Rams meet with QB Sanchez

[Bald_81]

St. Louis Rams meet with USC QB Mark Sanchez
By Jim Thomas
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

DANA POINT, CALIF. _ While it seems highly unlikely that they will draft a quarterback at No. 2 overall, the Rams apparently are covering all their bases.

With the NFL owners’ meetings conveniently taking place an hour south of Los Angeles this week, Rams general manager Billy Devaney met with Mark Sanchez, the standout quarterback from the University of Southern California.

According to league sources, Sanchez met with Devaney on Monday night at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, the hotel that is hosting the owners’ meetings. Sanchez lives in Mission Viejo, Calif., maybe 15 minutes from the hotel’s doorstep.

“I don’t know if they had a chance to meet Mark at the (NFL Scouting) Combine in Indianapolis,” said a source with knowledge of the meeting.

Devaney will head a Rams contingent that will be back in southern California next week for the Trojans’ April 1 pro day. Sanchez is expected to throw and do a full workout at the pro day.

In addition, Sanchez could be invited to pay a “Top 30″ visit to Rams Park in a couple of weeks. (NFL teams are allowed to bring in up to 30 draft prospects to their facility for pre-draft visits.)

Sanchez, 6-2, 227 pounds, generally is considered the second-best quarterback prospect in the draft behind Matthew Stafford of Georgia. In 2008, Sanchez’s only full season as the Trojans’ starting quarterback, he completed 65.9 percent of his passes for a Pacific-10 Conference best 3,207 yards. He threw 34 touchdown passses last season with 10 interceptions.

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Interesting. We've scouted two of the top three QBs so far in Sanchez and Freeman. It remains to be seen if they will bring in Stafford at all. This could be viewed as a smokescreen, but that seems unlikely to me because wouldn't they do the following with Stafford? Also, it is unlikely anyone would trade up to #2 to take Sanchez directly following Stafford, so I really don't know what to make of this. Maybe they are hoping he reaches the late twenties where they would trade up and snag him?

[Nick]

Maybe they are hoping he reaches the late twenties where they would trade up and snag him?

I think that might be the winning scenario. In the event Sanchez slips, they want to meet with him and try to better determine if he's a guy they should consider moving up for.

[Ramblin` Ram]

that sounds plausible enough to me...very interesting to hear of this tho..was not something i had expected..

[Nick]

It's really not that uncommon. Think about some of the names the Rams had pre-draft visits with last year: Flacco, McFadden, Mayo, Rodgers-Cromartie... you have to do your due diligence just in case something happens. If you really like one of these guys and they slide for some reason, maybe you're in a position to do something about it.

[Bald_81]

It's really not that uncommon. Think about some of the names the Rams had pre-draft visits with last year: Flacco, McFadden, Mayo, Rodgers-Cromartie... you have to do your due diligence just in case something happens. If you really like one of these guys and they slide for some reason, maybe you're in a position to do something about it.

In fairness, I don't believe any of those players got invited to come to St. Louis. If one did then I'm mistaken (I think the only one I can maybe remember is DRC?), but the big issue raised here is that Sanchez might get an invite to come here. That is quite big seeing as how we only get to have thirty players visit. Think about how many players from past years we have selected that have dropped by St. Louis first, so I think it raises a valid point.

I think they have genuine interest in Sanchez because he exudes the prototypical WCO QB qualities. He is more mobile than given credit for, very accurate, and he is a "tape junkie" meaning he puts in a lot of hours in the film room. That is what is needed in order to be successful in our offense. I still don't think he gets by NYJ at #17, and definitely not Detroit at #20 if they don't take Stafford. If we want to take him, it will be via trade down into the #7-12 range or pray that he slips. Funny how things can get interesting from one little sub-plot, yes?

[Nick]

In fairness, I don't believe any of those players got invited to come to St. Louis.

I drew those names directly from a Post-Dispatch write up dated 04/15/2008 regarding prospects scheduled to arrive that day for pre-draft visits in St. Louis.

Funny how things can get interesting from one little sub-plot, yes?

Eh, not really, IMO. I don't really see it as a possibility. I agree with you that I don't see Sanchez making it out of the teens, and I don't think anyone is going to trade up for the Rams' second overall pick. So it's kind of a moot point.

Again, I would refer back to the players the Rams had scheduled for pre-draft visits last year as a sign that this by itself isn't incredibly significant.

Not trying to pee on the parade, because it is something different to talk about. But I just don't view it as a very significant piece of news. Especially if they didn't get a chance to talk to Mark at the combine. Their presence at the USC pro day shouldn't be surprising, given the number of prospects that will likely be there besides Sanchez.

[zingers16]

So how many "Will the Rams take Sanchez at #2?" threads can we expect in the next few days?

[RamsFan16]

I think that might be the winning scenario. In the event Sanchez slips, they want to meet with him and try to better determine if he's a guy they should consider moving up for.

I'm weary of Sanchez's arm strength and mobility. Plus he hasn't really sprung up until late.

I'd like to grab Josh Freeman, I love his ability, accuracy isn't great but his arm is incredible and he can move around pretty well it the pocket.

In no way shape or form though am I suggesting we move up for Freeman.