Rams, Chargers select large group of linemen in draft

LOS ANGELES — The biggest weekend in sports closed out as the 2018 NFL draft took place this weekend, and the Chargers and Rams hope the rookies will help their respective teams gain ground in the 2018-19 season.

To recap, here is your 2018 #RamsDraft Class!

A post shared by Los Angeles Rams (@rams) on Apr 29, 2018 at 9:05am PDT

The LA Rams drafted 11 college prospects this weekend — with the majority drafted on day 3 — with the hope to increase the depth of its field. The Rams selected Joseph Noteboom, outside tackle from Texas Christian University, as their first overall draft pick in the third round of the draft. The outside tackled recorded 40 consecutive stars over the last three seasons and was named the All-Big 12 honorable mention tackle, believing he’ll strengthen their line in the upcoming season. Following Noteboom, the Rams selected Brian Allen, an offensive lineman for Michigan State, in the fourth round.

The Rams went on to worry about the depth of their line, moving onto the defensive line after the o-line. Jamil Demby (Maine) and John Franklin-Myers (SFA) were respectfully drafted to improve LA’s line and be worked on over their rookie years to build the team’s depth while Sebastian Joseph (Rutgers) was drafted as the nose tackle. For the edge position, the Rams selected and Justin Lawler (SMU), Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (Oklahoma) and Trevon Young (Louisville) while selecting Micah Kiser and Travin Howard (TCU) as linebackers. Along with the linemen, they selected John Kelly (Tennessee) as a running back.

Sometimes draft calls go like Uchenna Nwosu’s and sometimes they go like Justin Jones’ 😂🤣😂

A post shared by Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) on Apr 27, 2018 at 10:40pm PDT

Meanwhile, the Chargers took a different approach drafting Derwin James (FS) in the first round of the three-day event, considered the steal of the weekend. James will play at the safety position for the Chargers, hopefully shutting down the opposition better than last year. Following James, the Chargers snagged Uchenna Nwosu (USC) as the 48th overall pick as an edge rusher before claiming Justin Jones (NC State) as the nose tackle.

James wasn’t a sole pick as a safety as the Chargers went with their heavy defensive drafting throughout the weekend. Kyzir White (WV) was selected by the Chargers as the 119th pick of the draft and will play safety with James. Dylan Cantrell (Texas Tech) finished up the Chargers selections on day three, being the sole offensive player not on the line selected. Cantrell was selected for the receiver position.