Patrick Willis runs a 4.37, and 4.38!!!!!

[Dominator]

I would take Carriker over both DT's right now. Honestly, as much as we have burned at that position in round 1 I hope we stay away from it and draft someone at DT later. I would think someone at a small school like Sam Houston State or something like that has a 390 lb DT that could be had later.

If all they are there for is to really plug a hole, what about Ruben Studdard from American Idol a few years ago?

Drafting an NT later in the draft isn't going to be easy either. There are very few huge DTs around that can truly play. Although these 2 gap players are a specific breed, more teams are looking for them. The Jets in particular are searching for a true 2 gapper to replace Dwayne Robertson who'll have a huge cap hit next year. I'd caution against using weight as your primary analysis tool. In a 4-3 NT I don't think having a guy 330 and up is quite as important as in the 3-4. With more teams looking for a limited number of super heavy dudes, the days of bargain shopping are over.

[Nick]

How often is a SAM in coverage?

Considering his job is to line up over the tight end when on the field, then yes he's going to have to be able to contribute in coverage. But on the other hand, would you really spend a Top 15 pick on a linebacker that wasn't going to contribute in coverage?

The pro day times are impressive, but the actual number to look at is the combine number which I believe was an unofficial 4.41. That would have been the one to get worked up over. Most guys improve on their combine times when running with "home field advantage" and Willis seems to be no exception.

That being said, unless the Rams were being less than sincere about their intentions to keep Witherspoon in the middle, then I still don't see Willis as a top target for us in round one. Besides, they've already added linebacker help with Draft. We still have NOTHING at nose tackle and our only addition at DE is James Hall, who could be very good but is a rather big question mark right now due to his health. It seems pretty clear that D-line should be our top priority at this point.

[itsguud]

this is a good debate,i was all for drafting a d-lineman but the more i think about it,maybe Willis should be the choice because that would give us one pretty damn good LB corp.we have spent enough #1 picks on d-lineman to know that nothing is a sure thing and i know either is Willis,but given our past history maybe we wait until the 2nd or 3rd round and get a 390 lb giant from a smaller college to plug the middle as someone said earlier or we could just say the hell with it and draft a punter.

Hahah jk you read my other post, I see!

[CRAZYHORNS]

Let me ask this question.....

So do you think the 1st round pick should be used for postional needs only..

Rams need D-Line help so we take the next available DL.

What do you do in this case....

You have a LB and SS available in the draft. You consider both players to be big time play-makers. They both have super talent and if coached and put in the right system could become hall of famers......

Then you have we must draft for needs theory.....

What if the next DL is rated much lower than the LB and SS. The player shows talent but has very little potential to become a super talented player at his position.

Which team do you want the Rams to be?

Team that acquires as much talent as it can

OR

A team that focuses on needs only

[keith m. klink]

HEY TXRAMSFAN , i agree on carreker , i would just love this kid at 13, some people think i'm a dumb@%# , but i would take him before branch, and if it was between carreker and willis, i'd go with carreker. this kid could give us many options on that front line .

[Nick]

So do you think the 1st round pick should be used for postional needs only..

Here's where I come down.

If we're deciding between two different prospects and the difference in their rank on your big board is marginal, go with the guy who fills a bigger need.

For instance, let's say we want a defensive end. When our pick comes up, we can choose between a safety whom we have ranked 7th on our board and an end whom we have ranked 10th. The difference there is marginal enough for me to feel like I can take the end even though he's ranked slightly lower.

But when the difference between their big board rank is larger, say the safety ranked 11th overall and a defensive end ranked 23rd, then you take the higher rated player.

I personally think it would be very difficult to pigeon-hole yourself completing into one of the two strategies. A mix of the two based primarily around the ranking of prospects on your big board seems like the most effective option to me.

[jjigga3000]

If i'm the Rams, at 13 I take the best guy available. Period.

[HUbison]

If i'm the Rams, at 13 I take the best guy available. Period.

Even if the BPA is an offensive guy?

[Dominator]

Here's where I come down.

If we're deciding between two different prospects and the difference in their rank on your big board is marginal, go with the guy who fills a bigger need.

For instance, let's say we want a defensive end. When our pick comes up, we can choose between a safety whom we have ranked 7th on our board and an end whom we have ranked 10th. The difference there is marginal enough for me to feel like I can take the end even though he's ranked slightly lower.

But when the difference between their big board rank is larger, say the safety ranked 11th overall and a defensive end ranked 23rd, then you take the higher rated player.

I personally think it would be very difficult to pigeon-hole yourself completing into one of the two strategies. A mix of the two based primarily around the ranking of prospects on your big board seems like the most effective option to me.

I agree with the theory, but that's a simplified version. They have to actually rate the players. There will be times where a difference of 10-15 spots will be considered a negligible difference in talent and other times where there will be huge drop-off between the guys rated at 7 and 8. If you have two guys closely rated you pick the one that fills the greatest need, but you don't just fill your need spot with the best available guy at that spot. A mistake like that would be taking Tank Tyler at 13 because Okoye and Branch are gone.