St. Louis draft prospects come and go at Rams Park

[RamDez]

St. Louis draft prospects come and go at Rams Park
By Jim Thomas
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
From Tuesday through Thursday, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of NFL draft prospects roamed the hallways of Rams Park. Teams are allowed to bring in up to 30 draft prospects (plus any area prospects) for pre-draft visits, and instead of spacing out their visits over a period of a couple weeks, the Rams brought them all in over a three-day period.
“As much as anything to see how players interact with people in the building,” Rams general manager Billy Devaney said. “How they interact amongst their peers. A couple of them will have physicals again, late re-checks, we’ll get some information out of that. They’ll spend time with the coaches again. Maybe a coach feels like he didn’t have much time or didn’t have all the answers during the interview process at the (NFL Scouting) Combine.”
The Rams’ guest list actually totaled only 23 players. (A 24th player, Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman, ended up not visiting.) About half of the group arrived Tuesday and left Wednesday; the other half arrived Wednesday and left Thursday. Players are allowed to meet with the team and can be given physicals during these pre-draft visits, but can’t work out.
The Rams expended thousands of dollars to bring in the prospects this week for one last bit of information gathering before the draft April 25-26.
“Obviously, it’s a huge investment, and the more time spent with a player. . .” Devaney said. “You want to feel like when you turn that card in, you’ve exhausted everything available to you to find out about the person on and off the field. And this is part of that.”
When all is said and done, the Rams may have played host to about half the first round this week. But all scenarios were covered, including:
1. Potential options at No. 2 overall.
2. Potential options in any trade-down scenario.
3. Potential late first-rounders that might fall to Round 2.
When all was said and done, most of the visiting players should go in the first two rounds. What follows is the confirmed list of players who visited Rams Park this week.
Keep this in mind when checking out the final list:
The Rams’ first_ and second-round picks in 2006 (Tye Hill, Joe Klopfenstein) and 2007 (Adam Carriker, Brian Leonard) were players who paid pre-draft visits to Rams Park. In 2008, the Rams’ first_, second_, and third-round picks (Chris Long, Donnie Avery, John Greco) all paid pre-draft visits to Earth City.
OFFENSE
QUARTERBACK
Rhett Bomar, Sam Houston State
Thomas Brandstater, Fresno State
Mark Sanchez, Southern California
WIDE RECEIVER
Demetrius Byrd, Louisiana State
Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
Darrius Heyward-Bey, Maryland
Jeremy Maclin, Missouri
Hakeem Nicks, North Carolina
Brandon Tate, North Carolina
OFFENSIVE TACKLE
William Beatty, Connecticut
Eugene Monroe, Virginia
Michael Oher, Mississippi
Jason Smith, Baylor

DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINE
Ziggy Hood (DT), Missouri
Peria Jerry (DT), Mississippi
Tyson Jackson (DE/DT), Louisiana State
Lawrence Sidbury (DE), Richmond
LINEBACKER
Connor Barwin, Cincinnati
Aaron Curry, Wake Forest
Rey Maualuga, Southern California
Larry English (LB/DE), Northern Illinois
CORNERBACK
Darius Butler, Connecticut
Mike Mickens, Cincinnati
Please check Around the Horns later this weekend for Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith’s thoughts on his pre-draft visit to Rams Park.

[fearsome foursome]

No Andre Smith on the list. I guess they are serious about character.

[A-Web]

Yeah, but Ray M. was there, and he is a known questionable character too. He just isn't in the cards. If we want a first round tackle it will be at the #2 pick. If it is the #2 pick, then it is Smith or Monroe.

[BarronWade]

Wow no Ron Brace, Clint Sintim, or Brian Robiskie?

it though all 3 of them would be under heavy consideration for the Rams at 35

But they can still invite more players because they did not use up there 30 right?

[KoaKoi]

But they can still invite more players because they did not use up there 30 right?

i don't think so. time's up. all visits by any draft prospect have to be completed the Friday a week before the draft.

perhaps the other players you like went gallavanting off with some other team for their pre-draft visit??? dunno.

i noticed Larry English made the list. bring next weekend on!

[shower beers]

No Laurinaitis either. Hmmm......

[TheTalkOfTheArch]

Sanchez? Really? I don't want to read into that but its interesting to say the least.

[Truth]

No Laurinaitis either. Hmmm......

Actually, that's the missing player that surprised me the most.

[Truth]

Sanchez? Really? I don't want to read into that but its interesting to say the least.

If we draft Sanchez, it wouldn't surprise me to see him as part of a draft day trade.

[Varg6]

If we draft Sanchez, it wouldn't surprise me to see him as part of a draft day trade.

Same here, but even if we did draft him and keep the guy, it couldn't hurt at all. Keep him on the sidelines for a year or two while Bulger finishes out his career and I think we'll have an immediate starter for us, maybe even a Pro-Bowler. Either which way, I can't say I'd be upset if Sanchez winds up being a Ram.

However, we'd have to get some damn good players in the next few rounds and it'll become a more difficult decision for Devaney & Co., simply because we'll have less picks and not an almost guaranteed starter at a position that we have a dire need in, whether it's OT, MLB or WR. We'd have to make some tough decisions.

[BarronWade]

We also spoke with Sanchez at USC during owners meetings in Cali. So maybe somthing is up. Maybe some smokescreen for a trade? lol