Rams News Recap for March 28

[RamBill]

Rams News Items From March 28

Rams Take a Flyer on Former Florida State Star –PD
A bevy of standouts from Florida State’s 2013 national championship squad worked out March 18 at the Seminoles’ pro day.

Shaun Hill Ideal Insurance Policy for Bradford –Karraker
One of the priorities for the Rams this offseason was to upgrade over Kellen Clemens at backup quarterback.

Jeff Fisher Understanding of Jadeveon Clowney’s Drop-Off –NFL.com
While the St. Louis Rams are thought to be most interested in an offensive tackle with the No. 2 pick of the NFL draft, coach Jeff Fisher indicated he wouldn’t be afraid to add South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, even though the club is already in good shape at that position.

NIck Wagoner Rams Chat Highlights: March 28

Les Snead Talks NFC West, Bradford, and Fisher –Radio Interview

Fisher: Nothing Brewing on Draft Deal … yet –Wagoner
Speaking to reporters at this week’s owners meeting in Orlando, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher made it clear that any potential trade involving his team’s No. 2 overall pick this year isn’t likely to come to fruition in advance of May’s draft.

Rams Must Draft to Fit Coaching Strengths –Bernie
Interesting story by Jim Thomas in today’s Post-Dispatch and on STLtoday.com: I’m not surprised if the Rams are disinclined to take Clemson WR Sammy Watkins with the 2nd overall draft choice

Morning Ram-blings: Carr Shopping? –Wagoner
Despite the addition of veteran Shaun Hill as the backup to starting quarterback Sam Bradford, it’s still a strong possibility that the St. Louis Rams will draft a quarterback in May.

Stacy: Rodger Saffold resigning with the Rams was a “weight off (his) shoulders” –Radio Interview

Kiper & McShay’s Draft Lab: In The Trenches–Offensive & Defensive Lines –Video

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: Drafting for coaches
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/7153/morning-ram-blings-drafting-for-coaches

Over at stltoday.com, columnist Bernie Miklasz has been pretty consistent in pointing out the reasons that a team should consider drafting players at the top of the draft that can be utilized by the best position coaches on the team.

On Friday, Miklasz again laid out the reasons he believes the St. Louis Rams would be best served to draft a position of need which also happens to coincide with the team's best position coach. In this case, the idea is the Rams would spend their first pick -- whether at No. 2 or in a trade down -- on an offensive lineman because Paul Boudreau has a track record of making the most of his talent.

The flip side of that conversation has been what so far has been the lack of development of the team's wide receivers. A popular debate amongst Rams fans and media is whether the team should look at a tackle like Texas A&M's Jake Matthews or Auburn's Greg Robinson or a receiver such as Clemson's Sammy Watkins.

In reality, the Rams probably can't go wrong with any of those players. They all project to be outstanding at the NFL level though nothing is guaranteed. The point of Miklasz's blog is that taking an offensive lineman because of Boudreau's presence narrows the margin for error that another top pick won't become a franchise cornerstone.

Beyond that, the point is there to be made that the Rams have yet to develop their many young wide receivers so far (and really, it's unfair to render judgment on all of that group yet, either) and receivers have never been a primary part of a coach Jeff Fisher team.

Again, I understand the general point of these arguments. I don't think the Rams could go wrong with Robinson or Matthews or even defensive end Jadeveon Clowney because of the presence of outstanding defensive line coach Mike Waufle. But allow me to play devil's advocate for a second.

If we assume Boudreau is adept at elevating talent then wouldn't it stand to reason that the Rams could give him a player maybe a slight notch below the top two tackles and he could make that player a top producer? Meanwhile, drafting a receiver who is about as ready for primetime as possible would theoretically lessen the need for that player to be "coached up."

To add to that point as it pertains to Watkins, I found this piece breaking down Watkins from SB Nation's Stephen White (himself a former NFL player) enlightening.

Regardless, I don't think the Rams are sitting around the offices at Rams Park thinking that one coach isn't as good as another or that they should draft a player based on outside perceptions of the staff. When all is said and done, the Rams are going to draft the player they feel is best for their team.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Friday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... In the Ram-blings, we looked at the Rams' apparent interest in Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr. ... Next, we took our usual Friday break to dive into a lengthy chat discussing all things Rams. ... Finally, we offered Fisher's thoughts on the possibilities for trading the No. 2 overall pick.

Elsewhere:

Also at stltoday.com, Jim Thomas provided the reasons why Fisher and the Rams might not be interested in Watkins, which led to Miklasz's blog.

Thomas also took the opportunity to catch up with recently-elected Hall of Famer Aeneas Williams.

One more from there, a look at how the Rams have approached free agency this year and the plan moving forward.

NFL.com breaks down the Rams' top four needs in the NFL draft.

It's unlikely the Rams will be players in vying for the services of receiver DeSean Jackson but it's worth reading this piece exploring some of the off the field questions teams have about him.