Thomas: Dolphins, Rams have eye on tackle

[Nick]

Dolphins, Rams have eye on tackle
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Friday, Apr. 11 2008

When reports first surfaced that the Miami Dolphins were negotiating with
Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, there must have been at least some
hand-wringing at Rams Park.

Why? Because there has been increasing speculation that Long is the Rams'
preferred candidate at No. 2 overall in the NFL draft April 26. The Dolphins
have the No. 1 pick.

But the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has reported that the Dolphins also are
negotiating with Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston.

League sources subsequently told the Post-Dispatch that the Dolphins indeed are
interested in Long and Gholston. Interestingly, both players are represented by
CAA Football, which includes St. Louis-based agents Tom Condon, Ben Dogra and
Jim Steiner.

Because the Dolphins have the No. 1 selection, they are free to negotiate with
any prospective candidate for that top pick. By initiating negotiations now,
the Dolphins have a head start on getting the player into training camp on time.

Barring a trade down in the first round, the Rams seem to be zeroing in on four
candidates at the No. 2 spot: Long, Gholston, Virginia defensive end Chris Long
and Louisiana State defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. All four players are
scheduled to arrive in St. Louis on Sunday for a predraft visit to Rams Park
that concludes Monday.

Despite the developments in Miami, league sources said Jake Long and Gholston
are still coming to St. Louis for the visit. At this point, any negotiations in
Miami are preliminary in nature. And as one high-ranking official at Rams Park
said Thursday: "It's hard to know what's real at this point."

And what's not.

That holds true for the Rams as well as the Dolphins. Even with the speculation
that Jake Long is the Rams' top choice, the team has yet to even make its final
stack of draft prospects. Knee-deep in draft meetings, the Rams have spent
almost all of their time this week discussing offensive prospects.

ANOTHER CAMP OPTION

A Rams delegation will visit several potential training camp sites next week,
and a new contender — Concordia University Wisconsin — has been added to the
list.