Saturday, May 2, 2015

Rams draft profile (3rd round, pick 72): Jamon Brown, G, Louisville

NFL.com
Jamon Brown, 6'3.5" 323
T/G, Louisville

Rankings
NFLDraftScout: #264 player overall, #22 tackle. 7th round-free agent grade. Yikes.
Nawrocki: #14 tackle. Not rated in top 150 players. Grade: 5.26, should make a roster and contribute on special teams. At the same time, Nawrocki grades him as a 4th-5th round pick.
Mayock: Not rated in top 100 players.
Kiper: #281 (holy cats!) player overall, #14 guard.
Draft Countdown: #164 player overall, #10 guard. Late-round / free agent grade.
Sports Illustrated: #247 player overall, #20 tackle.
Scouts Inc: #192 player overall, #18 tackle. Grade: 48, borderline to adequate prospect. 

Biography/Honors
2014: Started all 13 games at left tackle.
2013: First team all-AAC. Started all 13 games at left tackle.
2012: Started all 13 games at right tackle.
2011: Appeared in one game at defensive tackle and eight on the offensive line, with two starts at left guard. (Louisville's website says one.)

Academics: Graduated with degree in justice administration (insert Law and Order sound effect here).
Twitter: @NFLBOUND_jBrown

Injuries

2015: Strained pectoral (or, in Missouri, pectoreal) muscle during warmups at the Combine.
  
Pro Day Stats
(Brown did not work out at the NFL Combine due to pectoral injury. Combine averages for guards in parentheses)

40-yard dash: 5.08 (Faster than every guard and all but three tackles. Guard average was 5.36)
10-yard split: 1.74
Vertical: 28" (27")
Broad: 8'7" (8'3")
3-cone: 7.36 (Faster than every guard. Average was 8.00)
Shuttle: 4.61 (Faster than every guard but one. Average was 4.79)
Bench: DNP (26)

Scouting Report
Pluses: Outstanding girth and very good arm length. Strong, can lock down and mash defenders in tight areas. Weightlifter with strong hands and lower body. Gets out of stance quicker than expected and has quick first step. Flashes dominant play as a run-blocker. Will toy with defenders he gets his hands on. Has athleticism to be an effective pull-blocker (especially at guard) and push pass-rushers past the pocket. Ten-dollar cab ride for speed rushers to navigate. Anchors well in pass pro, which should serve him especially well at guard. Versatile and durable.

Minuses: Heavy and needs to improve conditioning. Tends to get fatigued and play too upright. Occasionally late off the snap. Gets gassed late in games and doesn't wear down defenders over the course of a game. Limited agility, change of direction, body control. Heavy-footed. Struggles with quickness and inside moves. Drops his hands. Needs to improve at sinking his hips and staying square. Struggles to adjust to second level and needs better awareness of blitzes and stunts. Needs to improve at leverage and sustaining and finishing blocks. Overextends in pass pro and gets off-balance. Not suited for a zone scheme. Still learning the hard work it takes to be a pro.

Compares to: Adam Snyder, Dallas Thomas

Fun Facts
Jamon is an accomplished singer. He was a competitive powerlifter in high school. He dropped close to 30 pounds prior to his senior season at Louisville, which meant fewer breakfasts at his favorite diner near campus, the awesomely-named Burger Boy. Stay away from Goody Goody's in St. Louis, then.

RamView
By the analyst rankings, Brown makes it two straight run-maulers drafted by the Rams at least a round early. As Mike Mayock likes to say, though, I'd "pound the table" for Brown based on his terrific, dominant Shrine Game performance. Of course, he was helped a lot there by not having to play every drive. Guard's the right spot for him in the pros and mitigates a lot of his minuses at tackle, but I'd argue he's even a better tackle than Rams second-round pick Rob Havenstein. In the Shrine Game he was a bulldozer in the running game and a wall in the passing game. DEs weren't even getting across the line of scrimmage on him. I'm more enthusiastic about Brown than the pro draftniks, but I still wouldn't have taken him before the fourth round. But having claimed to be a power running team for three years and mainly failing at it, it's about time the Rams accumulated some players who can actually back those claims up.

Sources: University of Louisville athletics, Louisville Courier-Journal

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