Rams 2009 roster heavy on seventh rounders and undrafted players

by Ryan Van Bibber on Mar 1, 2010 9:44 AM CST in 2009 St. Louis Rams regular season

For years and years, leadership at Rams Park didn't get the memo that the draft was a great way to renew the talent on your roster, keep a competitive product on the field and move forward. Fortunately, the ship has started to right itself in recent years, and the new St. Louis Rams administration has been able to start using the draft in their favor, rather than an April Groundhog Day where it's always 2006.

Mid-decade poor drafting still haunts this team, jumping out to say "boo" whenever you look at the Rams' records of the last few years. Not so long ago, there was a quote from head coach Steve Spagnuolo (sorry, I can't find the link) expressing his exasperation at just how many players on the roster where late round picks and undrafted guys. So, here, presented for your information is the Rams roster from 2009 broken down by draft pick.

Starting with the defense...position listed with the number of players from the round in which they were drafted, if they were drafted at all.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	U
CB		1	2	1				4
DE	1		1	1			1	1
DT	1			1	1	1		2
LB		1					3	3
S			1					5

When you think about the Rams defense last year, the fact that six of seven linebackers on the roster were seventh round pick or undrafted says much about the team's problems, especially against the run. The origin points for the defensive linemen is equally as telling.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	U
OL	2		2	1	1			6
QB	1					2
RB/FB	1			1			2	1
TE				1			1	1
WR		2		1		1		1

There are many first round picks on the Rams offensive roster from last season as there are first and second rounders on the defense. Think about that for a minute. Not that either unit was a glowing success, but the struggles on offense were epic. The Rams got a much better bang for their buck on defense. The first round QB on the list: Kyle Boller.

Thirty players on the roster last year were undrafted or seventh round picks.

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Comments

Very good topic-But-

When I read the post (topic) It seems to leave me with the feeling that we were below poor in the team performance because of our late round or undrafted players. Somehow that feeling doesn’t sit that well with me because many of the real good late and undrafted players didn’t get a chance to hi-light their talent because they went to IR. for example, on a flat sheet of paper, OT Smith would have been classed as flat for 2009. Maybe I’m saying that these graphs (in my own thinking) should have another (additional) level to indicate that a certain (any) undrafted player may (could) have been chosen for the pro bowl. yada yada—it’s coffee time—another lousy Monday-C’MON DRAFT!!!!

by Knoxfan on Mar 1, 2010 10:42 AM CST reply actions

Wasn't

Lorent Robinson a 3rd rounder for Atlanta?

by CaliRamMan on Mar 1, 2010 1:50 PM CST reply actions

Yea but I don't think IR players counted

Because Brooks Foster was our 5th rounder and there’s nothing in the 5th round column either.
But Ruvell Martin and Jordan Kent was a 6th rounder. So I’m not sure about that at all.

by Carneros on Mar 1, 2010 4:20 PM CST up reply actions

Well you can't blame the Rams for players

other teams drafted.

From VanRams’s charts it looks like the Rams don’t do very good drafting in the 2nd round with just 2 on D and 2 on O. So where did all our 2nd rounders go???

Go Rams!

"We can't run. We can't pass. We can't stop the run. We can't stop the pass. We can't kick. Other than that, we're just not a very good football team right now." --- Bruce Coslett, New York Jets Head Coach circa 1990s

by Nbr1RamFan on Mar 1, 2010 2:38 PM CST reply actions