2022 NFL Draft: Profiles for 20 potential LA Rams picks on Day 3

Will Matt Araiza, Max Borghi, Nick Cross, or one of these other names land with the Rams?

Update: I have updated last week’s post highlighting draft profiles by Ferragamo15 to include 10 more names. It’s great to have one resource to jump to in order to read about prospects who may fit Les Snead’s needs, so I’ll keep a running tally here for you. Thanks Ferragamo!

As many Turf Show Times readers are already aware of, this community is lucky to have someone who does in-depth research on dozens of NFL Draft prospects every year, specifically pondering whether said players make sense for the Los Angeles Rams. What we rarely talk about is how much harder that is to do for the Rams than it is for every other team.

Every team that has draft picks on days one and two.

The Rams do not pick until 104, the third round compensatory stage of day two, and that means having to dig deeper than every other team on “Who could be a future member of this franchise?”

It’s with that, I have to give a round of applause and a spotlight to Ferragamo15 for pushing out another exhaustive, comprehensive, and creative set of draft profiles for the 2022 edition. We are about three weeks out from the 2022 NFL Draft and in case you weren’t aware, you can narrow down all of the Turf Show Times draft-related articles by clicking here or going here any time from our front page:

I want to highlight 10 such profiles today, so that you all get a second (or first) chance to read about some potential future members of the LA Rams. I’m only copy/pasting a TINY section from each profile, so click the links to read about each player’s backstory, accomplishments, strengths, weaknesses, and etc.

Which of these prospects do you think you’d most like to see on the Rams come May?

LB Damone Clark vs. LB Malcolm Rodriguez – Draft Showdown

This is how Rodriguez and Borland compare in size and combine testing:

Rodriguez: 5’11’’ tall, 232 pounds, 30 1/8’’ arms, 9 5/8’’ hands, 72 5/8’’ wingspan

4.52 sec (40 time), 39.5’’ vert, 10’ broad jump

Borland: 5’11 1/2’’ tall, 248 pounds, 29 1/4’’ arms, 9 7/8’’ hands, 72 3/4’’ wingspan

4.83 sec (40 time), 31’’ vert, 9’6’’ broad jump

I think Clark has a high floor. Due to his strong football character and athleticism, he should at least be a good ST player and backup. He’s too inconsistent right not to be an immediate starter. Has developmental upside to be a solid starter, but just like in college his progress might be slow and uneven and there is a risk that he’ll hit a ceiling and never be more than a backup.

LB Micah McFadden – Draft Profile

So, who is my NFL comp for McFadden? It is Troy Reeder. Before you scoff at this notion and dismiss it based on the allegation that Reeder is a “terrible” NFL player who wasn’t even drafted, let’s look at how the 2 players measure up.

Troy Reeder: (Pre Draft) 6’1’’ tall, 235 pounds, 29 7/8’’ arms, 9 3/8’’ hands, 74 3/8’’ wingspan. The Rams listed Reeder as 6’3’’ tall and 245 pounds last season.

Pro day results: 4.63 sec (40 time), 37.5’’ vert jump, 10’2’’ broad jump, 4.14 sec (shuttle), 7.0 sec (3 cone)

Micah McFadden: 6’1’’ tall, 240 pounds, 31 1/4’’ arms, 9 1/2’’ hands, 75.5’’ wingspan. Was listed by IU at 6’2’’ tall and 232 pounds.

Pro day (bench from Combine): 4.63 sec (40 time), 35’’ vert, 9’10’’ broad, 4.15 to 4.21 sec (shuttle), 6.88 sec (3 cone)

C Zach Tom – Draft Profile “The best C for the Rams”

Background

Turns 23 years old later this month. Spent 5 years at WF, got business degree in 2021 and was an MBA student. Graduated with 3.76 GPA, received numerous academic awards. 3 star recruit, did shot put in HS.

Played center early in career at WF through the 2019 season. PFF said that he didn’t allow a single sack up to that point in his career and in the 2019 season playing at center he didn’t commit a single penalty.

In 2020 and 2021 he played at LT. PFF graded him as the best pass blocking offensive lineman in FBS. He was a 2nd team All American in 2021. Started every game for WF from 2019 through 2021.

6’4’’ tall, 304 pounds, 33 1/4’’ arms, 10 3/8’’ hands. Was listed by WF at 6’5’’ and 295 pounds.

4.94 sec (40 time), 33’’ vert jump, 9’10’’ broad jump, 4.47 sec (shuttle), 7.32 sec (3 cone)

I’m going to give Tom a 4th round draft grade. If he’s available for the Rams on Day 3, Zach Tom from Wake Forest could be a sneaky good pick.

Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

LB Troy Andersen – Draft Profile “Is day 2 too rich?”

Background

From a small town in Montana with a population less than 4,000. Family has a cattle ranch. Sprinter in track in HS (100 and 200 meters), basketball, QB and S in football, state champ and star athlete in each sport. Valedictorian of HS.

6’3 1/2’’ tall, 243 pounds, 32 1/8’’ arms, 9 1/4’’ hands, 77 5/8’’ wingspan. Was listed by school at 6’4’’ and 235 pounds. There are very minor discrepancies between Senior Bowl and Combine measurements.

4.42 sec (40 time), 36’’ vert jump, 10’8’’ broad. Did not participate in other drills.

I’ll highlight two plays that happened on back to back snaps to sum up why I don’t have a high grade on Andersen. The first play was a play action pass. The TE runs up the seam, then breaks towards the middle of the field. When Andersen reads that it is a pass, he fails to gain sufficient depth in zone coverage. His pedal is too stiff, preventing him from moving backwards far enough. He compounds the problem by showing poor instincts for where to move, he steps in the wrong direction trying to squeeze the route to the outside and all it does is open up the middle for an easy completion to the TE.

On the very next play, the opponent calls a wide zone run. The backside G climbs towards Andersen at the 2nd level. Andersen overruns his run fit, then as the G closes in, Andersen is so tentative that he literally steps backwards. The G makes a lousy block (it is an FCS player, after all), but it is still effective to cause the LB to spin 360 degrees and be knocked out of his gap. The RB cuts through Andersen’s assigned gap and runs for over 10 yards.

I don’t agree with the draft boards that have him as a 3rd to 4th round pick. In my view, Troy Andersen is a late round prospect.

DE Alex Wright – Draft Profile “Mr Relevant”

At the Combine, Wright strained his left pec muscle doing the bench press. He didn’t do any other drills and also didn’t do testing at his Pro Day.

6’5 1/8’’ tall, 271 pounds, 34’’ arms, 9 1/4’’ hands, 82 7/8’’ wingspan. UAB listed him at 6’7’’ tall.

Note his wingspan and arm length. He has a bigger wingspan than Hutchinson (78 1/8’’), Thibodeaux (79.5’’), Ojabo, Mafe, Cam Thomas, Karlaftis, Jermaine Johnson, Logan Hall, Ebiketie and other notable pass rushers in this class.

JFM is a different type of prospect, because he was a tweener between a DT and a DE. Wright is a tweener between OLB and DE. He played standing up as a 3-4 OLB and looks comfortable in that role, but he has the physical potential to bulk up and possibly play as a DE in either a 4-3 or 3-4 defense.

P Jordan Stout – The top punters in the 2022 NFL Draft

1. Jordan Stout (Penn State) 5.99 grade, consensus UDFA. 6’3’’ tall, 209 pounds. Ran 4.65 sec in the 40. LZ says he has the makings of a steady, long term NFL punter. Quality power, outstanding touch. Limits returns with hang time. Rarely punts ball into the end zone. Consistent quick operation with both 2 and 3 step approach. Very low touchback rate. Only an average directional punter. Watching him, there’s nothing overly impressive about his leg strength, but he has good technique, enough passing ability to execute a fake, probably has limited upside to become one of the top pro punters, but has a high floor and could be a reliable punter. He was also the K for PSU, but doesn’t quite have enough leg to be a regular pro kicker. 46.1 yard average in 2021. 35 inside 20 and 3 touchbacks. 30 out of 67 punts were fair caught. Zero blocks in 99 career punts. Only averaged 41.5 yards in 2020. 7th in nation in kickoff touchback percentage in 2020. Turns 24 years old in August.

DT Matt Henningsen – Draft Profile “Smartest player in the draft”

Photo by Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Matt Henningsen is probably the most intelligent player in the 2022 draft. He graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA in Electrical Engineering from Wisconsin. After getting his undergraduate degree, he was in an accelerated Master’s program in EE and computer engineering. He was involved in research projects about brain modeling and detecting cerebral hemorrhaging on MRI images. He had the highest GPA out of all of the players named to the NFF National Scholar Athlete class, better than Troy Andersen (3.91 in ag business) and Charlie Kolar (3.99 in mechanical engineering, maybe we need to open an investigation as to how Kolar fell just short of a 4.0 and let Iowa State and Wisconsin debate who has the better engineering program.) Henningsen’s interviews are impressive, he’s well spoken. He was a Campbell Trophy finalist and was an Academic 1st team All American.

6’3 3/8’’ tall, 289 pounds (295 pounds at Shrine Bowl), 33 1/8’’ arms (32 3/8’’ at SB), 9 3/8’’ hands, 82 1/8’’ wingspan (81 3/8’’ at SB)

Pro Day numbers: Like most PDs, results depend on the reporting source

1.67 to 1.75 sec (10 yard split), 22 bench reps, 37.5’’ vert jump, 9’11’’ broad jump, 4.07, 4.22 or 4.29 sec (shuttle), 7.02, 7.16 or 7.19 sec (3 cone).

DE Dominique Robinson – Draft Profile

Miami of Ohio edge rusher, Dominique Robinson, is one of the most intriguing prospects in this year’s draft. He is very inexperienced and raw as an edge defender, but his ceiling is immense. If he could harness his full potential, Robinson’s career could mirror that of Danielle Hunter. At LSU, Hunter only had 4.5 career sacks. While players like Vic Beasley and Shane Ray were 1st round picks that year, Hunter wasn’t taken until late in the 3rd round, one slot before Sean Mannion went to the Rams.

6’4 7/8’’ tall, 254 pounds, 33 3/8’’ arms, 9 3/4’’ hands, 82 3/8’’ wingspan.

4.72 sec (40 time), 25 bench reps, 41’’ vert jump, 10’1’’ broad jump,

At the Senior Bowl, Mel Kiper said Robinson was a 3rd to 4th round pick.

Pro Comparison and Grade

Jeremiah Attaochu (2nd round 2014 Chargers, Georgia Tech), 3rd round.

Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

LB JoJo Domann – Draft Profile

JoJo Domann, an OLB from Nebraska, has football in his blood. His dad has been an NFL agent for over 30 years. One of his favorite football memories growing up was going to the Arizona Cardinals training camp and getting an autograph from Kurt Warner.

Most draft boards have Domann as a 3rd to 4th round pick. Domann is a “head vs heart” prospect. Your head says don’t draft him. He’s much older than most prospects, he has a long injury history and he’s too small to be a normal in the box stacked LB. Your heart wants to draft him, be cause he was a very good college player, he was a disruptive force and probably Nebraska’s best defensive player. Which of those 2 competing voices will win out in NFL war rooms? One area the Rams could use an upgrade is with a LB who is good at pass coverage. Could JoJo Domann be a perfect fit for that role?

Background

Combine measurements: 6’1 1/4’’ tall, 228 pounds at Combine, 30 3/8’’ arms, 9 1/2’’ hands, 74 1/4’’ wingspan (at the Senior Bowl, he measured a tiny hair smaller in very single category)

4.62 sec (40 time), 34.5’’ vert jump, 9’11’’ broad jump.

OT Braxton Jones – Draft Profile

Southern Utah left tackle, Braxton Jones, is a disappointing draft prospect. Why is he disappointing? Because, he’s a player I’d love to steal later in the draft, but it looks like he’s going to get drafted too early. I wanted to write a fanpost about a small school OT who has potential and could be a late round sleeper, who is ranked as a 6th round prospect on ESPN’s board. Instead, after looking at his rankings on the other boards, it looks like he’s going to be a middle round selection and if the Rams want him they might have to use their first draft pick on him. Instead of sleeping on Jones, the draft experts must have all set their clocks ahead and woken up early.

Background

6’5’’ tall, 310 pounds, 35 3/8’’ arms, 10 1/4’’ hands, 83 1/2’’ wingspan. Senior Bowl had his arms at 36’’ and 84 1/4’’ wingspan. Southern Utah listed him at 6’7’’ tall. Excellent measured arm length for a tackle.

4.97 sec (40 time), 25.5’’ vert jump, 9’ broad jump, 4.84 sec (shuttle). Shuttle time isn’t so hot. Noteboom had a 4.44 sec shuttle. Jones did it essentially as fast as Andrew Whitworth (4.83 sec), but Whit weighed 334 pounds at the Combine.

I think Jones is a better prospect than D’Ante Smith, who was a 4th round pick last year by the Bengals. Smith probably should slide inside to guard for a zone blocking team, while I think Jones has a better shot at staying outside at tackle. I think Noteboom was a better prospect than Jones, but their overall tier is about the same.

P Matt Araiza – Draft Profile

Background

College: San Diego State

Age: Turns 22 in May. Redshirt Junior.

Size: Listed as 6’2’’ tall, 200 pounds

Pro Comparison and Grade

Matt Dodge (7th round NYG 2010, East Carolina); 6th round grade

“To my eye, Araiza is too risky of a pick to make in the middle of the draft.”

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C Cam Jurgens – Draft Profile

Background

School: Nebraska

Size: Listed at 6’3’’ tall, 290 pounds

Age: Turns 23 in April. Redshirt Junior. Nutrition and health sciences major.

Pro Comparison and Grade

Nick Hardwick (3rd round 2004 Chargers, Purdue), 5th round grade

“I definitely could see an NFL team coveting Cam Jurgens and taking him in the 3rd round, the same round where Hardwick was selected. Maybe the Rams could be tempted.”

Photo by Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

C Alec Lindstrom – Draft Profile

Background

College: Boston College

Shrine Bowl measurements: 6’ 3 1/4’’ tall, 294 pounds, 32 1/8’’ arms, 9’’ hands, 77 3/8’’ wingspan

Age: Turns 24 in July. Redshirt Senior.

Pro Comparison and Grade

Ross Pierschbacher (5th round 2019 Washington Commanders, Alabama), Late round grade.

“Lindstrom has name recognition due to his family name, but I view him as a depth piece a team might look at towards the end of the draft, not as a priority prospect who should be valued in the first half of the draft.”

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RB Max Borghi – Draft Profile

Background

Name: Massimiliano Borghi

College: Washington State

Age: Turns 23 in April. True Senior. Majored in criminal justice.

Pro Comparison and Draft Grade

Khalil Herbert (Compensatory 6th round 2021, Chicago Bears, Virginia Tech.) 5th round grade.

“Max Borghi might not be drawing Christian McCaffrey comparisons from the media anymore, but he’s still a potential value pick for an NFL team in the 2nd half of the draft.”

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

TE Cade Otten – Draft Profile

Background

School: Washington

Size: Listed at 6’5’’ tall, 250 pounds

Age: Turns 23 in April. 5th year redshirt junior who could have played another year in college due to covid rules, but declared for draft instead.

Pro Comparison and Draft Grade

Dalton Schultz (4th round 2018, Dallas Cowboys, Stanford), 4th round grade.

“The reason he could make sense for the Rams, however, is because I think he fits the system. He’s suited for the combo TE position.”

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DL Joshua Paschal – Draft Profile

Background

School: Kentucky

Size: Listed at 6’3’’ tall, 278 pounds. Redshirt Senior.

Pro Comparison and Grade

DeMarcus Walker (2nd round 2017, Denver Broncos, Florida State), 5th round grade.

“For the Rams, I don’t consider Paschal to be a priority target in the 3rd round. I don’t think Paschal is that good of a prospect and I don’t think he has a high ceiling in the NFL. More likely to be a backup than a starter.”

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S Nick Cross – Draft Profile

Background

School: Maryland

Size: Listed at 6’1’’ tall, 215 pounds

Pro Comparison and Grade

Tarvarius Moore (late 3rd round, 95th overall 2018, San Francisco, Southern Mississippi), 3rd round grade.

“I’m not saying that Cross should be the pick for the Rams with their first selection, but in my opinion his name belongs on the list of candidates, because it feels like that’s exactly the area of the draft where he belongs and could see his name called.”

Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

LB Jesse Luketa – Draft Profile

Background

Position: Edge or Outside Linebacker

School: Penn State

Size: 6’ 2 3/8’’ tall, 261 pounds, 33’’ arms, 10 1/4’’ hands, 78 3/4’’ wingspan

He measured slightly differently at the Combine compared to the Senior Bowl: 6’3’’, 253 pounds, 32 5/8’’ arms, 10 3/8’’ hands

Testing: 4.89 sec (40 time), 1.68 sec (10 yard split), 37.5’’ vertical jump, 9’6’’ broad jump

Age: 23. True Senior.

Pro Comparison and Grade

Malcolm Koonce (3rd round, 79th overall, Raiders, University of Buffalo), 4th round grade.

“In my opinion, Day 2 feels a little early to draft Luketa, but since the Rams don’t pick until the end of the 3rd round, this could be a distinction without a difference.”

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C Dylan Parham – Draft Profile

Background

School: Memphis

Age: Turns 23 in August. Redshirt Senior.

Senior Bowl measurements: 6’2’’ tall, 313 pounds, 33 1/2’’ arms, 10 1/4’’ hands, 80 3/8’’ wingspan

Combine measurements: 6’3’’ tall, 311 pounds, 33 1/8’’ arms, 10 1/4’’ hands

Pro Comparison and Grade

Brian Allen (4th round 2018, Rams, Michigan State) and Trey Hopkins (UDFA 2014, Bengals, Texas), Late round grade.

“I would pass on Parham as a Day 2 pick for the Rams. He might be worth a look later in the draft, because in a weak center class at some point he might be the best interior OL prospect left on the board.”

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WR Danny Gray – Draft Profile

Background

School: SMU. Gray went to the same school as Eric Dickerson, a HOFer. And Garrett Gilbert, who isn’t a HOFer. The year the Steelers drafted Antonio Brown in the 6th round, the better WR taken by the Steelers was supposed to be Emmanuel Sanders from SMU, who they took in the 3rd round.

Size: 6’ tall, 186 pounds, 31 7/8’’ arms, 9 5/8’’ hands. Was listed by SMU as 6’2’’ and 199. Funny how players shrink at the Combine, isn’t it?

Combine: 4.33 sec (40 time), 34’’ vert jump, 10’6’’ broad jump

Pro Comparison and Grade

Quez Watkins (6th round 2020, Eagles, Southern Miss), 6th round grade

“I’m not advocating that the Rams draft Danny Gray in the 3rd round in 2022. What I’m saying is that later in the draft Gray could find his way onto the BPA list. He has big play ability. He’s fast and explosive. He could contribute on special teams as a returner. He’s rough around the edges and needs coaching, but there is upside potential with this prospect.”

Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images