Funny how exciting the draft gets when you're team finishes under .500, again. But that's the great thing about being a Rams fan, or a sports fan in general, you're always just a few right moves away from having something to get excited about again. With that, I thought this Friday afternoon might be a good time to quickly check in on the draft consensus. With the second overall pick in the draft, again, who will the Rams take?
For me, if the Rams take anyone that stands less than 6'4" and weighs less than 320 lbs, oh, and plays offensive tackle, is a wasted pick. Alright, I'm being irrational, but the Rams need for a stud OT, the next Orlando Pace if you will, has become painfully obvious. Just ask Marc Bulger or Steven Jackson how painfully obvious.
Looking at the 2009 Mock Draft database complied by the site HailRedskins.com, it appears the draft pundits agree, most of them, about the need for an OT. A few outliers predict have the Rams drafting someone other than an OT, and most of those scenarios have the Lions taking an OT with their first overall pick. Don't automatically assume the Lions will take a QB; there are legit arguments out there for the woeful Lions to take an offensive tackle with the first pick to kick off the rebuilding process.
Enough about the Lions, we've got our own shitty football team's future to talk about. Rolling through the mock drafts most seem to agree that Alabama OT Andre Smith is the best OT in the draft, and the ideal pick for the Rams at the number two spot. ESPN's Todd McShay agrees with that assessment as does our own 3k. Ole MIss OT Michael Oher gets some prognostication as the #2 pick, but conventional wisdom seems to think that Smith ranks higher.
Why? There seems to be little question about Smith's ability at the next level, and the biggest concern about him is whether or not his weight will hinder the agility he'll need on the left side. For Oher, there are questions about his size and strength working against him on run blocking at the NFL level, as well as some concern about how well he'll pick up offensive schemes.
I honestly haven't done enough homework yet to make a call here, so I'll open it up to you. Who do you prefer? What's the case for or against Oher or Smith with the Rams' second pick?
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