The Rams still like Steven Jackson

INDIANAPOLIS - Les Snead and Jeff Fisher shared some real wisdom in their Friday afternoon press conferences at the 2013 Scouting Combine. We hit on a couple of the more notable points already, so I thought that I would just grab the other nuggets with a one-off list to share.

Steven Jackson might be back

Les Snead has a picture of Jackson hanging in his office. It's not a photo of Jackson juking a linebacker or sprinting into the end zone. It's a picture of Jackson pass blocking. The point being that there's more value to having Jackson than just as a bell cow running back, which could also shape negotiations.

Snead confirmed that talks with Jackson are happening. Fisher was equally effusive in his praise for Jackson, making it clear that the Rams would have him back, under the right conditions.

Those conditions would likely be Jackson not shouldering the majority of carries. Fisher said that Isaiah Pead has the talent to be more than part time back, i.e. he can carry a load and be special in an offense. Jackson playing for the Rams in 2013 and beyond may have to settle for a second or third role on offense.

Bringing back Williams Hayes

Fisher said the interesting brining back the veteran defensive end is mutual. Hopefully a deal gets done.

Rok Watkins is part of the plan

Where exactly Rokevious Watkins will play next year remains to be seen, but he is on track to join a crowded field of young linemen that Fisher really seems to like who will be battling it out for a spot in the rotation up front.

"We encouraged him to take some time off," Fisher said of Watkins. "He did. He came back. His rehab's just about complete. His weight is significantly down and he made a commitment to a program early in the offseason to get himself in a position where he can really compete. So I'm pleased with his progress thus far."

First-round defensive linemen are a possibility

Really, that shouldn't be a surprise, not after Snead's insistence that you draft a player not a position.

"You can probably never have enough defensive tackles because if you're gonna chase a QB around all day, the 300-plus pounders tend to get tired. So it wouldn't be inconceivable," Snead said of drafting a defensive tackle in the first round.

"But when you have a rotation defensive line like we do, and you can win with the front seven," he continued, "hey, if you can bring in your next guy _ who's fresh _ who's just as good as the guy who just left."

Brian Quick will improve

Maybe Fisher and Snead shouldn't have talked up the rookie receiver like they did last year, giving us something to build unreasonable expectations around. EIther way, the brass at Rams Park still believes in the kid from Appalachian State.

"He made big gains for us during the year and I expect as of year two that he will ascend further," Snead said. "When we took the player from App State, a smaller school, we knew it was going to be a tougher transition than if you were at a certain program that was larger and had a more traditional offense. You think Vincent Jackson when you draft Brian Quick. If you look at he comes from a small school, he only had maybe 59 yards his rookie year. His career wasn't over at that moment. We definitely are excited about Brian Quick coming back to our building, going through OTAs, getting to work with Sam and staying in the same offense and getting better."