The St. Louis Rams surprised lots of people with their picks on day two of the 2010 NFL Draft. Few anticipated that the team had offensive tackle and cornerback high enough on their draft board to use their first picks of the second and third rounds for OT Roger Saffold and CB Jerome Murphy.
Rob Rang from CBS took the Rams to task for the Saffold pick.
Consider that the Rams, who invested the No. 2 overall pick in Jason Smith last year and only a few years back invested a first round pick in another offensive tackle, Alex Barron, made Rodger Saffold, a career tackle, the first pick of the second round. Saffold will most likely be moved inside to guard.
As talented as Saffold is, he doesn't fill the need for a defensive tackle the Rams now have considering they traded away former starter Adam Carriker.
Saffold had first round value in the minds of many. In terms of best player available at that point, he was probably a better choice than some of the receivers available at that point. I could have seen UCLA DT Brian Price with this pick too.
Interesting mention of Saffold moving to guard. I suppose it's possible given his run blocking ability. I still think he'll be the Rams right tackle, giving them solid run blocking for more runs on the outside and to set up more options, etc. They can always slide Adam Goldberg in at RG, and I'll be anxious to see what Greco can do.
Bernie Miklasz questions the Rams' second day picks because they opted not to add any offensive weapons to the mix. When it comes to third round pick he may have a point. Damian WIlliams and Brandon LaFell would have been nice options. However, are they any more than complementary receiving options? The Rams have lots of faith in the current group of receivers, though it seems to lack a true #1 go-to guy. Maybe Bradford's accuracy can make them all better players. We'll see.
As for the fourth round...what do you think? The Rams could use a defensive lineman. DE Everson Griffen is still on the board. They'll surely draft a DL today in these middle rounds. Remember, Spagnuolo and his staff are big believers in taking middle round prospects and molding them.
Of course a TE or a backup RB would make lots of sense for the Rams when the draft starts this morning.