St. Louis Rams: Thursday's Rams News and Notes at Noon

Welcome to Thursday's St. Louis Rams "News and Notes at Noon" the one stop spot for all major Rams headlines and other relevant information to fans of Rams Nation. 

2012 NFL Draft Interior Offensive Linemen 

It is the opinion of almost everyone, whether fans or NFL analysts, that St. Louis needs additional help along the offensive line via the 2012 NFL Draft. 

That said, it is timely to present former NFL Executive Tony Softli's look at the interior linemen who are available for the taking this year.  

Softli shares his criteria for evaluating these players and shares his detailed analysis of his five favorites at center and guard in this piece for 101sports.com. 

The Rams have a gaping hole at left guard and one has to assume that St. Louis will be picking up a player to fill the bill there sometime in the first four rounds of this month's draft. 

Softli, interestingly enough, has a small school guy right in the middle of his top five rankings.

Rams Sign Former Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Tackle Trevor Laws 

According to a tweet from Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch citing league sources, the Rams have agreed to terms with veteran defensive tackle Trevor Laws, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles: 

"Jim Thomas‏ @jthom1

League sources confirm Rams agree on 1-year deal w/former Philly DT Trevor Laws, who tweets: "it's time for me to take this show to STL."

"

The 6'1', 300 pound Laws was a second round selection out of Notre Dame in 2008.  The 26-year-old is a nose tackle and should compliment three-technique defensive tackle Kendall Langford quite nicely. 

Depending on what happens in the NFL Draft, Laws should see time in the rotation and could theoretically compete for a starting role along the interior D Line. 

Last season, Laws compiled 20 total tackles and one quarterback sack. 

For his part, Laws shared this tweet last night: 

"Trevor Laws‏ @TrevorLaws 

To all my people from Philly I will miss ya... but its time for me to take this show to STL. #memories

 

"

Rams Running Back Options 

Will St. Louis select a running back at No. 6 or at some point in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft?  

It is looking more and more likely that the answer to that question is a resounding yes. 

According to a column from Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Alabama running back Trent Richardson could indeed be the pick if he is available when the Rams go on the clock on April 26. 

Thomas also takes a look at some other running backs who could be on the Rams radar later in the draft in the above-linked piece. 

Although the NFL has clearly become more of a passing league in recent seasons, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher has not deviated from his love of the running game and running backs, according to the following quotes from the previously-linked Thomas column: 

"

"I haven't devalued the running back position. You're talking to the wrong person. I want as many of them on the roster as you can get.

I think he's a very, very talented player. He doesn't have a lot of wear-and-tear because it's been a one-year deal for him (as a feature back). But he's got great explosion and quickness in the hole and change of direction with the jump cut, and power, and ball security."

"

Yesterday, I shared a report from Russ Lande of The Sporting News, who asserts that St. Louis prefers Richardson at No. 6.  Lande, by the way, is a former Rams scout (coincidentally or not) and a well respected journalist.  

In the above-linked report, I analyzed why the Rams could justify selecting Richardson at No. 6. 

Of course, as we all know, smokescreens abound this time of year and it is tough to discern the truth from potential misdirections this time of year. 

NFL Draft Preview: Offensive Line

Nick Wagoner of stlouisrams.com shared his analysis regarding the top offensive line prospects available in the 2012 NFL Draft here.

Wagoner also shares insight to the current state of the Rams O Line in the aforementioned piece.Wagoner rates the top five offensive tackles, offensive guards and centers and shares insight into the draft history of Jeff Fisher as it relates to offensive linemen.

Wagoner also lists one sleeper pick from each of the three O Line positions in addition to his top five list. 

Russ Lande's Top Wide Receivers

Russ Lande of aol.sportingnews.com has released his rankings of the top wide receiver prospects in regard to the upcoming NFL Draft as found here. 

Lande suggests that Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd have elite potential, both of whom are pre-draft visitors to Rams Park. 

Other wideouts in Lande's top 20 include Rueben Randle (No. 3), Mohamed Sanu (No. 8), Stephen Hill (No. 14) and Nick Toon at No. 20.  

Lande also offers his rankings of receivers at several different categories in the above-linked column.

Walter Football's Latest Mock Draft 

Walterfootball.com updates it's mock draft yesterday.  The round one through five mock has some interesting selections for St. Louis, as you can see here. 

One particular pick has the Rams going with the talented but sometimes troubled cornerback Janoris Jenkins of North Alabama at No. 39.  

For much more on Jenkins and his past, please read this interesting piece via usatoday.com.

Todd McShay of ESPN Covers Multiple Scenarios for St. Louis in the Upcoming Draft 

NFL draft guru Todd McShay of ESPN offers up various scenarios for the Rams upcoming draft as shared by Turf Show Times here.

McShay offers five different scenarios for St. Louis fans to chew on and with the uncertainty that always comes with the annual event, five scenarios may not even cover all the options that are truly possible for the Rams in just two weeks. 

Have a great day and thanks for joining me for another edition of the St. Louis Rams "News and Notes at Noon." 

Have a great day as always, STL Rams Nation. 

Follow @ShaneGmoSTLRams

Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams daily as a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You are encouraged to check out the rest of his work here. Gray also owns and operates stlramscentral.com.