St. Louis Rams: Secondary in the Second Round?

The selection of DT Aaron Donald rightly has Rams fans thinking Fearsome Foursome Reloaded. This pick brings serious depth to an already feared unit. The NFC West has been put on notice. With the likes of Laurinaitis, Ogletree and Dunbar backing them up - and Johnson and Jenkins on the corners - and T. J. McDonald at strong safety, the Rams defense is looking formidable.

This does leave two positions that need some help. A third corner back and a free safety to give this defense that final high shine could make them the envy of the NFC...yes, including the Seahawks and 49ers.

The corner back talent started drying up fast, with the surprise pick by Clevelend (#8) of Justin Gilbert. That was followed by Chicago (#14) with the choice of Kyle Fuller and then another brace came off the board with the Bengals taking Darqueze Dennard and San Diego chose Jason Verrett (#24 and #25). The selection of the NY Jets (#18) of Calvin Pryor seemed to kick off a run on safeties. Pryor was quickly followed by HaHa Clinton-Dix at #21 by Green Bay. Slightly later, Deonne Bucannon and Jimmie Ward came off the board (#27 Arizona and #30 San Fransisco respectively). These last two are a bit of a surprise, since neither was projected to go in the first round and both of these teams seemed to be set already at the safety position.

Either way, the Rams have some work to do on their secondary and the herd was culled considerably.

With only one pick in the second round (barring a trade) the questions are:

Which position is a greater need?

Who is the best player available?

In other words, is the best available corner back a better player than the best available safety?

LeMarcus Joyner would widely be considered the best corner back remaining, with Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Keith McGill and Marcus Roberson making strong cases. Terrence Brooks is the stand alone safety remaining. Brooks will not be there in the third round, while one of the corner backs listed might be. Maybe. I wouldn't count on it, since this draft seems to be favoring defense, thus far (18 of 32 picks).

Not to make the waters any murkier than they are already, but what if OLB Kyle Van Noy or OG Xavier Su'a-Filo is still on the board at pick #44? These are serious players that would be very difficult to pass up. Both positions are already covered, but I believe it was Erwin Rommel who said, "Always reinforce success." We have already seen this principle applied with the selection of Aaron Donald. One more couldn't hurt?

Still, I see the Rams taking Terrence Brooks, if available, or possibly LeMarcus Joyner. I also predict a pricey trade up for another pick in the second round. The Rams have the draft capital to do it, and it makes sense.

Hang on to your hats, Rams fans!