I apologize for throwing this out after camp has officially opened, but hey, better late than never.
Let's go through the positions and find out what is going on over the next couple weeks until camp closes on August 14th.
Let's start up front.
DL: Ok, so we know Leonard Little and Chris Long. But how many people realize how much depth we have at defensive end? James Hall, Victor Adeyanju, C.J. Ah You, and Eric Moore provide an array of options for Jim Haslett to play with. On the inside Adam Carriker is going to have a lot of work to do, with Claude Wroten's season-long suspension. La'Roi Glover is entering the final year of his contract and possibly his career. Clifton Ryan has a chance to step up this year can contribute in Wroten's absence along with three rookies, Vernon Bryant, Joshua Thompson and Willie Williams. Will the Rams bring someone in to fill Wroten's spot? Are any of those DT rookies going to establish themselves as NFL-caliber competitors by week 1? Is the trio of Little, Carriker and Long going to pay dividends this year?
LB: ESPN Insider (here for subscribers) ranked our LB corps dead last, 32 out of 32, saying this:
St. Louis' linebacker depth borders on awful, and the Rams will be in considerable trouble if they lose one of their top three. Expect the Rams to select a linebacker, preferably someone in the middle, very early in the 2009 draft.
I would expect a LB pick in one of the first three rounds, depending on what kinds of talent come out of college and who's on the board. As it pertains to camp and our depth chart, we really are lacking depth. Pisa Tinoisamoa and Will Witherspoon are bright spots, but it gets pretty dark after that. Chris Draft will see a ton of snaps due to his footwork and vision. After that, it's a slew of hopefuls: Quinton Culberson, Tim McGaricle, and the two rookies, Chris Chamberlain and David Vobora. Just how many snaps is Draft in line for? Will one of the rookies be behind Draft on the depth chart? With an injury to Witherspoon or Pisa, how does Haslett and LB coach/Asst Coach Rick Venturi (former head coach of the Colts and Saints) organize this crew?
CB: Here like the D-line, we have depth, depth, and more depth. Four players will be the anchors of the CB corps: Fakhir Brown, Tye Hill, Jonathan Wade and Ron Bartell. Some good youth there between Hill (26 years old), Wade (24) and Bartell (26) which speaks well to the future of our CBs. Behind them are rookie Justin King, David Macklin, and Darius Vinnett. Solid crew with talent and youth; along with the D-line, should be half of the positive aspect of the D.
S: After Oshiomogho Atogwe, this group is a little thin on talent. Corey Chavous brings experience to the SS position. Eric Bassey, Tood Johnson, Jerome Carter, and Sebastien Sejean will battle for time in camp. With the LB's, this is prime drafting potential next summer. (Mel Kiper has 3 LB's in his top 10 here. I know, it's ridiculous to keep tabs on next year's draft during training camp, but if Kiper can do it, so can I)
A lot of depth for Haslett & Co. to sort through. Youth on the D-line, youth at CB, and people at LB and S. Not a great defense, but will it be good enough to get us to the playoffs?