East West Shrine Game

Player who will have a better NFL career than many drafted higher than him.

B+

2009 COLLEGE DRAFT REPORT CARD

by Jay Goldberg

The Rams filled needs and drafted quality players.  I felt they should have gone quarterback in round one, but cannot argue with tackle Jason Smith.  If they went QB at the top of their draft the rest could have filled out as: OT Beatty, DT Miller, MLB Brinkley, CB Trent, RB Scott and WR Underwood.  Based on their grade of B+, however, I liked most of what they did given their decision to bypass a quarterback.  Teams that pass on a QB early in the draft get a bye from me because a team has to love that quarterback because a bad decision at that spot in the draft can set back a franchise for five years.  The Rams obviously still believe in Bulgar and were not in love with Stafford or Sanchez.

DRAFT PICKS

Jason Smith was my top rated offensive tackle in the draft.  He is strong and has quick feet.  He will be a very good left  tackle for years.  Smith was a good choice to replace the aging Orlando Pace.

The Rams selected Laurinaitis over Maualuga.  Both will be good NFL players, however, Maualuga can be the face/identity of a defense, while Laurinaitis will be quietly efficient.  I liked Maualuga a bit more, but Laurinaitis is a top-flight as well.

Fletcher's draft stock started to rise with an excellent week of practice and solid game at the East West Shrine Game.  His workout continued his rise.  He has good height, strength, speed and athleticism.  Fletcher will start out as a top tier special teams player, but down the line will be a solid starting cornerback.

Scott was good value in round four at a position of need for the Rams.  He is effective plugging the middle against the run.  While he also shows good run pursuit, he is better running in straight line than he is changing directions.

Foster went where I had him graded.  He has an intriguing mix of size, strength and speed.  However, with a backup runner needed and Javon Ringer available, he would have been my selection for the Rams here.  Ringer not only would have been a top change-of-pace back; if Jackson got injured he could have carried the load effectively.

While the Rams needed a developmental quarterback, I would have gone in a different direction than Null.  My top rated quarterback available, Brown, was not a good match for St. Louis. Therefore, I would have drafted Jason Boltus at this spot as my developmental QB.

As a bigger-physical back, I like Javarris Williams much more than Ogbonnaya and he was available here.  However, in my scenario, Ringer would have been added in round five so I would have drafted wide receiver Tiquan Underwood here.

COLLEGE STREET FREE AGENTS

Guard Roger Allen is a very strong kid.  He needs better footwork but is a willing worker.  Look for Allen to make the Rams' development squad and grow into a reliable backup.

Byers is a kid from a small school with good speed and quickness.  He has a chance to stick, bit will most likely be a member of teh Rams' development squad.

Campbell is a quick player whose motor is always running.  His short arms and lack of pass-rush speed work against him; however, if he turns heads on special teams he has a chance.

Trautwein has good size, but needs work.  He could stick on the Rams' development squad, but that is no sure thing.

Player who will have a better NFL career than many drafted higher than him.

The Rams did a very good job of adding quality players in this draft.  I personally would have gone Ellis or Dorsey in round one and moved Carriker to end where I believe he would be a stud, but I can't argue too much with their selection of Long which keeps Carriker at tackle.  I absolutely loved the Avery pick which I explain more in a bit.  The Rams also added some players to watch as college street free agents.

DRAFT PICKS

Long will give the Rams a Patrick Kerney-type defensive end who will get sacks and play the run very well.  He is much better as a 4-3 end prospect than as a 3-4 outside linebacker prospect.

While the networks and draft analysts said that no one had Avery as the top receiver in the draft, that almost was not true.  For a short while right after his on-campus workout I had Avery listed as my #1 receiver.  Eventually, he ended up at #3 behind Thomas and Sweed, but he was one of my two favorite receivers in this draft and a player I would have targeted if I was a GM (Hawkins was the other).  I loved what I saw of Avery during Senior Bowl week, but it was his workout that made me jump up and take notice.  I knew he was fast and an excellent deep threat.  I knew he was tough and would go over the middle more than many thought.  I also knew he had good hands.  However, it was his quickness and sharp cutting ability numbers that made me think this kid could be special.  While his short shuttle time was very, very good (3.91) I had seen it before, but his three-cone time of 6.30 is by far the best I can remember since following this draft.  I now have visions of Avery catching a pass, stopping short, making a very quick cut to get into the open and then using his great speed to take it the distance.  To prove the point, in my fantasy football league we have our college draft the morning prior to the NFL draft which makes watching the draft a lot of fun.  Avery was the receiver I targeted and got in that draft.  Obviously, I loved this pick by the Rams and absolutely agree with him being the first receiver off the board.

Greco played left tackle in college but was thought to be limited athletically so he would have to move inside in the NFL.  However, he has good speed, quickness and athleticism for a kid his size.  At worst Greco will be a versatile sub.  Long term I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a quality starter.

Justin King is an excellent athlete with tremendous speed.  He should be a top special teams player and push for playing time in the nickel.  He has NFL starter skills.

Burton is a good athlete with above-average speed who has a chance to become a solid slot receiver.  However, I would have gone with OLB Stanford Keglar here to push last year's college street free agent, Culberson and journeyman Draft for the starting SAM.

Schuening was excellent value in round five.  He could give Romberg a run for his money at center sooner rather than later.

Chamberlain has the speed and change-of-direction skills needed for WILL, but not the speed to chase plays all over the field.  He may be best served as a strong safety.

Voroba was an interesting seventh round pick.  He will be a good special teams player and could develop into a versatile, quality backup linebacker.

COLLEGE STREET FREE AGENTS

Magro is a tough, strong kid who won't make it easy for the Rams to cut him.

McKinney looked good in the East West Shrine Game, but is a bit of a tweener.  He has the size of a slot corner, the skills opf a man-to-man corner, but the measureables of an outside zone corner.  Still he was a good signing and is a "football player".

Thompson is a fire-plug.  He is a short run-stuffer who will have to show he can handle the nose at his short stature to stick or even make the practice squad.

Ball was a highly-productive back at Maryland.  He runs well inside and would have had a shot as a short-yardage back if Leonhard was not on hand.  He could force his way onto the practice squad with some good work in early preseason games.

Hall is a player who won't impress during workouts, but plays much faster and much quicker than times on the field.  He is a good football player and the preseason will tell if he can continue to get by on his instincts or if the game is just too fast for him.