Rams we going to trade up to get James Laurinaitis

[larams1980]

Billy Devaney, Rams vice president of player personnel, was working the phones trying desperately to trade back into the bottom of the first round of Saturday's NFL draft.
He wanted former Wayzata High School star linebacker James Laurinaitis and was convinced he wouldn't make it past the Lions at the top of the second round.
Devaney found no trade partners. He had failed.
But it wasn't long before Devaney found himself pleasantly surprised. The Rams were on the clock with the third pick of the second round and the 35th overall. And Laurinaitis, a three-time first-team All-America selection at Ohio State, was still available.
"Some of the best trades are the ones you don't make," Devaney told reporters in St. Louis.
As most draft prognosticators had predicted, Laurinaitis slipped through the first round. But he did surprise most of the experts by being the first inside linebacker selected. Southern California's Rey Maualuga, predicted to go as high as 15th overall by some, wasn't selected until Cincinnati took him with the 38th overall pick.
The 6-2, 244-pound Laurinaitis should fit the defensive system that new coach and former Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is implementing.
"[Laurinaitis] has the size we're looking for," Devaney told St. Louis reporters. "He loves football. We talked about getting bigger. He adds size to our linebacker corps. He's been a tackling machine."

Good draft from first glance. Got exactly who they wanted.

[hill_Bartell=Probowl]

Its a good thing we rolled the dice!

[TekeRam]

I'd say it's not that re rolled the dice, it's that Devaney stuck to his guns and he wouldn't overpay for getting back up into the first round. I'm sure that he had a price in mind and was going to give up everything up to that to get it, but no one would bargain down to it. I'm very happy that Devaney stuck to that price and didn't give any more for it. It's that kind of responsibility that makes him a really good GM in my mind. A shame that I hear that we were asking way too much for our 2nd pick, or else the Jets would have made the trade with us.

Still, there's not really a better 1-2 first day that I can think of for the Rams if we kept our picks. Great job Devaney. Both guys should be great cores to build this team around.

[Fortuninerhater]

I say no. If we stand pat, not only will he fall right in our laps, but we'll have our choice between he and Mauluaga.

Ok, so I cheated a bit. I couldn't resist.