6'2"
230lbs

Jones is a former first-team all-state pick at Ware County High School who enrolled early at South Carolina but missed 2018 spring practices with a fracture in his back. He managed to play in five games in the fall, making 16 tackles. Jones left Columbia for the NFL draft after the 2020 season, which marked the second straight year he led the Gamecocks in tackles. He made 86 stops, including five for loss, in nine starts in 2020, one year after posting 97 tackles (5.5 for loss), two interceptions and five pass breakups in 12 starts. -- by Chad Reuter

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Overview
Two-down linebackers with limited speed and below-average athleticism aren't exactly in vogue these days, but Jones has the field IQ and interior toughness to warrant consideration. He's a blue-collar linebacker capable of handling the physical duties required of his position, but he will always have limitations in pursuit speed and coverage talent. He has a good feel for diagnosing blocking schemes and finding runners between the tackles, so a role as a backup inside linebacker in a 3-4 defense might be his best fit early on in his career.

Strengths

• Brings a banger's mentality to the field.
• Good football IQ.
• Stacks up tackles and is always near the football.
• Plays with consistent pad level throughout the rep.
• Reads keys and feels the blocking scheme to find the runner.
• Takes diagonal steps downhill to squeeze B-gaps on combo blocks.
• Fits up into his run gaps and will take on lead blocks with pop.
• Meets angle blocks with stiff hands to stay clean.
• Rarely overly eager in biting on misdirection.
• Consistent body striker with wrap-up finish as tackler.

Weaknesses

• Below-average athlete by NFL standards.
• Operates with some stiffness in lateral scrapes.
• No burst gear to run down backs headed for the edge.
• Needs consistent positioning to leverage gap against guards.
• Doesn't play with gap-shooting burst for big plays.
• Average balance and agility fighting through blocks.
• Gets too far downhill and can't chase bounce-outs.
• Labored change of direction will take him off the field on passing downs.

I didn't get to watch the first round of the draft because of work but will be watching tonight, so I was wondering if anyone had any luck with NFLBites or knew of any other streaming sites for tonight.

I know that many of you are blown away by my perceived coolness.

I wasn’t strictly a metal, head banger in my past. Along with Van Halen I would sing to some Barry Manilow. ZZ Top songs might take a back seat to some fine Michael Bolton tune. I even took some time away from Pink Floyd for “Fat” by Weird Al.

I’ll show mine if you show me yours.....wait, that didn’t come out right...
1. Copa Cabana by Barry Manilow
2. When a Man Loves a Woman by Michael Bolton
3. FAT by Weird Al
4. BAD by Michael Jackson
5. Kenny G jazz
6. Purple Rain by Prince
7. Any song on @CGI_Ram ’s playlist....:dab:

When is the 2021 NFL Draft?​

This year's draft runs from Thursday, April 29, to Saturday, May 1. Here's a breakdown of the schedule by round:

• Round 1: Thursday, April 29 (8 p.m. ET)
• Rounds 2-3: Friday, April 30 (7 p.m. ET)
• Rounds 4-7: Saturday, May 1 (12 p.m. ET)

How to watch the 2021 NFL Draft​

Where can you go to tune in? Below is another rundown of the schedule, plus TV and streaming options:

Thursday, April 29​

Round: 1
Start time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network
Stream: fuboTV (try for free), NFL app, ESPN app

Friday, April 30​

Rounds: 2-3
Start time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network
Stream: fuboTV (try for free), NFL app, ESPN app

Saturday, May 1​

Rounds: 4-7
Start time: 12 p.m. ET
TV: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network
Stream: fuboTV (try for free), NFL app, ESPN app

2021 NFL Draft Order​

Round 1​

1) Jacksonville Jaguars – Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
2) New York Jets – Zach Wilson, QB, BYU
3) San Francisco 49ers (from HOU through MIA) – Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State
4) Atlanta Falcons – Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida
5) Cincinnati Bengals – Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU
6) Miami Dolphins (from PHI) – Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama
7) Detroit Lions – Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon
8) Carolina Panthers – Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina
9) Denver Broncos – Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama
10) Philadelphia Eagles (from DAL) – DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama
11) Chicago Bears (from NYG) – Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State
12) Dallas Cowboys (from PHI through SF, MIA) – Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State
13) Los Angeles Chargers – Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern
14) New York Jets (from MIN) – Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL, USC
15) New England Patriots – Mac Jones, QB, Alabama
16) Arizona Cardinals – Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa
17) Las Vegas Raiders – Alex Leatherwood, OT, Alabama
18) Miami Dolphins – Jaelan Phillips, DE, Miami
19) Washington Football Team – Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky
20) New York Giants (from CHI) – Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida
21) Indianapolis Colts – Kwity Paye, DE, Michigan
22) Tennessee Titans – Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech
23) Minnesota Vikings (from NYJ through SEA) – Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech
24) Pittsburgh Steelers – Najee Harris, RB, Alabama
25) Jacksonville Jaguars (from LAR) – Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson
26) Cleveland Browns – Greg Newsome II, CB, Northwestern
27) Baltimore Ravens – Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota
28) New Orleans Saints – Payton Turner, DE, Houston
29) Green Bay Packers – Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia
30) Buffalo Bills – Gregory Rousseau, DE, Miami
31) Baltimore Ravens (from KC) – Jayson Oweh, DE, Penn State
32) Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Joe Tryon, LB, Washington

Round 2​

33) Jacksonville Jaguars
34) New York Jets
35) Atlanta Falcons
36) Miami Dolphins (from HOU)
37) Philadelphia Eagles
38) Cincinnati Bengals
39) Carolina Panthers
40) Denver Broncos
41) Detroit Lions
42) New York Giants
43) San Francisco 49ers
44) Dallas Cowboys
45) Jacksonville Jaguars (from MIN)
46) New England Patriots
47) Los Angeles Chargers
48) Las Vegas Raiders
49) Arizona Cardinals
50) Miami Dolphins
51) Washington Football Team
52) Chicago Bears
53) Tennessee Titans
54) Indianapolis Colts
55) Pittsburgh Steelers
56) Seattle Seahawks
57) Los Angeles Rams
58) Kansas City Chiefs (from BAL)
59) Cleveland Browns
60) New Orleans Saints
61) Buffalo Bills
62) Green Bay Packers
63) Kansas City Chiefs
64) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Round 3​

65) Jacksonville Jaguars
66) Minnesota Vikings (from NYJ)
67) Houston Texans
68) Atlanta Falcons
69) Cincinnati Bengals
70) Philadelphia Eagles
71) Denver Broncos
72) Detroit Lions
73) Carolina Panthers
74) Washington Football Team (from SF)
75) Dallas Cowboys
76) New York Giants
77) Los Angeles Chargers
78) Minnesota Vikings
79) Las Vegas Raiders (from AZ)
80) Las Vegas Raiders
81) Miami Dolphins
82) Washington Football Team
83) Chicago Bears
84) Dallas Cowboys (from PHI through IND)
85) Tennessee Titans
86) Minnesota Vikings (from NYJ through SEA)
87) Pittsburgh Steelers
88) Los Angeles Rams
89) Cleveland Browns
90) Minnesota Vikings (from BAL)
91) Cleveland Browns (from NO)
92) Green Bay Packers
93) Buffalo Bills
94) Baltimore Ravens (from KC)
95) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
96) New England Patriots (compensatory selection)
97) Los Angeles Chargers (compensatory selection)
98) New Orleans Saints (compensatory selection)
99) Dallas Cowboys (compensatory selection)
100) Tennessee Titans (compensatory selection)
101) Detroit Lions (from LAR; compensatory selection)
102) San Francisco 49ers (special compensatory selection)
103) Los Angeles Rams (special compensatory selection)
104) Baltimore Ravens (special compensatory selection)
105) New Orleans Saints (special compensatory selection)

Since I don’t follow the Draft very closely can anyone give me your opinions on some of the bigger surprises in this years Draft?

Thanks In Advance!

I think Jared Goff can sleep a little better tonight. For all the Ram fans that think it was the Offensive Line.

It will be interesting moving forward to see how Detroit builds there franchise. Les Snead will have another scale to hold up to.

The draft that held Faulk, Bruce, and some Undrafted Grocery Guy.


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Happy draft day everyone. Hope y’all are doing well. I’m not around as much as I would like but the wife and I are in the middle of closing on a house(in this economy, I know). I’ll be posting pictures of the man cave when it comes time. But I digress.

I had an idea of a cool Rams accessory that I think would be one of a kind. I want to build a replica oculus turned billard lamp. But I honestly have no idea where to start. I might weld a double sided metal oculus. Then I would just need a circuit board and led monitors to surround it. Any advice from all you tech nerds would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

When is the 2021 NFL Draft?​

This year's draft runs from Thursday, April 29, to Saturday, May 1. Here's a breakdown of the schedule by round:

• Round 1: Thursday, April 29 (8 p.m. ET)
• Rounds 2-3: Friday, April 30 (7 p.m. ET)
• Rounds 4-7: Saturday, May 1 (12 p.m. ET)

How to watch the 2021 NFL Draft​

Where can you go to tune in? Below is another rundown of the schedule, plus TV and streaming options:

Thursday, April 29​

Round: 1
Start time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network
Stream: fuboTV (try for free), NFL app, ESPN app

Friday, April 30​

Rounds: 2-3
Start time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network
Stream: fuboTV (try for free), NFL app, ESPN app

Saturday, May 1​

Rounds: 4-7
Start time: 12 p.m. ET
TV: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network
Stream: fuboTV (try for free), NFL app, ESPN app

Draft Order - Round 1​

1) Jacksonville Jaguars
2) New York Jets
3) San Francisco 49ers (from Houston Texans through Miami Dolphins)
4) Atlanta Falcons
5) Cincinnati Bengals
6) Miami Dolphins (from Philadelphia Eagles)
7) Detroit Lions
8) Carolina Panthers
9) Denver Broncos
10) Dallas Cowboys
11) New York Giants
12) Philadelphia Eagles (from San Francisco 49ers through Miami Dolphins)
13) Los Angeles Chargers
14) Minnesota Vikings
15) New England Patriots
16) Arizona Cardinals
17) Las Vegas Raiders
18) Miami Dolphins
19) Washington Football Team
20) Chicago Bears
21) Indianapolis Colts
22) Tennessee Titans
23) New York Jets (from Seattle Seahawks)
24) Pittsburgh Steelers
25) Jacksonville Jaguars (from Los Angeles Rams)
26) Cleveland Browns
27) Baltimore Ravens
28) New Orleans Saints
29) Green Bay Packers
30) Buffalo Bills
31) Baltimore Ravens (from Kansas City Chiefs)
32) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Until Rams can start offering their 2024 first-rounder to move up in the draft!

Is it just me or does every draft promo have slo mo of Lawrence flipping that fabulous mane around like a bay watch babe.

I realize the 57th pick might be kind of high to draft Quinn Meinerz but I really like this player and I am guessing he will be gone by the time the Rams draft in the 3rd round so I would not be upset to see the Rams select him with their 2nd round pick! Love his attitude and physicality (Although, I do realize he wasn’t playing against great competition every week!)!

Jalen Ramsey jokes about being a first-round pick for the third time this year​

Jalen Ramsey was drafted by the Jaguars back in 2016, going fifth overall out of Florida State. Yet, five years later, he’s still having an impact on the draft.

As was the case last year, the Los Angeles Rams don’t have a first-round pick in this week’s draft due to the blockbuster trade they made for Ramsey in 2019. They gave up two first-round picks and their fourth-rounder this year to acquire Ramsey, a trade that has unequivocally worked out for the Rams.

Considering Ramsey was the best corner in the NFL last season and continues to get better, the return on that deal has been excellent for L.A.

Ramsey joked this week that he was honored to be a part of the 2020 draft class, essentially being the first-round pick from that group.

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He also posted on Instagram that this will be his third year as a first-round pick, since the Rams and Jaguars essentially spent three first-rounders on him since 2016.

The Jaguars will be picking in the Rams’ draft slot this year at No. 25 overall. Los Angeles’ first pick will be at No. 57 in the second round, five spots behind its initial selection last year when Cam Akers was selected 52nd overall.

The Louisiana native is talking to Southern University located in Baton Rouge about their head coaching vacancy.

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Disclaimer: this is a long and rambling post because I'm bored and waiting on Friday. Read at your own risk.

One thing I have been thinking about for a while now as I watch McVay's offense change year to year with different players is the old predominance of 11 sets in McVay's best offenses. The link between the higher performance overall and its correlation to 11 sets.

Now first off I realize that OL performance has impacted our offense, as has QB performance. But I want to set those two things aside for the purpose of this discussion, assuming anyone thinks this discussion is relative to things as I do. We don't need another Goff or OL thread, we have beat them both to death and I want to move on as it were.

Back to the 11 sets I associate the higher success in the passing game to the multiplicity of matchup problems we presented to defenses during those seasons. Say what you will about Cooks but we really felt his loss in 2019 (concussion and confidence issues even when he was on the field) and 2020 (none of our guys were able to step up and replace him). Waiting in the wings for this season is Jefferson, but also Jackson. Are either of those guys up to snuff when compared to 2018 Brandin Cooks? I'm curious what you guys think but for me I would say no. So it is possible I think that the Rams draft a WR to help address that shortfall, and I would just suggest that if they were to do that having special teams impact would be of very high value which means a guy like Eskridge seems to fit, to my eye at least, because he can do things like returns or even gunner. To me at least he's a perfect fit for what we need and should be a guy they can target with their picks (I see him slated quite a bit in round 3-4 range). I like some others too, like Amari Rodgers, but he's not quite as good a fit on the teams side.

But adding wideout is not the only way to improve this offense. My theory here is that the 11 personnel rates being so high in 2017 and 2018 related moreso to talent comparison between our third wideout vs Everett than it did some preference of McVay's to get all 11 crazy. He basically put the best guys on the field. And so it jives that we suddenly see a return to more 12 sets in 2020 when our third wideout option is much more limited and allowed for Everett to get on the field more as part of a 12 set.

If that is true what does that mean for our TE position? Well to me it means that TE offers significant room for upgrade. But what type of TE are the Rams going to be looking for? The answer is an "F" type TE would be their target. Looking at our depth chart we have one "F" type option, that being Hopkins. Who we have discussed quite a bit around here. And who, no matter what any of us may think about him, failed to even so much as sniff the field last year, even late in the year when things aligned for him to get a look or two. For me this is an important tell.

Now there is a part of me that wonders what Higs can do if the Rams were to add a classic blocking TE and move him to more of a pass game role. But of course scheme plays a big role in all that, where if they did get a good blocking TE then why not use them both on the inline which allows for more deception. And honestly I'm not sure what Higs will be if they were to give him primary looks in the pattern in this offense with 9 throwing him the ball. That may be a discussion in and of itself but for this post I will assume they want an "F" upgrade who can hold his own in comparison to the wideout group.

How many TEs in this draft can do that? Well that's kind of a depressing question. But there's a silver lining IMO as it pertains to the Rams because what you're seeing in college is a tendency to play guys who have that "F" build of big size and good feet/athleticism as wideouts. In a way it's sort of trending like Edge/DE has where multiplicity has driven scouts to view them more on what things they do well vice whether they fit one specific scheme. So this is a long way of saying that there are some very big and mobile WRs in this draft who could "move to TE" for us which tbh is nothing more than playing them inside the hash. Which, btw, is another trend that has affected the defenses and why we see 20 used in the slot in our defense but that's another interesting discussion in and of itself to me at least.

What does this mean for the draft? It means some of the big wideouts who maybe aren't the best route runners might be in play for us. I say some of them because you still have to have some physicality to you in order to be an F type TE. Plus the Rams require their passing game weapons to at the very least be willing to block and get in the way for the ball carrier. Who would be fits for that role? Well to my eye here's a few:

Brevin Jordan. Better version of Everett coming out in terms of his run game threat with the ball. The guy is nasty when he gets that rock in space. He's gonna need a little time but down the road he's the kind of weapon that might be able to challenge for some playing time vs the wideout group. The type of TE that McVay seems to prefer. I don't love his film but that upside is real.

Simi Fehoko. I love Fehoko's film. He's got a real nice fluid nature to his movement, good all around player who also has strength in his game and some suddenness for that big a frame. The guy is a perfect fit as an F in this offense IMO. His future in the NFL is TE IMO. And best of all the guy is slated to go in a range the Rams are all over.

Hunter Long. He's one of those sneaky types that ends up getting open. The guy is productive. He won't smoke an ILB one on one with high percentage but he'll get open over and over somehow because he's a balanced guy that can get overlooked. Not a great athlete but I think he could help us opposite Higbee sort of like Friermuth would. Note that these types of TEs are not what McVay seems to prefer. But since he'd be able to start for us rather quickly I have to think he would be in play assuming they're not secretly high on Hopkins.

What will be interesting is if Friermuth is there at 57. He looks like Herman Munster to me. The guy is not sudden or a speed threat by any stretch. But he trucks DBs like an older brother. So idk. Definitely not an F in this offense but I find myself wondering what he would do in that role for us.

I’m trying to find out out from my smart Ram brothers who to pick, because the so-called experts don’t seem that smart, and with so many brain tumor surgeries... let’s just say I need a little bit of help here.