The NFL Draft will continue at Noon today with rounds four through seven, but to this point no team has helped itself more than the St. Louis Rams. They play in the brutally tough NFC West along with the 49ers and Seahawks, but while those two teams continue to get the headlines, the Rams just keep improving themselves everywhere.
In free agency, the Rams grabbed TE Jared Cook and LT Jake Long. In the draft, they found a way to maintain their tonnage of players while taking both primary targets – WR Tavon Austin and LB Alec Ogletree. On day two, they took safety TJ McDonald and short but sturdy West Virginia WR – 5’10” Stedman Bailey, who caught 114 passes for 25 TDs (he caught 13 for 303 and five TDs against Baylor alone).
The Rams were the youngest team in the NFL last year, and are likely to be younger yet in 2013. It’s a little early to pick teams for Super Bowl L, but the Rams appear to be on track for prolonged excellence.
Fans will get a taste of it next season.
The way they are being built is reminiscent of the Bears in the early 1980s. The only hole is at running back, and maybe Isaiah Pead and Daryl Richardson might be a serviceable two-headed monster while the team waits for the opportunity to draft the right guy.
Today will be a big day. I would love for them to take Marcus Lattimore. Even if he craps out because of injuries, the upside is worth a late round risk.