s around the
league are going to overpay, it will be for a perceived franchise QB.
The Rams are of course now in full spin
mode, saying that there are many players they are considering with their newly
acquired number one pick, but once again, pay little credence to this
storyline. The Rams haven’t moved up from Number 15 to take a Left Tackle no
matter how good a player Laremy Tunsil may
be, the simple truth is that either Carson
Wentz or Jared Goff are moving
to Hollywood and all the pressure the
LA spotlight brings will be on them.
They will be backed up by a premier running game spearheaded of course
by Todd Gurley and a top level
defence featuring Aaron Donald and Robert
Quinn.
Whichever one it is, will struggle with the
passing game though. The Rams air attack
woes were not all on the QB last year, it is not the most inspiring group of
receivers outside Tavon Austin whom
they are still identifying how to use, and with so many picks gone in acquiring
the QB there is not much help coming on the Receiver front anytime soon, unless
they have a deal in the offing for a current star. No doubt you will have seen the rumors that
Wentz is the man the Rams are leaning towards, and this seems to be more smoke
and mirrors to me. My belief is that in
the year Pro Football returns to Los Angeles it will be the local boy, college
star Goff who the Rams select. It would
be a media dream and a story that sells, box office in the most commercial city
in the world.
So what does this mean for the draft now? The acknowledged number one contenders Tunsil, Jalen Ramsey are all moving
down the order with the first QB off the board at number one. The other QB should now be selected at number
two I would wager, but not guaranteed to be the Browns anymore. All those teams that wanted a QB and thought
they might have had a chance in the initial order, Dallas, San Francisco and
Philadelphia will now have their resolve tested. How highly do they rate the
other QB deemed to be a first round talent are they willing to trade with
Cleveland to get him? That will be a
steep price too as the Browns could quite conceivably be happy to take him
themselves if nobody bites.
The rest of the top 7 picking teams are all
very happy in the sense that Tunsil, Ramsey, Myles Jack, DeForest Buckner
and Ezekiel Elliott are all going to be there and if your picking 3 to 7 you
are guaranteed one of these unless someone jumps up again. The Titans and maybe the Browns are going to
be sitting on a lot of picks and I expect them to move further in the draft and
look to package something to get back in the first round for more first round
players.
The other player all this could impact in
the West of course is 49ers QB Colin
Kaepernick. After one of the more
protracted and tedious will he won’t he games in history this saga must surely
draw to a close soon. As the first round
QB talents go off the board the availability of Kaepernick will once again seem
attractive to some teams and the 49ers who so far have been resolute about the
need for a third round pick in return, may also be willing to budge, There is a chance of a pre-draft deal with
the Jets for Kaepernick and Mo Wilkerson
to swap coasts, but come the start of 2016 I think Kaepernick will finally be
on the bench for another team whilst Blaine
Gabbert starts in San Francisco backed up by a mid-round draft selection,
one of the many picks the 49ers have this year.
Meanwhile up in the North West the original
Legion of Boom has been reunited as Brandon Browner has returned to
Seattle. Based on the last few seasons
expect a barrage of yellow flags to accompany him as he may just be one of the
first to test the referee’s under the new personal conduct policy.