The NFL draft is here, and the Rams are already winners due to what they did on the field. Before you suggest I get drug tested, think about it for a minute.
Where are the Rams drafting this year? Yes, 16 and 22 in the first round. That is a far cry from the days where the pizza could not be delivered quick enough before the Rams had made a selection in the first round and we waited four hours before they drafted again. Reason being the Rams were flat out lousy the season leading up to the draft.
The Rams have come a long way in a short time. Last year they were in the playoff hunt later in the season than they have been in quite some time. Many players they drafted last year could actually play and some even contributed early.
The Rams have now turned the draft into a real project as the ever popular “mock drafts” now are scrutinized even more by all. It also exposes the imposters. It has been somewhat of a joke to hear and read the draft analyses of some. There is more poaching of information from some than there is of ivory elephant tusks in Africa.
When the question is posed “who are the Rams going to draft?” I simply reply I have no idea and neither do the Rams. Too many things can happen between picks 1 and 16, like teams trading up to get a player or teams trading down to get more picks for later in the draft. I have always subscribed to the notion that if you pin your hopes on the early selections being the difference-makers, you may as well pin your hopes on looking for another job soon.
Draft picks are precious in sports today more than ever, and NFL teams value them as if they are the nuclear missile codes. Teams spend millions of dollars on scouting players, working them out and running background checks. So much money is spent each year it’s a good thing it does not count against the cap.
Teams have to get it right more than just in the first round. Because of the way the salary cap works these days, the days of the high-priced reserve player are over. Even if a late rounder makes the team, he better be good on special teams until they figure out if he can play every down.
The Rams have extra picks this year, and they understand that they will need to acquire talent they can develop compared to paying for an overpriced free agent. After all, if the free agent were that good wouldn’t a team cut someone else to make sure they could sign him?
The Rams still have what now seems like annual needs: a wide receiver for Sam Bradford to throw to, an offensive lineman to protect Sam Bradford, a legitimate outside linebacker and a safety. As you look at some the options, few are of the household variety when you draft at 16 and 22. Some will tell you this is not a deep draft when it comes to impact. I say who cares? Someone will have to play this fall, and they will come from this draft pool.
In their short time in St. Louis, Les Sneed and Jeff Fisher have done a reasonably good job in building this team to the level where improvement has taken place. They also know there is a ways to go before they can be mentioned among the elites in the league. They will look at character and skill and even take a chance on an at-risk player from time to time. It will be another fun night of hope, expectation and head-scratching for the Rams and their fans..
I just hope, whoever we get, they do not hold out and they can get on the field and play because they really are good and not just because they were drafted early. Here is to scouting and coaching a player up, two things the Rams have displayed under Fisher and Sneed.
Here is a bit of advice. Before you start to evaluate the picks by the Rams, remember this: you probably thought Jason Smith was a good idea to draft and probably gave the Rams high marks. Just think if you would have given it two or three years to see how wrong you were and the previous regime was in taking him. Then again, if you were part of that operation, you would already be looking for another job in another city by now.
