Man, we really pumped out a ton of content last week. So did you guys. Usually, there's a bit of draft malaise around the 10-day mark. People start softening on mock drafts and needs talk, as most fans have educated themselves to the point they're satisfied with. Maybe that's not the case here at TST. Either way, there was plenty of non-draft stuff to go around.
The best of last week after the jump.
From the front page authors
- Van kicked the week off by asking the simplest of questions: who will the Rams take at #14? Of course, Julio Jones was the most popular option, followed by Corey Liuget and Aldon Smith.
- There was plenty of running back discussion throughout the week. Van wrapped up the names visiting with the Rams, but as Van noted:
These visits are about setting draft boards, getting to know some of the prospects better and throwing up the occasional smoke screen.
Later in the week, he revisited the great question being asked of the backup running back need: speed or power? It may be helpful to keep in mind, our new OC Josh McDaniels has a notable history with running backs.
- buckeye encouraged us to consider the trash heap when looking to fill some our needs. Could we really turn Vernon Gholston into something useful?
- Is O.J. Atogwe's successor coming in the draft?
- Reports of a possible trade up to grab the Cowboys' #9 spot got people talking. I tried to pour water on the fire on Turf Show Radio by noting that in reality, both the team trading back and up have to have some specific targets in mind to make the trade work. Sure, the Rams might value Jones highly enough to spend that much draft sapital on him, but the Cowboys would have to have someone at #14 they really like too. So when you hear the Redskins could be looking to move back from #10 overall, that could be a scenario that offers a similar option to the Rams.
- If you're in a great mood today and need to bring it down a tier or two, Van's look at some draft history in the Rams' annals could do the trick. Invoking the spirit of Camus, Van finished his series on draft busts this week. Maybe more instructive was a look at the Rams' recent picks after the second round.
- UNC is going to feed quite a few Tarheels into this year's draft. T.Ram took an initial look, and I followed up soon after jumping off of my newest Prospect Playbook piece at MTD.
- Keep an eye on the community mock draft being managed by ram_rod. There's still plenty of first round picks still to come.
From the community
- A little different Mock (SMASH44): Some interesting mockery.
- Draft Confidence (Jigzsaw): How much confidence do fans have in the Rams' scouting department?
- Fake TST mock draft #25 (damn you, JordansDad) (sergey606): Jake Locker certainly is an interesting case, and should he land in Seattle, we'll see more of him in the years to come.
- Have you ever thought Buckeyefan55 is Jay Zygmunt in disguise? (RamintheUK): Another live mock over at MTD is in the books, and again, not surprisingly, buckeyefan55, Abrantes, dbcouver and RamintheUK did a hell of a job.