Let’s start at the top -- Greg Robinson. Projection: 10 year starter at left tackle. Once in a while these top OTs disappoint – but not very often. More likely that Greg becomes an all-pro and anchors your line for years to come. If that happens for the Rams, no more valuable pick will come from this draft, unless it is one of the other offensive tackles. If you think you are drafting a franchise QB in any of these drafts then, yes, that should be your pick. Wish your management team the best of luck with that decision, they’ll need it. Otherwise take the OT -- the definition of a high-value pick. And, it can make every draft you have while that franchise player is on your team, so much easier. Nice gift to any QB who starts for you during that 10 years. Likely to be quite a few. So many elite OT prospects in this year’s draft and the Rams get the highest rated of the bunch. Nice work, St Louis. I think I hear a thank you coming from Sam Bradford – too!
Aaron Donald was my top-rated player. The Bears are set for now on the offensive line. Didn’t need to concern myself with this terrific group of OTs. Donald would have been my pick if I was in Houston’s place this year. I would have traded down somewhere in the top ten and then picked Donald. But I hasten to add, that is because the Bears’ have Cutler as their franchise QB. If I was the Texan GM this year my pick – hands down – Johnny Manziel. Minnesota was picking in the number 10 spot and I was holding my breath that they didn’t pick Donald – and ‘praying’ they didn’t pick Manziel. So who gets Donald? St Louis at 13 (Bears sitting at 14). One pick away – so close. You could hear the collective sigh of dismay coming out of Chicago. Percentage of fans in Chicago pining for “Donald to the Bears” – had to be over 70%. It is scary to think of how good that defensive line of the Rams has become with the addition of Aaron Donald. Quinn, Long, Brockers, Donald – Yikes!
One other note on this whole heart break about losing a player of Aaron Donald’s caliber – he had competition in this very same draft. Which is, speaking plainly, amazing. Next on my wish list – Dominique Easley DT out of Florida. Who picks Easley in the first round? Bill Belichek and the New England Patriots. Book it, it is confirmed, Easley is a rising star in the NFL and he hasn’t played a down. My heart is now fully broken. Can’t get worse. But wait – the other teams (and the Bears) have let Will Sutton slip to the 3rd round (and they let Louis Nix slip this far, picked immediately after Sutton). How can this be? Will Sutton has a weight problem? He does not. In 2012, Will had 13.5 sacks – from the defensive tackle position! Aaron Donald has some real competition from these other two rookies. And that is saying a lot.
LaMarcus Joyner as the Rams 2nd rounder. Looks terrific. I am going to trust the St Louis staff on this one. There is probably very good reason they picked him that high. Gladly give my vote of confidence.
Tre Mason – third round. Like so many of the RBs coming out in 2014, he has first round talent. The only question I have with these RB picks – how, why did you decide to take this particular player? I was totally confused by the quality of this RB group. I still can’t decide. But, Tre Mason the player – how good do the Rams’ fans want him to be? That one is easy – he is that good. 195 yards against Florida State in the championship game and ran over everyone else he played against. His side step near the line of scrimmage – wicked. Reminds me of the moves you would see from Barry Sanders. And Tre is very hard to bring down. Hard to say anything negative about a player of this quality. Not elite breakaway speed – who would care. He is plenty fast. I suspect that the Rams choose him over the other backs because of his potential as a receiver. Awfully hard to cover a player with his kind of moves. Plain and simple – like so many of the other RB picks – a steal in any round.
Michael Sam in the 7th: SEC player of the year, 11.5 sacks as a senior. Not taking anything away from Kony Ealy but I had a hard time deciding which player I would want. The Bears, like a lot of teams, had him targeted for free agency after the draft. Why wait? Why let the other team, the Rams in this case, snag him. 11.5 sacks gets my attention right off the bat. High value pick in the 7th round? You betcha.
Rams drafted so many players here in 2014. Best of luck with all your selections St Louis. Looks to me like you have one ‘killer’ of a draft already.