Rams Draft Visits, and Some Issues They Raise

[AvengerRam]

Here is an article about players who have been confirmed as having made draft visits to the Rams:

Rams draft visits
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Tuesday, Apr. 14 2009
Through Thursday, the Rams will host up to 30 draft prospects. (Any St. Louis
area prospects brought in, such as Jeremy Maclin, do not count against the 30.)

Unlike past seasons, the Rams are not releasing the names, but the
Post-Dispatch has confirmed 22 of the visits through various sources:


Offense

QUARTERBACK:

Thomas Brandstater, Fresno State

Josh Freeman, Kansas State

Mark Sanchez, Southern California


WIDE RECEIVER:

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 St.

Lawrence Sidbury (DE), Richmond


LINEBACKER:

Connor Barwin, Cincinnati

Aaron Curry, Wake Forest

Rey Maualuga, Southern California

Larry English (LB/DE), N. Illinois


CORNERBACK:

Darius Butler, Connecticut

Mike Mickens, Cincinnati

While this list is obviously not complete, here are a few things I think can be gleaned from the list:

1. The inclusion of Oher and Beatty indicates that the Rams are still consdering taking Curry at No. 2. If they could land Curry and either of these two OTs (Oher would almost certainly require a trade up), that would be an excellent first day of the draft.

2. The Rams clearly have an interest in Brandstater. How high would they take him? Round 5? Round 4?

3. No Stafford on the list. Interesting.

4. The inclusion of Connor Barwin and Larry English is noteable. These guys are clearly hybrids. Perhaps they could fill the SLB role in the short run, and ultimately replace Leonard Little? (Much like Kiwanuka's career path with the Giants). I'm intrigued by both of these prospects.

5. Two UT prospects (Jerry, Hood) on the list. Hmmm.... Could Spagnuolo see Carriker as a DE or a NT? Or is it just about depth at a key position where rotation is important?

6. The WR list certainly confirms the notion that that the Rams are looking at bigger receivers. Brandon Tate is a guy who has not been discussed much, but could be in horns next year.

7. I don't see a scenario in which Tyson Jackson ends up on the Rams, but I think he'd be a great fit.

8. No big, fat, sloppy NTs on the list. Perhaps they have flown under the radar. Hard to do when you're 320+.

[#39 Fan]

Nice find

[Goldenfleece]

1. Agreed.

2. He definitely stands out there. He's one of the only projected day 2 prospects on that list.

3. It's more significant to me that Freeman is on the list than that Stafford is not.

4. I think English would stay at defensive end in the 4-3. He is more or less the same size as Little, and pass rushing is what he does. I'm not sure if I'd mess with moving him to linebacker even in the short-term. Barwin's experience as a tight end, on the other hand, might make it easier for him to learn to cover tight ends as a strongside linebacker while still being a serious threat as a blitzer.

5. & 8. Carriker has been banged up, and our run defense has been among the league's worst. We'd probably be looking at nose tackles too, except Brace seems to be the only one likely to go in the first three rounds. This draft has very few DTs in the 320+ lb. range.

6. There are several big receivers on the list, but I'm not sure whether that's because we're specifically looking for one or because so many of the top prospects in this draft are big.

7. Maybe this is the hypothetical Bronco trade scenario, where we pick up #12 and #18? I don't see how else we'd be picking at a time he'd be available and not feel obligated to draft a position of greater need.