In the first installment of the draft watch, I looked at some O-linemen who will be in the 2009 NFL draft. Another group the Rams will be looking at drafting is linebacker. The Rams last 5 drafts have brought in 6 different linebackers.
LB draftee recap and prospects after the fold.
Since the 2003 NFL draft, the Rams have nabbed the following linebackers:
2008 NFL draft
- David Vobora, Idaho - Rd. 7, pick 45 (252nd overall): currently on STL
2006 NFL draft
- Jon Alston, Stanford - Rd. 3, pick 13 (77th): OAK
- Tim McGarigle, Northwestern - Rd. 7, pick 13 (221st): STL
2004 NFL draft
- Brandon Chillar, UCLA - Rd. 4, pick 34 (130th): GB
2003 NFL draft
- Pisa Tinoisamoa, Hawaii - Rd. 2, pick 11 (43rd): STL
- Scott Shanle, Nebraska - Rd. 7, pick 37 (251st): NO
Just for some perspective. Anyway, the LB crop coming out of college this year is LOADED. Depending on how where the Rams end up, we could definitely land a serious field general.
Here's how I see them right now:
Middle Linebackers
5-star
1.) Rey Maualuga, USC (Sr.) - 6'2", 260 lbs.
2.) James Laurinaitis, Ohio St. (Sr.) - 6'3", 240 lbs.
3.) Darry Beckwith, LSU (Sr.) - 6'1", 232 lbs.
4.) Dannell Ellerbe, Georgia (Sr.) - 6'1", 232 lbs.
4-star
5.) Jason Phillips, TCU (Sr.) - 6'1", 234 lbs.
6.) Joshua Mauga, Nevada (Sr.) - 6'2", 245 lbs.
7.) Jasper Brinkley, South Carolina (Sr.) - 6'2", 275 lbs.
8.) Scott McKillop, Pitt (Sr.) - 6'2", 240 lbs.
Outside Linebackers
5-star
1.) Aaron Curry, Wake Forest (Sr.) - 6'3", 247 lbs.
2.) Brian Cushing, USC (Sr.) - 6'3", 255 lbs.
3.) Marcus Freeman, Ohio St. (Sr.) - 6'1", 239 lbs.
4.) Clint Sintim, Virginia (Sr.) - 6'3", 254 lbs.
4-star
5.) Tyrone McKenzie, South Florida (Sr.) - 6'2", 235 lbs.
6.) Jonathan Casillas, Wisconsin (Sr.) - 6'2", 226 lbs.
7.) Zach Follett, Cal (Sr.) - 6'1", 238 lbs.
Depending on how the picks fall, we could see 4 linebackers drafted in the first 10 picks: Mauluaga, Laurinaitis, Curry, and Cushing. Between O-line and linebacker, the Rams will have an incredibly difficult position, given the caliber of those four LB's and the O-line pair of Oher and Monroe.