A mock draft pick for the Rams that I haven’t seen until today

Would the Rams be willing to take edge Darius Robinson in the top-20?

Since the news broke that Aaron Donald is retiring this year, mock drafts everywhere have shifted focus from Cooper DeJean or some cornerback to Johnny Newton or some defensive tackle. That is what you can expect from the “original ideas” that are typical NFL mock drafts between January and April: “We swear this is the player your team will NEED! Until something happens tomorrow that makes someone else the player your team definitely needs.”

Recently, mock after mock has gone with Illinois defensive tackle Johnny Newton as L.A.’s must-need player in the first round. On Monday, The Draft Network’s mock draft did it too. A two-round mock draft by FantasyPros had the Rams picking defensive tackle Byron Murphy instead. Basically, if their mock draft fantasized Murphy being off the board by 19, the mock draft goes with Newton. If not, then it goes with Murphy.

Well, maybe not all mock drafts as I found one that has LionsWire’s Jeff Risdon mocking edge rusher Darius Robinson to the Rams at pick 19. Sound reasoning or not, at least it is not one of the same picks as everyone else in the business.

Robinson has not tested great at either the combine or his pro day. At least not in the timed events maybe (he ran the 40 in 4.95 at the combine and didn’t run at his pro day) but he was said to be very violent in bag drills. He is 6’5, 285, and maybe not expected to be the fastest or most nimble edge rusher at that weight. He’s going against some guys who are closer to 250. But his 34” arms and extraordinary power at the point of attack is what is expected to make him a top-50 pick. He had 14 TFL and 8.5 sacks last season.

An anonymous exec compared him to New England’s Keion White. Risdon’s claim is that the NFL is much higher on Robinson than the media is aware of right now. He’s been on a rapid rise since standing out at the Senior Bowl. He was voted MVP by practice teammates.

Robinson could be a player who fans think “No, no, he couldn’t be a mid-first round pick” who then goes in the middle of the first round, then we just forever think of him as a guy who was a first round pick and who cares what the media ever said about him before then? Or he could be a second round pick.

What I appreciate about Risdon’s mock pick of Robinson is less about Darius Robinson and more about not being Johnny Newton or Cooper DeJean again.