Rams sign William Hayes

The Jeff Fisher Friends and Family Plan was re-activated at Rams Park today with the signing of former Titans defensive end William Hayes. Hayes is almost 27 and comes in at 6'3", 272. The Titans drafted him in the 4th round in 2008 out of Winston-Salem State. Somebody thought Hayes was as smooth as a sea breeze in high school; he got the nicknames "Sea Breeze" and "Big Play Hayes" there.

Scouts.com rates Hayes an average-to-good starter; Pro Football Focus graded him as slightly below average in 2011. He's a power left end and run-stopper, though he's considered undersized and not a solid tackler. He's also not much of a pass rusher. He has good quickness and acceleration off the edge, but overrelies on it and gets ridden by the pocket a lot as a result. He needs to get stronger and develop more counter moves. He doesn't find the ball or recognize the offensive blocking scheme quickly. He keeps his feet moving, which keeps him in plays, but he also doesn't make a lot of plays from the back side.

Hayes had 50 tackles and 4 sacks in 2009, his second season, but then his stats drop right off the table. 32 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 2010, only 16 tackles and 1.5 sacks last season. My stats show he has 12 career starts, 11 in 2009, but he was considered a starter under Fisher in 2010, so those numbers may be off. The Titans changed defensive systems last season and didn't play Hayes as much. He was fined $15,000 last year for roughing Falcons QB Matt Ryan.

Basically, Williams Hayes is James Hall, minus the production. He'll likely be a rotational running-down defensive end, and leaves the Rams still needing to find at least one more pass-rushing weapon. The Rams do get significantly younger at DE with Hayes replacing Hall, so RamView awards this signing a thumbs to the side for now.

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