By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/23/2008
Glenn Dorsey or Chris Long?
That was the question raging through Rams Nation on Tuesday once the news came out that the Miami Dolphins, with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, had signed Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long.
As fate would have it, when
Scott Linehan walked into the media room at Rams Park late Tuesday afternoon, he had a coin in his hand.
So is it:
_ Heads, take Dorsey, the defensive tackle from Louisiana State?
_ Tails, take Long, the defensive end from Virginia?
Linehan laughed, and said the Rams actually needed a three-sided coin.
"I’ve seen them before," he said. "You know, the old pyramid-looking coin."
It was a not-so-veiled reference to the fact that Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston is still in the mix.
Obviously, Jake Long would’ve been in the mix as well had the Dolphins decided to use their pick on someone else. But as Linehan noted, "We’ve got some pretty good choices left."
If nothing else, at least the scenario game is over the Rams:
If Miami takes Player X, we’ll take Player Y . . . .
"(Jake Long) was one of our top guys," Linehan said. "But we were prepared that one of our guys wasn’t going to be there. So it actually makes it pretty exciting for us now to know (Miami’s pick), and just put a lot of time and thought into who our pick’s going to be."
Although St. Louis is now on the clock, the NFL is trying to decide if the Rams can begin negotiating with the No. 2 overall pick. The team expects an answer on that question from the league today. But even if the Rams did get permission to negotiate, team sources say it’s unlikely that the team would begin negotiations before the draft.
Linehan echoed those thoughts Tuesday.
"I don’t even know that we would negotiate with anybody," he said. "I think we’re probably going to take it to the end and pick a player."
Of course, the only other possibility is a trade-down out of the No. 2 spot. As of early Monday evening, the Rams had gotten phone calls from only two teams on that topic. (The teams were believed to be Atlanta and New Orleans.) But there has been nothing resembling concrete trade talks from anyone.
The phone lines weren’t ringing off the hook at Rams Park on Tuesday once the Jake Long signing became official.
"Nothing really today," Linehan said. "I think people are kind of sitting back. . . . I don’t think anyone really expected (the Jake Long signing) to happen now. I guess everybody’s got to re-strategize how they would approach getting into our pick now.
"I’m sure it will get to a point where people may or may not come to us to try to get into that pick. We don’t know. It’d have to be something pretty big-time to move out of there, because we really like our choices (at No. 2)."
While emphasizing that what the Rams do in the first round will be an organizational decision, Linehan indicated pretty strongly that he would like to keep the pick.
"The profiles of the players we’re looking at are outstanding, and we believe (are) difference-makers. And that’s really what you want. We don’t plan on picking again here for a long, long time. . . .Bottom line is, it’d be hard to replace what we’d be able to draft (at No. 2) by moving back, even if you could fulfill some needs on your team (with extra picks)."
Nonetheless, the Rams are discussing trade-down scenarios, more specifically how far down they’d be willing to move in the first round and still feel comfortable about their selection. New Orleans, at No. 10 overall, probably is on the outer fringe of where the Rams would be willing to trade down.
Atlanta, at No. 3 overall, is a different matter. The Falcons have three second-round picks (Nos. 34, 37, and 48 overall), so they have plenty of trade bait if they wanted to move up. The Falcons really like Dorsey, to the point where team owner Arthur Blank already has met twice with him.
When told of the Falcons’ high regard for Dorsey, Linehan quipped: "Get in line."
Linear Mode
