The Los Angeles Rams give up a good chunk of their future to move up in the 2016 NFL Draft and select quarterback Jared Goff at No. 1.
His struggles during his rookie season (54.6 completion percentage, 1,089 yards, five touchdowns, seven interceptions, 26 sacks and zero wins in seven starts) are well-documented. But they also were expected, according to ESPN Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr.
Kiper re-graded the 2016 draft for all 32 teams (h/t/turfshowtimes.com). Having originally given the Rams a B- for their draft, he lowered the grade to a C, primarily because of Goff’s rough start.
Not that it was all Goff’s fault, Kiper says:
I suspect a lot of people think I should hammer this draft class, given Jared Goff’s first-year struggles, but there’s a problem with that: We said all along that Goff would struggle early on based on the system he was coming from at Cal and the lack of help on this Rams roster, so should we be surprised? I wrote at the time, “I’m a fan of Goff … [but] they’ll need to be extremely patient and find ways to protect him.” When Goff played, the Rams had no running game to take pressure off him and didn’t pass protect well, and his receivers were a parade of dropped passes, including some that bounced off hands and chests and right to a defender for a pick. Does this look good so far? Of course not. Is it all because of Goff? No way.
The rest of the Rams draft (tight ends Tyler Higbee and Temarrick Hemingway, wide receivers Pharoh Cooper and Michael Thomas, and inside linebacker Josh Forrest) played a minimal role in the team’s 2016 season.
Turfshowtimes.com attempts to quell Rams fans’ insecurities by pointing out that Kiper downgraded every NFC West team. However, on the Rams lost two spots, whereas the rest of the teams (Arizona B- to C+, San Francisco 49ers C to C- and Seattle Seahawks B to B-) each suffered only one spot.
Goff and company can change Kiper’s grade again if they can have a breakout 2017 under new head coach Sean McVay. But based on the way the Rams draft in April may indicate how well they believe they did last season.
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