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Rams draft rewind: 2010
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/7365/rams-draft-rewind-2010
The NFL draft is still about a month away, leaving us with plenty of time to look ahead to what might happen. But it also gives us plenty of time to take a look back.
In the interest of keeping Rams fans from re-living the nightmares of drafts gone by, we'll limit our look back to drafts where at least one player remains on the roster.
With that, we continue the series with the class of 2010.
The picks: QB Sam Bradford (No. 1 overall), OL Rodger Saffold (No. 33), CB Jerome Murphy (No. 65), WR Mardy Gilyard (No. 99), TE Michael Hoomanawanui (No. 132), DE Hall Davis (No. 149), TE Fendi Onobun (No. 170), DE Eugene Sims (No. 189), CB Marquis Johnson (No. 211), DE George Selvie (No. 226), LB Josh Hull (No. 254)
What's left: Three players from this class -- Bradford, Saffold and Sims -- remain on the roster though the team is lucky to still have Saffold after the strange situation that kept him from signing in Oakland. Bradford is entering his fifth season as the starting quarterback, Saffold is ready to make the permanent move to right guard and Sims has proved a valuable piece of the defensive line rotation.
Hull was a key part of the Rams' special teams until the 2013 season but played last year for Washington before his recent release. Selvie bounced around a bit but has turned into a solid performer in Dallas and Hoomanawanui still provides depth for New England.
Best pick: While Saffold could make a claim based on what will likely be a fruitful move inside and Sims has proved to be a great value as a seventh-round pick, the choice is still Bradford. Bradford has had injury issues in two of his four seasons and remains one of the most polarizing players on the roster as he hasn't lived up to the expectations of being the first overall pick. But he did win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2010 and is at least a competent starter, something many teams would be happy to have.
Worst pick: Plenty of options here but the choice comes down to a battle between Murphy and Gilyard based on their original draft round and relative lack of production. We'll go with Murphy because he was drafted in the third round, a round in which many teams can still find starting caliber players. Murphy contributed some as a rookie but missed the 2011 season with injury and never played in a game for the Rams again. Since, he's bounced from New Orleans to Detroit to Washington before signing a futures contract with Denver in January.
What could have been: The Rams rolled the dice on a former basketball player turned tight end in the sixth round when they selected Onobun. His limited football experience made him the ultimate project and it's one that failed miserably on a team that had plenty of room for help at the position. Instead of spending the first pick of the third round on Murphy, the Rams would have been better served spending that choice on a former basketball playing tight end with a stronger résumé. New Orleans chose Jimmy Graham 30 picks after the Rams selected Murphy and he's become the league's most dominant pass catching tight end. The Rams added another corner in the seventh round in Johnson and, really, he was about as productive in St. Louis as Murphy.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/7365/rams-draft-rewind-2010
The NFL draft is still about a month away, leaving us with plenty of time to look ahead to what might happen. But it also gives us plenty of time to take a look back.
In the interest of keeping Rams fans from re-living the nightmares of drafts gone by, we'll limit our look back to drafts where at least one player remains on the roster.
With that, we continue the series with the class of 2010.
The picks: QB Sam Bradford (No. 1 overall), OL Rodger Saffold (No. 33), CB Jerome Murphy (No. 65), WR Mardy Gilyard (No. 99), TE Michael Hoomanawanui (No. 132), DE Hall Davis (No. 149), TE Fendi Onobun (No. 170), DE Eugene Sims (No. 189), CB Marquis Johnson (No. 211), DE George Selvie (No. 226), LB Josh Hull (No. 254)
What's left: Three players from this class -- Bradford, Saffold and Sims -- remain on the roster though the team is lucky to still have Saffold after the strange situation that kept him from signing in Oakland. Bradford is entering his fifth season as the starting quarterback, Saffold is ready to make the permanent move to right guard and Sims has proved a valuable piece of the defensive line rotation.
Hull was a key part of the Rams' special teams until the 2013 season but played last year for Washington before his recent release. Selvie bounced around a bit but has turned into a solid performer in Dallas and Hoomanawanui still provides depth for New England.
Best pick: While Saffold could make a claim based on what will likely be a fruitful move inside and Sims has proved to be a great value as a seventh-round pick, the choice is still Bradford. Bradford has had injury issues in two of his four seasons and remains one of the most polarizing players on the roster as he hasn't lived up to the expectations of being the first overall pick. But he did win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2010 and is at least a competent starter, something many teams would be happy to have.
Worst pick: Plenty of options here but the choice comes down to a battle between Murphy and Gilyard based on their original draft round and relative lack of production. We'll go with Murphy because he was drafted in the third round, a round in which many teams can still find starting caliber players. Murphy contributed some as a rookie but missed the 2011 season with injury and never played in a game for the Rams again. Since, he's bounced from New Orleans to Detroit to Washington before signing a futures contract with Denver in January.
What could have been: The Rams rolled the dice on a former basketball player turned tight end in the sixth round when they selected Onobun. His limited football experience made him the ultimate project and it's one that failed miserably on a team that had plenty of room for help at the position. Instead of spending the first pick of the third round on Murphy, the Rams would have been better served spending that choice on a former basketball playing tight end with a stronger résumé. New Orleans chose Jimmy Graham 30 picks after the Rams selected Murphy and he's become the league's most dominant pass catching tight end. The Rams added another corner in the seventh round in Johnson and, really, he was about as productive in St. Louis as Murphy.
