Rookie free agent profile: Alex Bayer, TE, Bowling Green

Alex Bayer 6'4” 257

TE, Bowling Green

Rankings: NFLDraftScout: 16th-ranked tight end, #271 player overall, 7^th round-free agent grade.

Nawrocki: 19th-rated TE. Grade: 5.00, late draftable or priority free agent capable of battling for a roster spot.

Scouts Inc: 26th-ranked TE. Grade: 30, borderline draft prospect.

DraftCountdown.com: 21^st-ranked TE, late round-free agent grade.

Biography/Honors:

2013: Third team all-MAC. Started all 14 games. Team captain. 37 receptions for 593 yards (16.0 ypc) and 4 TDs. Played in East-West Shrine Game.

2012: Third team all-MAC. Started all 13 games. 36 receptions for 410 yards (11.4 ypc) and 3 TDs.

2011: Started all 12 games. 20 receptions for 242 yards (12.1 ypc) and 2 TDs.

2010: Played in 12 games, starting 4. 22 receptions for 298 yards (7.8 ypc) and a TD.

2009: Redshirted.

Off-field:

Academics: Majored in human development and family studies.

Twitter handle: @abayerbg82

Injuries:

None reported

Pro Day Stats: (not invited to NFL Combine)

4.77 40 (4.76 was average for TEs at the Combine)

31.5” vertical jump (32”)

9'3” broad jump (Combine TE average was 9'9”. Bayer would have tied for worst jump)

7.26 3-cone drill (7.31)

4.42 20-yard shuttle (4.39)

20 bench press (22)

Scouting report:

Positives: One of the more versatile tight ends in the draft. Very good size. Good base and knee bend as a blocker. Effective wham blocker. Nice frame for the position, can wall off smaller defenders and make himself a reliable short-area receiver. Adjusts well to bad throws. Tenacious blocker always working to pick somebody off. Very experienced and durable. Has experience as a holder on kicks and has done some long-snapping. Had pre-draft visits with the Buccaneers and Ravens.

Negatives: Doesn't have a second gear. Doesn't have the route-running skills, suddenness or acceleration to gain separation. Not elusive after the catch. Not much explosiveness as a blocker.

Compares to: Billy Bajema

Fun Facts: Alex scored Bowling Green's first TD, a 29-yard reception, in Bowling Green's 30-27 Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl win over Pitt. The TD drive was kept alive by a personal foul by Rams first-round pick Aaron Donald.

RamView: There's a TE spot wide open on the roster since the Rams didn't re-sign Mike McNeill, but that seems to be tabbed for Justice Cunningham, who rode the practice squad last year and is said to be really liked at Rams Park. Bayer is likely competing with several linemen for a spot on the practice squad (not just DE-turned-TE Mason Brodine). He'll have to have a really impressive camp to grab that spot, though; the Rams had better tight ends in camp last year who didn't make the team.

Chance of making team: 35%.

Sources: NFL Draft 2014 Preview (Nolan Nawrocki), Bowling Green University athletics, NFLDraftScout.com, ESPN.com, Draftcountdown.com, CBSSports.com, Baltimore Sun, Scout.com

Photo: Columbus (Oh.) Dispatch

Rookie free agent profile: Austin Franklin, WR, New Mexico State

Austin Franklin 5'10.5” 189

WR, New Mexico State

Rankings:

NFLDraftScout: 40th-ranked wide receiver, #317 player overall, 7^th round-free agent grade.

Nawrocki: 43rd-ranked WR. Grade: 5.10, late draftable or priority free agent capable of battling for a roster spot.

Scouts Inc: 48th-ranked WR. Grade: 30, borderline draft prospect.

DraftCountdown.com: 40th-ranked WR, late round-free agent grade.

Biography/Honors:

2013: Played in 8 games, starting 6. Still led team in receiving, with 52 receptions for 670 yards (12.9 ypc) and 7 TDs. 14 rushes for 76 yards (5.4 ypc). Career average of 20.9 yards on 29 kickoff returns.

2012: First team all-WAC. Biletnikoff Award (best WR) semifinalist. Started all 12 games. 74 receptions for 1,245 yards (16.8 ypc, 103.8 ypg) and 9 TDs. Had 7 100-yard games, including a 236-yard game against Sacramento State. 10 rushes for 32 yards (3.2 ypc).

2011: Played in all 13 games. 34 receptions for 524 yards (15.4 ypc) and 3 TDs. 4 rushes for 22 yards (5.5 ypc). Returned 3 kickoffs for 103 yards (34.3 ypr). Had a streak of 4 games with a reception of 40+ yards.

Off-field:

Academics: Majored in individualized studies. Left school with a year of eligibility remaining.

Missed 2013 spring practices and first four games of the season due to academic suspension.

Twitter handle: @afrank4

Injuries:

None reported

NFL Combine Stats: (Combine averages for WRs in parentheses)

4.56 40 (4.52)

36” vertical jump (35.5”)

10'4” broad jump (10'1”)

7.07 3-cone drill (6.94)

4.33 20-yard shuttle (4.18)

7 bench press (average was 13. Franklin was 2nd-worst, though tied with first-round pick Odell Beckham. Worst performer at the Combine was Jared Abbrederis with 4 reps. Have I ever mentioned that Rams owner Stan Kroenke can do 12?)

Scouting report:

Positives: Lean, finesse slot receiver with speed, quickness and playmaking ability. Long strider who gets off the line smoothly. Explosive threat in the seam with respectable deep speed. Slippery, sinks his hips well and is sudden out of his breaks. Couples remarkable quickness with an impressive stop-start move. Changes direction smoothly without losing balance. Has soft, strong hands and catches well outside his frame. Good in the air, even against bigger defenders. Dangerous after the catch. Determined runner after the catch. Gets upfield quickly, makes people miss in space, has a good second gear. Will surprise you with his toughness and can break through arm tackles. Sets up his blocks well. Used a lot on end-arounds, took some snaps out of wildcat formation and even threw three passes. Has experience covering kicks. Played his best games against NMSU's best competition. Had pre-draft visit with the Giants and 14 teams came to his pro day.

Negatives: Strictly a slot receiver who never had to beat press coverage. Lacking in strength and drops too many passes. Lets the ball into his body. Built very lean and will need to bulk up. Didn't run the full route tree and will have a lot to learn. Needs refining as a route runner, which I'm SURE he will get from Rams WR coach Ray Sherman. Stats inflated by a lot of bubble screens. Lacks physicality, isn't strong in traffic. Won't break many tackles and isn't a strong blocker. Prone to concentration drops. Accelerates quickly but doesn't have outstanding top-line speed. NFL will be a huge step up in competition. Needed another year in school. Not an NFL-quality kick or punt returner. Doesn't use his field vision well returning kicks.

Compares to: gets VERY generous comparisons to T.Y. Hilton, because they are similarly-built slot receivers from lower-profile football programs. Hilton is significantly faster. I think Jeremy Kerley's a better comparison, though also pretty generous.

Fun Facts: Austin's high school, Jason F. Kimball High in Dallas, has produced several NBA, NFL and MLB players, but its most famous alumnus is Stevie Ray Vaughan. Its most infamous alumna: Sheryl Stamps Leach, the creator of Barney the Dinosaur.

RamView: It's not like the Rams are a juggernaut of receiving talent, but I don't see who Franklin is going to beat out. I don't see deep speed, size or outside-the-numbers ability that improves on what the Rams have in their motley crew now. Franklin appears to be a one-note slot receiver who's going to be buried on the depth chart behind guys who are faster and/or contribute on special teams. If he's to prevent being on the outside looking in for even a practice squad spot, he needs to pop in practice like Andrew Helmick did last year and show up even bigger than that on special teams. He's a classic Les Snead UDFA pickup who had a big junior year and then couldn't get on the field for a chunk of his senior year, so I can't completely dismiss his chances. And Stedman Bailey's 4-week suspension will hold a roster spot open early. Franklin is going to have to make a lot happen, though, which is going to be tough when you're fighting just to be WR10.

Chance of making team: 25%.

Sources: NFL Draft 2014 Preview (Nolan Nawrocki), New Mexico State University athletics, Draftcountdown.com, ESPN.com, NFLDraftScout.com, CBSSports.com, Las Cruces (N.M.) Sun-News, Optimum Scouting, Wikipedia

Photo: Las Cruces Sun-News

Rookie free agent profile: Tavarius Wilson, LB, North Alabama

Tavarius Wilson 5'11” 239

LB, North Alabama

Rankings:

NFLDraftScout: 21st-ranked inside linebacker, #405 player overall, 7^th round-free agent grade.

Scouts Inc: 51st-ranked outside linebacker. Grade: 30, borderline draft prospect.

DraftCountdown.com: 27th-ranked ILB, late round-free agent grade.

Biography/Honors:

2013: First team “Little all-America” (Division II, III, NAIA). First team Division II all-America. Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Year and first team all-conference. Starter for 13 games at outside linebacker. 123 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 4 INTs (2 returned for TD), 3 forced fumbles and a blocked kick. UNA got to the quarterfinals of the Division II playoffs.

2012: Transferred to North Alabama. First team all-Gulf South Conference. Started all 10 games at inside linebacker. 112 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one INT, two pass breakups and a recovered fumble.

2011: (Hinds C.C.) Starter for 10 games at weakside linebacker. 90 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, one sack, two INTs, 10 pass breakups.

2010: Played in 8 of 9 games at Hinds (Miss.) Community College. Did not appear to be a starter. Had 13 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss.

Off-field:

Academics: Majored in business. Dean's list student at Hinds C.C.

Twitter handle: @T_WILSON_30

Injuries:

None reported.

Pro Day Stats: (not invited to NFL Combine)

4.77 40 (4.73 was average for LBs at the Combine)

36.5” vertical jump (34.5”)

9'6” broad jump (9'10”)

7.10 3-cone drill (7.05)

4.40 20-yard shuttle (4.24)

26 bench press (23)

Scouting report:

Positives: Good athlete with good quickness and change of direction. Terrific run defender with a good head for the ball in run defense. Plays patiently and diagnoses plays well. Stays disciplined in his assignments. Strong tackler with outstanding closing speed. Plays with a nice, wide base. Breaks down well. Runs through contact and does a good job maintaining leverage. Uses his hands well to shed blocks. Has excellent range and is athletic enough to use to spy the QB. Feisty and aggressive. Highly productive college player. The Eagles, Giants and Jagwires were all at his pro day (the Rams were not).

Negatives: Short and short-armed. Too small for the middle and will probably have to stay outside. Will get engulfed at the point of attack. Just-average speed and lateral quickness and agility. Overruns the ball. Not effective in pursuit. More of a drag-down tackler. Has to gain better feel for zone coverage. Doesn't have a good backpedal. Will struggle to stay with NFL tight ends.

Compares to: I can't help but think London Fletcher but will say Mason Foster.

Fun Facts: Tavarius is a four-time Gulf Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Week. He did not play with Janoris Jenkins at North Alabama, but did play with... Rod Woodson. That Rod Woodson didn't make it to the pros.

RamView: There's a lot of interesting competition at linebacker at Rams camp this year, but not a lot of slots. The Rams don't seem likely to keep more than six LBs in their final 53, and barring a setback for Ray Ray Armstrong or Daren Bates, five of those are spoken for. To crack this nut, a player will have to turn heads at the LB position and on special teams. Wilson was an impressively productive LB in college, so he might have a leg up. But it looks like a very even, very crowded race from here.

Chance of making team: 35%

Sources: NFLDraftScout.com, North Alabama University athletics, Hinds Community College athletics, ChatSports.com, National Junior College Athletic Association, NFL.com, Draftcountdown.com, Draftinsider.net, ESPN.com, Optimum Scouting

Photo: Birmingham Observer

Former Rams UDFA dies

USA Today

Sad Rams alumni news to report: former Auburn tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen was killed in a car accident this morning outside LaGrange, Georgia. CBSSports.com article  He was a passenger in a pickup truck that went out of control and crashed after missing a stop sign. The driver was also killed. One passenger is still hospitalized, and the fourth, the only one state police report was wearing a seat belt, was treated and released.

Sigh. Wear your seat belts, people. Please.

Lutzenkirchen was signed by the Rams last year as a rookie free agent and made it all the way to final cuts in training camp. He had two catches for 18 yards in the first preseason game at Cleveland and showed a lot of good receiving skills in practice. He was one of the better H-backs in college football as a sophomore and a junior and was a clutch receiver for Auburn's 2010 national champions. Condolences to Philip's family, friends and fans.

-$-

Rams report, 6/22: OTA wrapup

The Rams wrapped up OTAs this week and announced their training camp schedule. All the relevant details here. (Or, scroll down about half a page.)

STLToday

* Sam Bradford worked in back-to-back practices for the first time on Thursday. He did more than expected throughout OTAs and all signs remain encouraging for his full-time return. He's expected to be full-go for the start of training camp and Jeff Fisher says he sees no reason Bradford won't play during preseason.

* Fisher said the same thing about Jake Long, though Long is the only player who definitely will not be a full participant at the start of training camp (though reports say he has been moving well doing light work on the side). Long and Bradford will get a day off here and there in order to take it easy on their recuperating knees, but Fisher says they'll both be in games at some point of the preseason.

* Then again, this week, for the first time, the Rams had Rodger Saffold at left tackle in 11-on-11 drills, with veteran free agent pickup Davin Joseph filling in at right guard. So they DO have a disaster recovery plan at LT. They've been acting like they won't need one. Huh.

* Players out of all this week's OTAs: Mo Alexander (knee), Christian Bryant (assumed ankle), Michael Brockers (ankle), William Hayes (assumed knee), Chase Reynolds (sports hernia per Jim Thomas) and Jamaine Sherman (unknown, but rehabbing). Bryant is the only Ram besides Jake Long who may not be ready for the start of training camp, but he's expected to be very close by then. Matt Daniels got back on the field this week.

Enjoy your almost completely healthy roster while you can. It isn't going to stay that way for long.

STLToday

* OTA nonsense (and no, I don't mean the punt-catching contest):
- OC Brian Schottenheimer says the Rams' most improved player right now is... Brian Quick. Hoo boy. I'm calling divide-by-zero b.s. on that one.
- Schotty also says there will be competition for starting RB, which has the fantasy experts at Footballguys.com in a panic. Demote Zac Stacy as a second-round FFL pick! I love fantasy football expert panic. Though that might explain why my team sucked last year.
- Schotty also gave first-round pick Aaron Donald his vote for defensive rookie of the year already, and said Tavon Austin knows the offense a lot better this year and he should get that expanded role we all kind of thought he was going to have last year. I'll go with those as the most meaningful, and promising, things Schottenheimer said.

- Jim Thomas reports the most consistent receiver in OTAs was... Austin Pettis. Hoo boy.


In related news, RamView's list of the all-time greatest performers in shorts (countdown style in honor of Casey Kasem):

5. Pele (Wikipedia)

4. Muhammad Ali

3. Michael Jordan
 

2. Austin Pettis (StLouisRams.com)
(I am fully aware this may not actually be Austin Pettis)

1. Daisy Duke

Back to football:

Fox Sports

- Thomas also reports the defensive players are "buying in" to new DC Gregg Williams. I'll now complain, and I'm sure Thomas would be the first person to say, this isn't news in the least. This can only be news if the players AREN'T buying in to what the coaches are selling. They "bought in" to Jim Haslett, right? They "bought in" to Spags, right? This is not bad news, but that's about it.

- Not to forget the offensive line, where first-round pick Greg Robinson's expressed frustration that he's not making better progress at guard. Not sure how much to be concerned about that when there hasn't been anything remotely resembling hitting going on. That could be pretty bad, or it could be nothing to stress over. Schottenheimer, sort of predictably, says the latter. He's pleased with Robinson's progress so far and says he'll be focused a lot on pass pro technique in training camp. I'm going to sound yellow alert just to be safe.

* Rams alumni report:
- The Big Dead announced they will induct Kurt Warner into their "ring of fame" this season. That kind of smacks of the Big Dead doing it just so they can beat the Rams to it. Kurt probably won't join the ring of fame in the Dome until 2015; the Rams' standard up to now has been to induct players after they've entered the Hall of Fame. Though I'm already anticipating HoF screwjobs for Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt that will make them exceptions to that rule.


Also:
- We have NOT heard the last from Gentleman Kris Adams in RamView; the Giants added him to their PUP list this week;
- The Giants waived DT Eathyn Manumaleuna (Brandon's cousin);
- and Fendi Onobun was waived by the Bears after having what Rotoworld described as "a drop-filled minicamp".

I will attempt to get rookie free agent profiles going soon. Hey, I've got till the start of training camp.

-$-

Rams training camp schedule

The Rams completed OTAs Friday and are now on break until training camp opens with rookies reporting on July 21st. Veterans report the 24th and the first practice open to the public is Friday, July 26th.

The full training camp schedule:

Friday, July 25             3:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 26         3:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 27           5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 29          3:30 p.m.
Friday, August 1           3:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 2      12:30 p.m. (scrimmage at Edward Jones Dome)
Monday, August 4        3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, August 5        5:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 7      3:30 p.m.
Monday, August 11      3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, August 12      5:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 14    3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, August 19      3:30 p.m.
Wed., August 20          3:30 p.m.

My intention for now is to cover the 7/26 and 7/29 practices, along with the August 2 scrimmage. 8/5 and 8/12 are possible, but not as likely.

-$-

Rams report, 6/15: Draft class signed

Associated Press

* For the third time under Jeff Fisher and Les Snead, the Rams announced the signing of all of their draft picks at the same time, on Thursday. All 11 draft picks signed four-year contracts, with the team getting a fifth-year option on first-round picks Greg Robinson and Aaron Donald. Turf Show Times has all the dollar amounts. Robinson's deal is for $21.3 million with a $13.8 million signing bonus; Donald signed for $10.1 million and $5.7 million.

Once again this year, I am nominating Roger Goodell for the Nobel Prize for getting rid of the obnoxious rookie holdout.

* Falcons get the Rams off the hook. In many eyes, by drafting Michael Sam, the Rams made themselves a dead-on lock to land HBO's cameras for Hard Knocks this summer (and force me to add HBO back to my TV bill). By way of keeping HBO out of Rams camp, and also shooting down Sam's unannounced pre-draft deal with Oprah to make a reality show about his effort to make the team, Fisher made the argument that Sam needs the opportunity to focus on football over TV cameras. The argument may have actually worked, as Atlanta, whose owner Arthur Blank has not met a camera he doesn't like, has volunteered for the show this year. The Falcons weren't obliged to be considered because they made the playoffs two years ago, and HBO lost a lot of juicy trash-talk footage when Sean Weatherspoon tore one of his Achilles tendons in OTAs, but hey, who's not up for six weeks of the magnetizing charisma of Mike Smith? RamView hopes Steven Jackson will at least get a lot of screen time (though it won't be enough to make me re-subscribe to HBO).

StLouisRams.com

* OTAs: Maurice Alexander has continued to sit out all OTA sessions. Thanks to Jim Thomas' reporting, we now know the reason - he had one of his knees scoped. Also missing multiple practices this week: Michael Brockers (sprained ankle), Sammy Brown (unknown), Christian Bryant (probably ankle), Matt Daniels (probably knee), William Hayes (probably knee), Jake Long (knee), Chase Reynolds (unknown), Jamaine Sherman (unknown).

If anything there's making me go uh-oh, it's hearing that Brockers has a sprained ankle. His rookie season was stalled significantly by an ankle sprain (resulting from a cheap shot in a preseason game), and he's poised to have a breakout season this year. I hope this is a minor injury.

Sam Bradford got a lot of action in Thursday's practice and had two TD passes, but was also pick-sixed by Janoris Jenkins. All signs appear to be go for Bradford physically, though.

Four more OTAs for the Rams next week; after that, we hope not to hear much from them (especially Kenny Britt) until training camp opens, I expect with rookies reporting on July 23rd or 24th. First open practice seems likely to be the 26th. I'm planning to be there, but I'm going to Chicago the next day so my first training camp report may not be out very quick. Surprise, surprise.

CBS

* Rams alumni report:
- Trent Green will replace Dan Dierdorf as Greg Gumbel's broadcast partner for games on CBS. To my knowledge, Trent started as color commentator on Rams preseason games (2009) before making the move up to the network. (Not that long ago you would not have watched a Rams preseason game ever expecting anyone from the booth to become a network analyst.) I'm not sure who CBS considers their #2 team now that Dierdorf's retired, but Green's impressed me as a solid analyst worthy of that kind of status. Good luck to him in the booth.

This just in: Trent Green has caught strep throat from a chance encounter with Rodney Harrison and is out for the season. Gumbel has vowed to rally behind Green's replacement, Kurt Warner, and announce good football.

- I think we now know why the Rams cut Daryl Richardson. He wasn't a waived/injured release from the Rams, but D-Rich has sat out OTAs with the Jets because of the toe injury that pretty much wrecked his 2013 season. Richardson would have been hard-pressed just to make RB4 here, let alone do it while still coming off the injury.

- In what may be the final RamView Gentleman Kris Adams update, the former Rams practice squad WR was waived/injured by the Giants. Adams is trying to come back from breaking his left ankle in a preseason game against the Steelers last year.

-$-