Rams News Recap: April 1

[RamBill]

Rams Fans Make Plea, Express Concern to NFL –PD
Kip Starnes of Sunset Hills was first up during one of the noon focus groups at the L&E Research building in Maplewood.

Hunn: Private Investors an Option in St. Louis Stadium Financing –Audio

Hekker & Quinn Meet Up With Modern Family Star Ty Burrell –Video

Alabama WR Cooper Among those Making Rams Pre-Draft Visits –PD
With the calendar flipping to April the Rams are turning most of their attention to the draft as is largely the case throughout the NFL.

Rams Visit with Amari Cooper, Andrus Peat –Wagoner
The calendar has officially turned to April, which means there are plenty of (mostly bad) jokes going around today.

Best, Worst Sets of 1st Round Picks: Rams In the Top 3 –Brandt
What’s better than having two first-round picks in the NFL draft? Actually drafting two good players.

Jeff Fisher Comfortable with Rams’ RB Depth –Wagoner
For most of the 2014 NFL offseason, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher insisted he was pleased with his team’s depth at running back.

Morning Ram-blings: County Out of Stadium Plan –Wagoner
On Tuesday afternoon, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has removed St. Louis county from the proposed financing for the north riverfront stadium project.

Gruden’s QB Camp: Jameis Winston –Video

QB Position Continues to Evolve for Rams –Video

Pete Prisco Talks About His Latest Mock Draft –Video

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: Rounding up mock drafts
Nick Wagoner, ESPN St. Louis Rams reporter

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/17472/morning-ram-blings-rounding-up-mock-drafts

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Mock draft season has officially kicked into overdrive as we are now finally into April.

Earlier this week, we took a closer look at Todd McShay's fourth edition mock draft in which he sent Louisville receiver DeVante Parker to the Rams.

Of course, our little corner of cyberspace isn't the only place to put forth some guesses on where the top college talent will land in this year's draft.

At NFL.com, Charles Davis sends Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota to the Rams with the 10th overall pick.

Also at NFL.com, Lance Zierlein has the Rams taking Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper.

One more from NFL.com, with Bucky Brooks sending Iowa offensive lineman Brandon Scherff to St. Louis.

At TheMMQB.com, Peter King published a new mock Wednesday and has the Rams trading up in the first round twice to land West Virginia receiver Kevin White at No. 10 and Pittsburgh tackle T.J. Clemmings at No. 29.

At CBSsports.com, Pete Prisco's fifth mock draft has the Rams going with Mariota after a bold trade up to No. 3 with Jacksonville.

At SI.com, Don Banks also goes with Waynes to the Rams.

A few quick thoughts on all these picks:

-- First, the number of different players and positions that people are sending to St. Louis confirms the idea that this is a team likely to turn to best player available rather than just drafting for need. Namely, this isn't a draft flush with top-10 caliber offensive linemen. Scherff seems to be the safest bet but he might not be there and even if he is, there could be better value on the board.

-- Second, as we've been writing here for awhile, the Rams making a trade to move up wouldn't come as a surprise and others are going with that option. I tend to doubt they'd go up as high as No. 3 to get a player but No. 5 might make more sense. With that said, it would be a surprise if they moved up to No. 5 for a wide receiver. While the argument for the Rams taking a top wideout like Cooper or White is a sensible one, Jeff Fisher seems to be happy with the group in place. That isn't to say he won't draft one at No. 10 if one falls but it doesn't seem like he'd want to make a move up for another one for the second time in three years.

-- Finally, Waynes is a pick that does make some sense for the Rams depending on how you view what they have in place. Trumaine Johnson and Janoris Jenkins are free agents after the season. The Rams will likely keep Jenkins but E.J. Gaines and Lamarcus Joyner both figure into the plans long term. But Waynes would be a scheme fit and could really bolster the position in the immediate future and the big picture.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Wednesday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... In the Ram-blings, we opened the day with a look at the latest on the St. Louis efforts to finance its stadium proposal. ... This week's Buzz video examined the Rams' chances of drafting a quarterback after making so many moves at the position already. ... Rams coach Jeff Fisher says he's pleased with the team's depth at running back but that guarantees nothing. ... Finally, the Rams had a couple of prominent visitors at Rams Park on Wednesday.

Elsewhere:

Good piece from Jeffri Chadiha on USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams.

Mel Kiper Jr. pegs the 10 "safest" picks in this year's draft.

The Saints look to be keeping guard Jahri Evans, one possible option for the offensive line that could've come available.

At stltoday.com, Jim Thomas writes that the Rams are simplifying their defense also.

Thomas' story on the return of Tim Barnes to the Rams.