The St. Louis Rams started the first day of the NFL Draft with one thing in mind: to find a solid player with good work ethic and no off the field drama. So with the second overall pick, the Rams chose offensive tackle Jason Smith from Baylor.
Jason Smith was in town over the weekend to meet with the local media. Smith was in a great mood when he met with some of the media for the first time. For the time being, he put to rest, about any possible character issues that have plagued the St. Louis Rams in previous drafts.
Smith also realizes that he has some huge shoes to fill in the wake of the departure of Pro Bowl tackle Orlando Pace.
Not everyone was turning cartwheels about the pick. I was really excited about the possibility of the Rams drafting linebacker Aaron Curry from Wake Forest. The middle linebacker position has been an eyesore for years with the Rams. It’s been well documented that the Rams have been lacking at that position since London Fletcher departed after the 2001 season. It still haunts this franchise until this day.
Next to the quarterback, your middle linebacker is the second most important position on the field. Before the Rams’ second pick was named, I thought about the quote from current linebacker Chris Draft. He thought the Rams were fine at the linebacker position.
Oh, really? How about a 3-13 record in 2007, which was followed up by that robust 2-14 season on 2008. You have one linebacker playing hurt and out of position in Will Witherspoon. You have one linebacker who has not come close to a Pro Bowl but, has almost had every bone broken in his body in Pisa Tinoisomoa. You have another linebacker who was anointed the starting position because of a 10-tackle game in a 32 point-blowout loss. That would be Quinton Culberson. Okay. I get it.
So with that being said or written, was there a problem with the Rams’ second pick James Laurinaitis? Of course. Only if you had eyes for former USC Trojan Rey Maualuga. Maualuga was a popular pick amongst the fans in St. Louis. Initially, he looked like he would be a top five pick. He didn’t fare well at the rookie combine. His stock plummeted and he was going to end up sliding into the second round. That was good for the Rams. Or so we thought.
However, Laurinaitis wasn’t a slouch at Ohio State. Some scouts question his upper body strength. Other than that he is a quality pick. Plus, his dad was one of my favorite wrestlers – “Animal,” one half of the famous Legion of Doom tag team.
But, the new regime out at Rams Park are sticking with a strategy. They are not trying take the popular pick for the fans. The front office has a obligation to turn the franchise around. I don’t know how long the honeymoon period will be. Not long especially after the Scott Linehan/Jim Haslett fiasco. It’s hard to grade how they have done so far.
Trust this much, there was no gushing like last year when the Rams selected Chris Long. Or the romanticism of a mean nasty interior lineman like Richie Incognito. So if I’m grading the draft so far I give the St. Louis Rams an I. The I is not for incomplete. It’s more like I don’t know.
Any questions or comments, email me at Livnlegend@hotail.com.