Okay, draftniks, rebuilding has been the word fo the day here at TST, and the consensus is that the Rams have their work cut out for them.
In the discussion this morning, kevinramsfan made the suggestion - one I think of us agree with - that the Rams need to take the best offensive lineman available in the draft next year, the point being to make the support personnel around Steven Jackson and Marc Bulger top-flight and allowing those skill guys to do what they do at a high level.
After that, the Rams have lots of work to do on defense. Lots. The Rams have the 31st ranked defense in the league, and the main reason for that is the lack of talent at key positions and a lack of depth everywhere. The defensive backs in particular have stunk, and one reason, of several, pointed out in this post from Mike Sando at his ESPN NFL Nation NFC West blog has been the erratic play of Safety Corey Chavous. O.J. Atogwe's play has been way off of what we saw last season, but I suspect the Rams will still try and sign him after this season. They still need a replacement for Chavous though.
After getting the best offensive lineman they can, the Rams have big needs at LB, S, and CB to fill. What order and how they address those needs depends on a lot of things, but solid acquisitions, especially through the draft, would bolster those spots by adding immediate depth and finding the future starters.
From what we know about CB Justin King's limited work in camp, before getting injured, it looks like the Rams may have gotten a steal with their fourth round pick. He may not be star caliber, but it was looking like he would have been a solid depth guy. We'll have to wait and see how that pans out next year. But if Tye Hill has really reached his end as a starting CB, that position becomes a huge need for next year. Seventh round pick Chris Chamberlain has been lost in the defense's struggles, but he has had more playing time of late. I guess if I had to pick it right now, I'd make safety, Chavous' replacement, the number two priority.
With that, let's open it up again. What are the Rams priorities for getting the defense back on track next year?