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On the surface, the notion of drawing the second pick in the NFL draft sounds like one of those can't-miss, bulletproof positions any team would love to be in. But looks can be deceiving.
As we draw within a month of the NFL's annual talent lottery, the unsettling draft history of the Rams makes you wonder if they'll turn an ideal situation into a blessing or a curse.
In a draft that is supposedly deep in talent and top-heavy in star quality, theoretically you would think the Rams couldn't go wrong. Yet who knew being No. 2 could be so complicated? Until now, there has been a great debate about not only who will still be there, but also what position player (offensive line, defensive line, running back) makes the most sense. Add to that confusion, the intrigue provided by the Miami Dolphins' new team president Bill Parcells, who traditionally loves being wildly unpredictable and purposely secretive, and you have the sort of volatile mixture of uncertainty that makes you wonder just how many ways things could go wrong for the Rams.
Fortunately, though, there's a new twist that could make the Rams' decision a lot less complicated than anyone could have expected. If LSU's brilliant defensive tackle, Glenn Dorsey, is as healthy as he looked in his Pro Day workout two days ago, Rams executives can stop wondering about what to do with the second pick. If Dorsey has a clean bill of heath — and right now it appears that he does — the 6-foot-1, 297-pound All-America may have elevated his status to the point where the Rams can't afford to pass him by.
For all the bluffing that Parcells is bound to do over the next three weeks, the reality is, Dorsey does not fit the bulky profile of a 3-4 run-stuffer that Parcells traditionally prefers to anchor his interior line. So unless the Dolphins can trade the pick to a team that desperately craves Dorsey, Miami likely will go after Virginia's defensive end Chris Long. And then the guessing game begins for Rams fans, who have spent the entire winter fretting over what the "new" decision makers at Rams Park will do.
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Sound off in Cards Talk
First of all, let's eliminate the one thing they can't do.
It has been said before, but it's worth repeating: It would be beyond idiotic to draft
Darren McFadden unless they're certain he's the next coming of Jim Brown, Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith all rolled into one. It would be a tremendous waste of a high pick to invest in a running back because they already have a young and frighteningly talented one in Steven Jackson, who just might be the second- or third-best yardage producer in football in this new Al Saunders offense.
So that leaves the Rams with some difficult choices, and at this point in this franchise's history, these are choices they can't afford to blow. That
No. 2 pick better be an immediate starter and the sort of player who quickly becomes a dominant star in the league. If the Rams believe offensive tackle Jake Long is the second-best player in the draft, then they should by all means take him regardless of how many offensive tackles they already have. If they're convinced he's that valuable, he can play guard for a few years until Orlando Pace retires. But from all indications, there's no way Jake Long would be rated higher than a healthy Dorsey on many NFL draft boards.
And after Dorsey's impressive workout in Baton Rouge two days ago, if Dorsey isn't regarded as the Rams' best bet, it can only be because of bad medical evaluations on his healing knees or legs. After that Dorsey workout in front of a building full of NFL coaches, scouts and personnel executives, most of them left breathless, convinced Dorsey had returned to his place as the best athlete in the draft. More than one set of eyes who was at the Dorsey workout said privately that he looked like the kind of player who could become another young Warren Sapp.
The new-look Rams front office under Billy Devaney's rule needs to come out of the box strong, but if you think drafting this high in the first round makes Devaney's job easier, guess again. There are no guarantees in the draft, particularly at that second pick. Over the past six drafts, the No. 2 position has provided a mix of hits (Julius Peppers, Calvin Johnson, Reggie Bush, Ronnie Brown) and colossal misses (Robert Gallery, Charles Rogers).
Blessing or curse? One month to go until we find out.
As we draw within a month of the NFL's annual talent lottery, the unsettling draft history of the Rams makes you wonder if they'll turn an ideal situation into a blessing or a curse.
In a draft that is supposedly deep in talent and top-heavy in star quality, theoretically you would think the Rams couldn't go wrong. Yet who knew being No. 2 could be so complicated? Until now, there has been a great debate about not only who will still be there, but also what position player (offensive line, defensive line, running back) makes the most sense. Add to that confusion, the intrigue provided by the Miami Dolphins' new team president Bill Parcells, who traditionally loves being wildly unpredictable and purposely secretive, and you have the sort of volatile mixture of uncertainty that makes you wonder just how many ways things could go wrong for the Rams.
Fortunately, though, there's a new twist that could make the Rams' decision a lot less complicated than anyone could have expected. If LSU's brilliant defensive tackle, Glenn Dorsey, is as healthy as he looked in his Pro Day workout two days ago, Rams executives can stop wondering about what to do with the second pick. If Dorsey has a clean bill of heath — and right now it appears that he does — the 6-foot-1, 297-pound All-America may have elevated his status to the point where the Rams can't afford to pass him by.
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For all the bluffing that Parcells is bound to do over the next three weeks, the reality is, Dorsey does not fit the bulky profile of a 3-4 run-stuffer that Parcells traditionally prefers to anchor his interior line. So unless the Dolphins can trade the pick to a team that desperately craves Dorsey, Miami likely will go after Virginia's defensive end Chris Long. And then the guessing game begins for Rams fans, who have spent the entire winter fretting over what the "new" decision makers at Rams Park will do.
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Sound off in Cards Talk
First of all, let's eliminate the one thing they can't do.
It has been said before, but it's worth repeating: It would be beyond idiotic to draft
Darren McFadden unless they're certain he's the next coming of Jim Brown, Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith all rolled into one. It would be a tremendous waste of a high pick to invest in a running back because they already have a young and frighteningly talented one in Steven Jackson, who just might be the second- or third-best yardage producer in football in this new Al Saunders offense.
So that leaves the Rams with some difficult choices, and at this point in this franchise's history, these are choices they can't afford to blow. That
No. 2 pick better be an immediate starter and the sort of player who quickly becomes a dominant star in the league. If the Rams believe offensive tackle Jake Long is the second-best player in the draft, then they should by all means take him regardless of how many offensive tackles they already have. If they're convinced he's that valuable, he can play guard for a few years until Orlando Pace retires. But from all indications, there's no way Jake Long would be rated higher than a healthy Dorsey on many NFL draft boards.
And after Dorsey's impressive workout in Baton Rouge two days ago, if Dorsey isn't regarded as the Rams' best bet, it can only be because of bad medical evaluations on his healing knees or legs. After that Dorsey workout in front of a building full of NFL coaches, scouts and personnel executives, most of them left breathless, convinced Dorsey had returned to his place as the best athlete in the draft. More than one set of eyes who was at the Dorsey workout said privately that he looked like the kind of player who could become another young Warren Sapp.
The new-look Rams front office under Billy Devaney's rule needs to come out of the box strong, but if you think drafting this high in the first round makes Devaney's job easier, guess again. There are no guarantees in the draft, particularly at that second pick. Over the past six drafts, the No. 2 position has provided a mix of hits (Julius Peppers, Calvin Johnson, Reggie Bush, Ronnie Brown) and colossal misses (Robert Gallery, Charles Rogers).
Blessing or curse? One month to go until we find out.
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