Where will Torry Holt play in 2009?

With T.J. Houshmandzadeh all but gone in Cincy, the speculation of which teams will pursue the WR is heating up. With a number of teams needing help at WR, this could have some impact on whether or not the Rams decide to trade Torry Holt. Teams that miss out on Housh might get a little desperate and chase Holt. Devaney is likely to have conversations about Holt and Pace with their agent and other teams at the Combine this week. What are the potential landing spots for Torry Holt if the Rams do swap him?

NFL.com's Adam Schefter mentions a few possibilities for Housh in his post, naming Seattle, San Fran, Tennessee, Baltimore, Miami and Philly as potential destinations. Any of those teams could obviously use Holt, and you can add Chicago, Washington, Dallas, Jacksonville, and even Indianapolis to the list of teams needing a hand at WR. Can you imagine what Torry Holt could do running routes for Peyton Manning? That would be nice way to wind down a career, huh?

The real question is whether or not trading Holt is likely. On the surface, teams on the cusp might easily be willing to part with a 3rd round pick to round out their offense with Holt. But trading in the NFL is never as easy - or as logical - as it seems.

The gang over at DraftTek imagined a scenario where the Rams trade Holt and their 2nd (35th) and 3rd (66th) round picks to the Chicago Bears for CB Nathan Vasher and Chicago's first round pick, #18. In this simulation, the Rams addressed their need for a starting cornerback opposite Ron Bartell (assuming he re-signs with the team) and two first round picks to give them, ideally, players ready to start at two positions of need. In the mock draft laid out in this sequence of events, the Rams used their second overall pick to take an OT, Andre Smith, and a WR, Jeremy Maclin. They explain the scenario thusly at the DraftTek blog:

Nathan Vasher was a Pro Bowl corner in his 2nd season in the league, 2005. He had a left hand injury keep him out for half of 2008 which is minor and was considered before the trade was finalized.

The #18 pick was the important piece of this trade. My hope was to get James Laurinaitis with this pick but in our draft he was gone and in his place is Jeremy Maclin, arguably a better prospect and with Holt gone possibly a bigger need. Sometimes not getting what you want turns out better than if you had.

The #35 pick would not have landed a guaranteed starter at WR or ILB, which are the Rams top 2 needs after Offensive Tackle in my opinion. Throwing in the 3rd round pick for a corner who can step right in and give us Pro Bowl quality starts is not a bad addition.

Definitely an interesting "what if" for the Rams. I think his thinking of trying to pick up a MLB with the #18 pick, and given a different draft order, I'd probably still be inclined to find a starter for the middle of the field on defense, either at LB or DT, with that pick. Stay tuned to see if something breaks with Holt during the Combine, and we get to think about a real reordered draft. 

Now a round up of news and whispers from around the league...starting with Torry Holt:

• Bears blog Windy City Gridiron considers Holt among the possibles at WR.
• Giants blog Big Blue View doesn't see Holt as a fit. 
• ESPN's John Clayton thinks the Rams are unlikely to get enough in return to warrant trading Holt or Pace.

Some non-Holt links of note.

• New mock draft at Mocking the Draft has the Rams taking OT Eugene Monroe. 
• The Colts have almost no cap space, and may be forced to part with three-time Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday. For those of you keeping score at home, the Rams need a center. 
• A mock draft at NFL.com has the Rams picking Andre Smith.