NFL Draft: St. Louis Rams Team Draft Retrospective

This article is part of a series that looks at each NFL team’s recent draft history, with the hope of extracting information about the way they think and the players they value.

The analysis is limited to the past five drafts in the interest of relevance, and the first three rounds because that’s where most impact players are taken.

This entry will focus on the St. Louis Rams.

Draft History

In the past five years, the Rams have taken the following players in the early rounds. Their positions and the rounds in which they were drafted are listed next to their names.

2006:   Tye Hill, CB (1)

            Joe Klopfenstein, TE (2)

            Claude Wroten, DT (3)

            Jon Alston, LB (3)

            Dominique Byrd, TE (3)

2007:   Adam Carriker, DT (1)

            Brian Leonard, FB (2)

            Jonathan Wade, CB (3)

2008:   Chris Long, DE (1)

            Donnie Avery, WR (2)

            John Greco, OT (3)

2009:   Jason Smith, OT (1)

            James Laurinaitis, LB (2)

            Bradley Fletcher, CB (3)

2010:   Sam Bradford, QB (1)

            Rodger Saffold, OT (2)

            Jerome Murphy, CB (3)

Breakdown by Position

Here is the number of players the Rams have drafted for each position:

Cornerback: 4

Offensive tackle: 3

Defensive tackle: 2

Linebacker: 2

Tight end: 2

Defensive end: 1

Fullback: 1

Quarterback: 1

Wide receiver: 1

Impact

Chris Long looked mediocre through two years, but in 2010 he exploded for nine sacks and dominated the line of scrimmage. Donnie Avery looks like a quality receiver, but just can’t seem to stay healthy. James Laurinaitis is a very good inside linebacker. Bradley Fletcher is a solid starter at cornerback. Rodger Saffold and Jason Smith have formed a dependable tackle duo.

But the prize acquisition for the Rams has been quarterback Sam Bradford, whom they took with the first overall pick in 2010. Bradford was plugged in as the starter right away, and had one of the best seasons ever for a rookie QB. He fell short in the final game against Seattle, causing the Rams to miss the playoffs, but the St. Louis front office has to be very pleased with the selection. Bradford has almost singlehandedly turned around one of the most woeful teams in the league, and they should continue to improve over the next several years.

Trends

The Rams have spent the most picks at cornerback. None of those players have been smash hits, but Bradley Fletcher is serviceable and they’ve gotten respectable play at the position.

They have also chosen an offensive tackle early in each of the last three drafts. This has really paid off because it allowed them to protect Sam Bradford and let him develop at a remarkable rate as a rookie.

St. Louis has expended two picks on tight ends and one on a fullback—very questionable choices for a struggling team trying to build a nucleus. However, it’s worth noting that all of those choices came in 2006 and 2007, under the previous administration. Under new coach Steve Spagnuolo, they’ve made much more defensible choices, like Bradford and Saffold.

2011 Outlook

Sam Bradford was a great start to building an offensive nucleus, and they’ve also taken players to protect him. Now he just needs someone to throw to. He formed an early rapport with Mark Clayton, Danario Alexander flashed some potential, and Danny Amendola is a good slot receiver, but what Bradford really needs is a legitimate number one wideout and a reliable deep threat.

The Rams would love to come away with receiver Julio Jones (Alabama). However, Jones’ stock has soared so high after a great Combine performance that he may be gone within the first ten picks. Unless the Rams trade up, they’ll miss out on him and have to settle for a guy like Leonard Hankerson (Miami), Titus Young (Boise State), or Torrey Smith (Maryland) in the second round. Then again, new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels turned Brandon Lloyd into a stud in Denver, so that could be plenty for him and Bradford to work with.

On defense, the Rams could use some help up front. Chris Long is a great centerpiece, but they could use a young end to succeed James Hall across from him, and they also need to upgrade at tackle. This is a great defensive line class, so the Rams might have a hard time passing up somebody like DE Aldon Smith (Missouri) or DT Corey Liuget (Illinois). Then again, the depth of the class could give them the freedom to wait until the second or third.

The secondary is also a little shaky with the departure of O.J. Atogwe. St. Louis could look for a replacement here.