General Manager Les Snead and Coach Jeff Fisher made the run game a priority in this year’s draft. The Rams selected a total of four offensive lineman and one running back. With an already sturdy defense, the Rams also chose a quarterback and a wide receiver. St. Louis made offense the focus and being a smash mouth running team their primary goal.
With the tenth pick of the first round, the Rams selected Georgia running back Todd Gurley. In just 30 career games at Georgia, Gurley scored 44 touchdowns, averaged 6.44 yards per carry, and had 18 games of over 100 rushing yards. Gurley is the best running back prospect to come into the league since Adrian Peterson, but he doesn’t come without baggage. Gurley currently is rehabbing from a torn ACL, and it is uncertain if he will be healthy by week one. He also was suspended for four games in college for accepting money for signed memorabilia. If the off the field issues are not a problem and Gurley can successfully recover from the torn ACL, the Rams have a feature back for years to come.
Now that the Rams have a potentially great running back, they needed a bruising line in front of him. The Rams used their next two picks on offensive lineman. In the second round, they selected Rob Havenstein from Wisconsin. This 6’7’’ mountain of a man projects as the long-term answer at right tackle, where he started for three years at Wisconsin. He is a physical road grader in the run game and will help keep Nick Foles upright in pass protection. In the third round, the Rams took Jamon Brown from Louisville. Brown started one season at right tackle and two at left tackle but projects as a guard in the NFL. The 6’4’’ 325-pound blocker has a chance to be the day-one starter at right guard.
One thing the Rams needed to address was the back-up quarterback situation. Sean Mannion was another third-round selection. From Oregon State, Mannion was a four-year starter and is now the Pac-12 all-time leading passer. Mannion has the frame of a NFL quarterback but lacks an elite arm. He is definitely an upgrade over Austin Davis and is a valuable player if anything happens to Nick Floes.
In the fourth round, the Rams went right back to the offensive line. They selected Andrew Donnal from Iowa. Donnal is another huge, powerful run blocker who has made starts at all positions on the line except center. He adds valuable depth and will compete with Brown and Havenstein for playing time.
The Rams continued their offensive minded draft in the sixth round when they selected Missouri receiver Bud Sasser. Sasser has an NFL body, was a first team all-SEC selection, and is great at high-pointing the football. In order to make the team, Sasser will have to prove he is valuable on special teams or really open some eyes with his pass-catching ability during camp.
With their other sixth-round pick, St. Louis took yet another offensive lineman. Cody Wichmann is an offensive guard from Fresno State. He will add immediate depth on the offensive line and compete with the other rookies for jobs.
The Rams had two seventh-round picks and finally picked players on the defensive side of the ball. The first pick in this round by the team was inside linebacker Bryce Hager from Baylor. He made 322 career tackles and will be a great special team’s player for the Rams. With the team’s last pick in the draft, the Rams took defensive lineman Martin Infedi from Memphis. He has an uphill battle to make the roster due to the Rams having the best defensive line in all of football, but Snead and Fisher wouldn’t have drafted him if they didn’t see some value in him.
St. Louis showed in this draft what kind of team they’re going to be. They’ll be a hard-nosed, defensive-oriented unit with the ability to pound the ball on opposing teams.