The St. Louis Rams pulled another huge second round surprise, maybe the biggest surprise of them all and selected Wisconsin TE Lance Kendricks. Earlier today we had information that Kendricks (and Arkansas TE D.J. Williams) was in the conversation over Kyle Rudolph, as McDaniels wanted to put together a two tight end offense similar to what his old boss in New England did last year. It made perfect sense with the Rams unable to land a top receiver in the draft.
Kendricks is a speedy tight end who can stretch the field. He can also block, which is why then picked him over Arkansas D.J. Williams. Kendricks is faster than Kyle Rudolph.
What the Rams are trying to do here is build a two tight end system like the Patriots ran last year. We said that earlier today, and have been predicting it for some time. They feel like this is their best option without getting top notch wide receiver. Michael Hoomanawanui will play the Gronkowski role. Check out his scouting report from New Era Scouting:
A very good deep threat. Runs a nice seam route. Will sell play-action nicely before getting into his route. Great quickness and size. Is a big target running over the middle or up the seam. Can shake off linebackers and run past them. Is too big to be covered by a nickel defender.
He ran a 4.50 forty, and NFL Draft Scout has him ranked as their 2nd overall TE. Draft boards are all a little different for each team. At one point today, the Rams had Kyle Rudolph pretty highly valued. This pick makes more sense, giving them a TE who can stretch the field...and he can block in the running game.
TST had it on pretty good authority that DT Terrell McClain or RB Mikel Leshoure would be the Rams pick. They were ranked higher on the board than Kendricks. When it came down to it, they must have believed that they would not be able to get Kendricks or Williams in the third round, or they just wanted an investment in the offense, their QB specifically. Bradford has several options to work with now. The Rams still have expectations for Donnie Avery and Mardy Gilyard. This pick is a big reach, a real big one, but this team has reached in the second round before and seen it pay off.