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This is from over at TST.
Darqueze Dennard has pre-draft visit with Rams
By Ryan Van Bibber @justRVB on Apr 7 2014, 2:51p
The St. Louis Rams are bringing another potential first-round cornerback to Rams Park for one of their 30 pre-draft visits. Michigan State's Darqueze Dennard, the cousin of current New England Patriots CB Alfonzo Dennard, will visit the Rams, Jets, and Bengals as well.
Dennard was the 15th player picked in this week's mock draft from SB Nation, the second corner off the board after Oklahoma State's Justin Gilbert. Those two are widely considered the first two corners likely to be picked in the draft this year. And both will have paid a visit to St. Louis as part of the pre-draft screening process.
It's an interesting consideration for the Rams, who are obviously looking for more depth at the cornerback position. Dennard's a physical player, one who is probably at his best in man coverage. He'd be a nice fit for the outside of Gregg Williams' defense.
A trio of Dennard, Trumain Johnson and Janoris Jenkins would give the Rams a solid group of starting corners. Johnson and Dennard look more like the kind of cornerback pairing popularized by the Seahawks, with muscled up defenders on the outside harassing receivers. It makes you wonder if drafting either Dennard or Gilbert wouldn't send Jenkins into the slot on a full-time basis.
Another player visiting the Rams this month is North Dakota State offensive tackle Billy Turner. He's 6'5, 315 pounds, and played a key role for the FBS champions Bisons.
Former Bisons head coach Craig Bohl is considered a master of finding diamond-in-the-rough types that get overlooked by the bigger programs. So, yeah, Turner could be an ideal kind of Coach Paul Boudreau player ... except his college play is likely to get him picked in the second or third round of the draft.
So, here's the list of players that we know of, so far, who are visiting the Rams.
Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Florida State
Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State
Jadeveon Clowney, DL, South Carolina
Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State
Aaron Donald, DL, Pittsburgh
Kony Ealy, DL, Missouri
Justin Gilbert, DB, Oklahoma State
Reggie Jordan, TE, Western Missouri
Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan
Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
Calvin Pryor, DB, Louisville
Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn
Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State
Stephon Tuitt, DL, Notre Dame
Billy Turner, OT, NDSU
Teams are allowed a total of 30 pre-draft visits with players, so obviously, the Rams have more to get through. Ealy and Jordan do not count toward that list of 30 pre-draft visits because they're considered local players.
Bonus!!!
Billy Turner is the subject of a forthcoming documentary called Driven. It comes out Wednesday.
So anyone notice who is missing from the list? And who I am very happy to see is on it??
Darqueze Dennard has pre-draft visit with Rams
By Ryan Van Bibber @justRVB on Apr 7 2014, 2:51p
The St. Louis Rams are bringing another potential first-round cornerback to Rams Park for one of their 30 pre-draft visits. Michigan State's Darqueze Dennard, the cousin of current New England Patriots CB Alfonzo Dennard, will visit the Rams, Jets, and Bengals as well.
Dennard was the 15th player picked in this week's mock draft from SB Nation, the second corner off the board after Oklahoma State's Justin Gilbert. Those two are widely considered the first two corners likely to be picked in the draft this year. And both will have paid a visit to St. Louis as part of the pre-draft screening process.
It's an interesting consideration for the Rams, who are obviously looking for more depth at the cornerback position. Dennard's a physical player, one who is probably at his best in man coverage. He'd be a nice fit for the outside of Gregg Williams' defense.
A trio of Dennard, Trumain Johnson and Janoris Jenkins would give the Rams a solid group of starting corners. Johnson and Dennard look more like the kind of cornerback pairing popularized by the Seahawks, with muscled up defenders on the outside harassing receivers. It makes you wonder if drafting either Dennard or Gilbert wouldn't send Jenkins into the slot on a full-time basis.
Another player visiting the Rams this month is North Dakota State offensive tackle Billy Turner. He's 6'5, 315 pounds, and played a key role for the FBS champions Bisons.
Former Bisons head coach Craig Bohl is considered a master of finding diamond-in-the-rough types that get overlooked by the bigger programs. So, yeah, Turner could be an ideal kind of Coach Paul Boudreau player ... except his college play is likely to get him picked in the second or third round of the draft.
So, here's the list of players that we know of, so far, who are visiting the Rams.
Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Florida State
Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State
Jadeveon Clowney, DL, South Carolina
Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State
Aaron Donald, DL, Pittsburgh
Kony Ealy, DL, Missouri
Justin Gilbert, DB, Oklahoma State
Reggie Jordan, TE, Western Missouri
Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan
Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
Calvin Pryor, DB, Louisville
Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn
Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State
Stephon Tuitt, DL, Notre Dame
Billy Turner, OT, NDSU
Teams are allowed a total of 30 pre-draft visits with players, so obviously, the Rams have more to get through. Ealy and Jordan do not count toward that list of 30 pre-draft visits because they're considered local players.
Bonus!!!
Billy Turner is the subject of a forthcoming documentary called Driven. It comes out Wednesday.
So anyone notice who is missing from the list? And who I am very happy to see is on it??
