NFL Draft Countdown: St Louis Rams

Welcome to the NFL Draft Countdown, where each day until the draft on April 25-26, I will look at an NFL franchise to see what its transactions have been and what its needs are. Today, the focus is on the St Louis Rams.

St Louis Rams

• Draft Position: 2
• 2008 Season Result: 2-14 (4th in NFC West, Missed Playoffs)
• 2008 Head Coach: Scott Linehan / Jim Haslett
• 2009 Head Coach: Steve Spagnuolo (0-0; 0-0)

2009 Player Transactions

Players Lost:

• Torry Holt
• Orlando Pace (CHI)
• La’Roi Glover
• Fakhir Brown
• Dante Hall
• Travis Minor
• Rob Petitti
• Nick Leckey (NO)
• Anthony Davis
• Brett Romberg (ATL)
• Ricky Manning Jr.
• Brandon Gorin (DEN)
• Dane Looker
• Cory Withrow
• Jason Craft
• Gary Stills
• Trent Green
• Drew Bennett
• Corey Chavous

Players Re-signed/Acquired:

• Victor Adeyanju
• Laurent Robinson
• Kyle Boller
• Adam Goldberg
• Eric Moore
• Tim Mattran
• Eric Butler
• Marcus Brown
• Jeff Otis
• Mark Setterstrom
• James Butler
• Mike Karney
• Ron Bartell
• Jason Brown
• Oshiomogho Atogwe (Franchise)

2009 Draft Picks

• 1-2
• 2-3
• 3-2
• 4-3
• 5-24
• 6-23
• 7-2

Analysis and Outlook

Over the last few years, the St Louis Rams have turned into the “The Lamest Show on Turf”. With an offense that spelled “meh” (26th in passing offense and 25th in rushing offense) and a horrible run defense (29th), the Rams have failed to be contenders. With new GM Bill Devaney and new HC Steve Spagnuolo, the Rams hope to reverse their fortunes. A lot needs to be done though!

On offense, the Rams need to find someone who can fill the huge void at LT left by Orlando Pace. Protection is key here because both QB Marc Bulger and RB Steven Jackson have endured more than their fair share of beatings over the last few seasons. In addition, the Rams would like to add a TE who can help out as a blocker. Finally, after releasing WR Torry Holt, the Rams need to find a WR who can be productive from the get-go.

Defensively, the Rams need to focus on solidifying that interior D-Line to help stop the run. Additional LBs will also be welcomed. Spagnuolo will look for someone who has the profile of Antonio Pierce to anchor that LB unit. The Rams will also look at the CB position to add depth behind Ron Bartell and Tye Hill and to help out in nickel packages.

In an ideal world, the Rams would strike a deal with the Denver Broncos, sending their first and second to the Broncos in exchange for the Broncos’ two first round picks. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s going to happen, so the Rams are left with only one decent option, which is T. The good thing is that they will be able to pick either Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe with the second pick.

In the second round, I see the Rams trying to get a CB in Alphonso Smith or Darius Butler, WRs Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt or TE/DE/OLB Connor Barwin. If they plug in Barwin at TE, he could be a good blocker and release pass catcher. Another possibility I see is that the Rams try to trade back into the first round to get LB Rey Maualuga but the asking price might be too high. If DT Fili Moala is available in round 3, the Rams will jump on him to pair him with Adam Carriker in an attempt to stop the run better. If Moala is not there, then the Rams might try again later on with a player like Ricky Jean-Francois. The middle rounds give the Rams some options. They’ll look at CBs like Coye Francies and Chris Owens, RBs like like Andre Brown and Cedric Peerman, WRs like Tiquan Underwood, Ramses Barden or Johnny Knox, and QBs like Rhett Bomar and Tom Brandstater (since Kyle Boller cannot be seriously considered to be a option for the future).

2009 will be year where the Rams will evaluate the state of their current players. If Bulger and Jackson can carry the offense and the defense can hold up better, then they’ll be in better shape going into 2010. However, if they rank near the bottom in scoring again like in 2008, they’ll need to revisit the drawing table. That wraps up my look at the St Louis Rams, feel free to leave a comment!