Update [2008-4-12 21:30:37 by VanRam]:Oh excitement abounds! I made the Rams second round pick in the SBN mock draft. For some reason, Devin Thomas, WR, MichStateUniv, was still there, and all the OTs were gone, yada, yada, yada...
Trade talk should heat up as the draft gets closer, especially with the Rams having the second overall pick. Chosen 1 posted this diary arguing for a trade with Dallas to get their #22 and #28 picks, and AmpLee lays out a pretty attractive scenario for the Rams in the draft with those picks. It would give the Rams three top 33 (32 actually with NE's pick forfeited) to address some big team needs at DE, OT, and WR. Talk of Dallas' interest in trading down has faded some lately, but trade rumors will start flying fast and furious by the time the draft rolls around in two weeks.
One trade scenario I like, is moving down just a few slots to nab Ohio State DE Vernon Gholston. Just the thought of having that kind of sheer talent driving the Rams pass rush and helping to transition from the Leonard Little days to a new generation...warms the cockles of the heart, it does. However, Gholston's name gets more and play, hype with every passing day. Over at Hashmarks, Mosley reports this nugget: "I'm now hearing that the Raiders are in love with Ohio State linebacker Vernon Gholston."
If the kid's as good and packs the potential everyone seems to believe he does, why in the hell is he not a top 3 pick? I understand that he's got some developing to do, but that's just assumed for a position like DE. There's no reason to think that he couldn't step in and at least be a threatening presence in front with Little on the other side and the tackles in the middle.
Anyway, the Dallas Morning News mock draft with Rick Gosselin mentioned in the Hasmarks post linked above has something interesting: Chris Long drafted out of the top five. Interesting to say the least. Note in the italics atop the draft that this one is based on conversations with NFL talent evaluators and picked under the "best available" theme, with the next one to account more for team needs. Putting Long (Chris) out of the top five based on that is the first I've seen of it.
The key lesson here: expect player rankings to get shaken up even more between now and the draft. That's why they call it educated guessing, huh?