With a month to go until the NFL Draft, now is a great time to look back. This series looks at the last five draft classes and assigns grades based on how each pick turned out with a final grade given at the end. With 2016, 2017, and 2018 now finished, it is time to look at the draft class of 2019. For the second year in a row, the Rams did not have a first-round draft pick. Thus the first look into the Rams 2019 draft class will come in the second round.
Los Angeles Rams 2019 Draft Class Graded In 2021
Safety Taylor Rapp – Round Two, Pick 61 Overall
Taylor Rapp earned a solid rookie grade of 63.3 by PFF in 2019. He started 10 games and played in 15 games that season. The next season, he earned a 67.5 overall PFF grade. In terms of grades, he showed reliability. However, he only had five starts and nine games of action. His 2020 season was hampered with an injury and was what hurt his availability. Overall, the young defender has had a good start to his career but he needs to stay healthy and continue to grow.
Grade: B
Running Back Darrell Henderson – Round Three, Pick 70 Overall
2019 saw Darrell Henderson’s first season. In that season, he had 39 carries for 147 yards and a 3.8 yard-per-carry average with no touchdowns. The next season, he had 138 carries for 624 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. At the end of the day, Henderson has been very encouraging in his young career. He has a good yard-per-carry average that coincides with his increase in production and usage. He has now played in 28 games in two seasons so he has been able to maintain availability, for the most part, as well.
Grade: B
Cornerback David Long – Round Three, Pick 79 Overall
In 2019, David Long played in eight games and earned a 67.4 PFF grade. In 2020, Long played in 16 games, started a game, and posted a 53.6 grade. Put simply, it is not good to play worse with more work. He has to pick it up next season if he wants a long-term future with this team.
Grade: C-
Offensive Tackle Bobby Evans – Round Three, Pick 97 Overall
In 2019, Bobby Evans earned a 49.4 PFF grade and played 472 snaps. In 2020, Evans only played one snap (in the regular season) and received a 60.0 grade per PFF. Basically, one needs to see production out of all third-round picks in their second year in order to have a chance of getting called a good pick. Evans is trending in the wrong direction, but is currently still a good depth piece.
Grade: C
Defensive Lineman Greg Gaines – Round Four, 134 Overall
PFF scored Greg Gaines as 74.4 in 2019. He had 10 solo tackles and one sack. PFF then scored him 65.0 in 2020. In that season, he recorded 14 solo tackles and two sacks. In his young career, he’s played in 26 of 32 games. In other words, he’s been available, has a decent PFF grade, and has growing stats year-to-year. His play slipped a little according to his grades but as a fourth-round pick, getting this much work is a decent result.
Grade: C+
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Offensive Tackle David Edwards – Round Five, Pick 169 Overall
2019 saw David Edwards earn a 61.1 PFF grade during his 689 snaps of action. 2020 saw his play rise to a 70.3 PFF grade during 1,006 snaps of action. In total, he has allowed four sacks in around 1,700 snaps. This is coming from a fifth-round pick. He’s started out decently and is getting better with an increased workload. He had 10 starts in 2019 and 14 starts in 2020 and he’s seen work in all 32 games. Overall, he’s been one of the best value selections by the Rams in this series, and arguably one of the better ones in the NFL during that same period.
Grade: A
Safety Nick Scott – Round 7, Pick 243 Overall
In 2020, Nick Scott posted a 62.1 PFF grade in his 15 games of action. Compared to his 66.9 PFF grade in 2019 with 16 games of action, he’s stayed in the same ballpark but has eroded a little. That said, as a seventh-round pick, Scott has already risen above the majority of seventh-round picks in terms of resulting workload. He is also a staple on the special teams unit.
Grade: B-
Linebacker Dakota Allen – Round 7, Pick 251 Overall
Dakota Allen was drafted by the Rams and released before Week One on August 31, 2019. After that, he bounced around between the Rams and Raiders’ practice squads before going to the Jacksonville Jaguars in December of 2019. If the Rams were willing to lose him that quickly by putting him on the practice squad, it simply shows how bad of a pick it was, to begin with.
Grade: F
Rams 2019 Draft Class Graded In 2021 – Final Grades
Overall, it was a good bounceback draft from 2018, considering that there was no first-round draft pick once again. Arguably, the best value draft pick leading up to 2019, in terms of recent history, was David Edwards. The draft also saw other good values added as well. The only bonafide bust for the Rams was the drafting of Dakota Allen. That said, even he drew interest from other teams around the league.
Overall Grade: B+