Warning, thoughts to the St. Louis Rams defense with South Carolina pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney in the lineup for 2014 can cause irregular heartbeat, uncontrollable excitement and other public health hazards for fans, not to mention night sweats and muscle tremors for quarterbacks. Fans should take extra precautions on Friday when Clowney will be in St. Louis for a visit with the Rams.
The #Rams, picking No. 2, host South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney today, source says. Imagine him in that defense…
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 11, 2014
By now, you know the drill here. The Rams have the second pick in the draft. They can trade down, if another team wants to trade up at an acceptable price, or they can keep the pick and take a player who might not necessarily meet a need but whose talent would have a big impact on the lineup.
It's pretty clear that the Rams are interested in Clowney. In addition to this visit, they went to his pro day, talked to him at the Combine and descended upon his hometown for in-depth research on his background, etc. And as Jeff Fisher said last month at the league meetings in Orlando, Fla., "you can never have enough pass rushers."
If the Rams were to draft Clowney, they'd certainly have an impressive stable of pass rushers, throwing him into the mix with Chris Long, William Hayes, Eugene Sims, Michael Brockers, Alex Carrington, Kendall Langford and all-universe defensive end Robert Quinn.
No, Clowney doesn't especially meet a need for the Rams, but he gives them the kind of pass rushing arsenal that only comes around once a decade or so in the NFL. It could be the kind of all out assault that wins Super Bowls, even with the most Dilfer-esque offense riding along in support.
The second overall pick offers plenty of options for the Rams: Sammy Watkins and Greg Robinson among them. Those players would benefit the team as well. It's a tough decision Les Snead and Co. have on their hands, because even if they do get a suitable trade offer, they have to weigh the opportunity costs of passing on all of those players.