At the 2008 NFL draft, the Rams selected – in the following order – John Greco, Justin King, Keenan Burton, Roy Schuening, Chris Chamberlain and David Voroba.
NFL.com gave the Rams a B for their draft selections. Hmmm. That’s a little generous. Consider that two of the Rams’ picks, King and Chamberlain, both play in the secondary. Both are considered raw and need some polish.
But, they are both considered burners. That’s great to know. But, look how long it is finally taking Ron Bartell to start to make some plays. He was considered too raw and was considered a work in progress when he arrived with the Rams in 2005. Last year in his rookie season, Jonathan Wade and the Rams secondary went through a true baptism of fire.
This was a highly opportune time to soothe the savage football fans in St. Louis. All Scott Linehan had to do is make a call to Aeneas Williams. What more can a Justin King, Jonathan Wade or even a Fahkir Brown ask for? Williams is and will always be a pro’s pro.
But it will never happen. Maybe because of the relationship he had with the previous coach.
Nevertheless, can this draft save Linehan? No. You can’t tell coach that right now. He is still living in this world of euphoria, smiling sheepishly and laughing like Norbit because the Rams drafted defensive end Chris Long.
Mike Lombardi from NFL Network compared the Rams taking Chris Long over Glenn Dorsey to when the Portland Trailblazers selected Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan.
That’s quite a comparison, since most of us know the fallout from that draft day blunder. After digesting what Lombardi said, I thought in retrospect about how Jim Haslett could use his talents on defense.
Haslett did find a way to make former Ram linebacker Will Witherspoon into a solid performer on Sundays. He turned Witherspoon loose, blitzing him from all over the place. It didn’t matter if he came off the edge of the line of scrimmage. It could be from the instant replay booth. Hell, he would drop down from the ceiling if he could.
Let me tell you something, Rams fans. I am still scratching my head about this draft, from start to the finish. The Rams were in position to make some really bold moves on either draft day. On the second day the Rams picked second in the 3rd and 4th rounds of the draft. The only move they made was trading with the Green Bay Packers to draft wideout Keenan Burton from the University of Kentucky.
Outside of that the Rams draft was very bland. I didn’t expect for them to mortgage their future with the #2 pick overall. But, it would not have hurt to see some activity, for a team that went 3-13 and a coach who has lost faith with some in the locker room.
My grade for this draft is C-.
Any questions or comment email me at Livnlegend@hotmail.com.