Draftees Gerald Everett and Cooper Kupp can raise their profiles at Rams’ rookie camp
Gerald Everett did not fret. Neither did Cooper Kupp.
For four months, as NFL draft pundits guessed where college players might be picked, Everett and Kupp just kept working.
Everett, a tight end, played at South Alabama, a school that had never had a player selected in the draft. So he was unconcerned that Alabama’s O.J. Howard and others from Power Five conferences got most of the attention in mock drafts.
Kupp, a receiver, enjoyed a record-setting career in relative anonymity at Eastern Washington, which had produced only 15 NFL draft picks dating to 1969. Like Everett, Kupp’s profile rose with solid performances at the Senior Bowl and NFL scouting combine. But questions remained about the level of competition.
The Rams, without a first-round draft pick, chose Everett in the second round. They selected Kupp in the third.
On Friday, Everett and Kupp will be among 51 players, including six other draftees, undrafted free agents and tryout players, who will participate in the Rams’ rookie camp at Cal Lutheran.
“I want to cut it loose,” Everett said this week during a telephone interview. “I want to come out and let them know I’m going to work hard.”
The 6-foot-3, 239-pound Everett took a circuitous route to the Rams.
He played one year of high school football, attended two junior colleges and then enrolled at Alabama Birmingham, which announced it was dropping its program after the 2014 season. He transferred to South Alabama and developed into a playmaker noted for gaining yards after the catch.
Everett caught 90 passes, 12 for touchdowns, in two seasons at South Alabama.
“It was just kind of a tough test to see who you really are,” Everett said of his journey.
Everett joins a tight end corps that includes veteran Cory Harkey — who has played mainly as a fullback — and second-year pros Tyler Higbee and Temarrick Hemingway.
Coach Sean McVay said Everett, Higbee and Hemingway “complement each other very well” and could be effective in a three-tight-end packages.
“You can do some different things, especially when all those guys have the ability to catch the football and run,” McVay said. “So we feel very good about adding Gerald to that mix, and I think it will help us overall offensively in the way that we’ll be able to attack people.”
Kupp, 6-2 and 204 pounds, impressed the Rams with his production in college — 428 receptions, 73 for touchdowns — and his interviews and private workouts.
McVay noted that Kupp demonstrated so much knowledge during a combine interview that it was like speaking with a receivers coach.
“He is one of the more polished college receivers that I’ve evaluated coming out in a while,” McVay said, “and that’s why you feel good about him.”
Kupp’s father, Craig, played quarterback at Montana Tech and Pacific Lutheran and was a fifth-round draft pick by the New York Giants in 1990.
“He taught me how to play the game of football from a quarterback’s perspective,” Kupp said by phone. “So I think I’ve always understood that. Why does a quarterback want separation at a certain point in time? Why does a quarterback want you to release outside on certain routes? Why inside?
“A lot of that I did learn from a young age. I always was blessed in that regard.”
Kupp said he was looking forward to digging into the Rams’ playbook and learning the responsibility of not only receiver, but every position.
“I’m not really going out there with the idea of proving anything — I want to be who I am,” Kupp said of the two-day rookie camp. “And who I am is someone that prepares themselves to be the best that they can be when they step on the field in every way.”
Kupp won’t work out with Rams quarterback Jared Goff this weekend, but he already has done so. Both are represented by the same agents firm.
“We’re both very competitive and have this will to succeed and desire to win,” Kupp said. “Any time you get on the field with someone like that, you’re going to understand and connect with them pretty well.”
Notes
The Rams waived quarterback Aaron Murray, who had agreed to terms in March. … Former South Carolina quarterback Dylan Thompson, who had a stint with the Rams last season; Matt Davis, from Southern Methodist; and Bryan Scott, from Occidental College, are on the rookie camp roster.
Follow Gary Klein on Twitter @latimesklein
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