-The biggest questions on everyone's minds right now is: what are the Rams going to do with the first overall pick? St. Louis GM Billy Devaney announced on Friday that the team's management has narrowed it down to four potential picks. Those players are assumed to be quarterbacks Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Jimmy Clausen of Notre Dame and defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska and Gerald McCoy also of Oklahoma. I've already seen mock drafts by various analysts with either Bradford, Suh or McCoy at the top (and I do think Clausen is an extreme long shot).
The skinny on this is that Suh and McCoy are considered to be the two most talented players in the draft. Both are also believed to have far less 'bust potential' than Bradford (No one seems to be able to say for sure who's the better of the two, but Suh, probably because of how he finished he senior year, has the slight edge.)
But in the last couple of days, Bradford has come roaring back. His surgically-repaired shoulder is holding up fine in his practice sessions and he's added 12 pounds to the frame NFL scouts thought was too skinny.
On the back of this news, I think the number one spot is Bradford's to lose. Let's not forget that this is a player who could have pushed Matthew Stafford to be the number 1 pick last year after the unbelievably good junior he had behind the nation's best offensive line in 2008. Add to that that the Rams desperately need a quarterback, a face for their franchise and are still kicking themselves (probably) for passing on Mark Sanchez last year.
Six out of the Rams last nine first round picks have gone to either their offensive or defensive line without a great deal of success. I think they'll say “we need a change and a quarterback”, and roll the dice of Bradford, thus making him the first first-round pick used on a quarterback by the Rams since Billy Munson in 1964 (now there's a fun bit of trivia to impress your friends with).
-Combine Risers and Sliders: Offensive Line and Tight Ends
Risers:
Bruce Campbell, T, Maryland: People expected him to shine in the combine because of his athleticism and he didn't disappoint. Ran a 4.85 40, fastest of the offensive linemen and faster than some tight ends. Showed great ups in the vertical leap, had 34 reps at the bench and looked sharp in all the other drills. He is the most athletic of the offensive tackles in the draft and he had the kind of workout that could make a team fall in love with him and draft him higher than he perhaps should be, given that he only has 17 college starts to his name.
Mitch Petrus, G, Arkansas: Anytime you tie a combine record at a particular drill, you earn yourself a few extra bucks. Petrus did that knocking out 45 reps at the bench. Probably not a name you'll hear called out in the first two rounds, but NFL teams will love that strength.
Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh: His 40 time, 4.40, had some people wondering if he should convert to wide receiver. Others were comparing him to speedy Packers tight end Jermichael Finley. Either way that's a 40 time that going to create a lot of buzz in the next eight weeks.
Dennis Pitta, TE, BYU: Best looking hands of any of the tight ends in the Combine. The success of Austin Collie, another BYU receiving prospect, for the Colts last season might stir up even more interest in him as a solid possession receiver in a pass-happy offense.
Sliders:
Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma: Fitness questions muddy the Gresham situation. He's still the top rated tight end on most draft boards, but he missed all of '09 with an ACL injury and worked out like a player feeling his way back to full strength.
If you're a 'glass is half-full' kind of person, seeing him complete all the drills without any twinges in his knee was enough to say his day was a successful one. If not, you'll see that he was expected to run faster than 4.72 in the 40 and that he only managed 20 reps on the bench. His hands looked sloppy too. He will need a better Pro Day to cement his status as a round 1 guy.
(I know the header says sliders in the plural, but you try making sense of a couple hours of offensive linemen doing shuttles.)
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