St. Louis Rams: NFL Offseason Report Card

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St. Louis Rams
2009 Draft Grade: B-

Free Agent/Non Draft: B-

Total Grade:B-

Overall Needs:
•Offensive Tackle
•Middle Linebacker
•Fullback
•Center
•Backup Running Back
•Wide Receiver
•Defensive Tackle

Draft Picks:
Rd / Sel# / Name / Pos. / School
1) 2 Jason Smith OT Baylor
2) 33 James Laurinaitis LB Ohio State
3) 66 Bradley Fletcher CB Iowa
4) 103 Dorell Scott DT Clemson
5) 160 Brooks Foster WR North Carolina
6) 196 Keith Null QB West Texas A&M
7) 211 Chris Ogbonnaya RB Texas

Arrivals: Old Team
QB Kyle Boller (FA) Baltimore
C Jason Brown (FA) Baltimore
DT Orien Harris (trade) Cincinnati
FB Mike Karney (FA) New Orleans
WR Laurent Robinson (trade) Atlanta

Departures: New Team
WR Drew Bennett (FA)
TE Dominique Byrd (FA) Arizona
S Corey Chavous (FA)
OT Brandon Gorin (FA) Denver
QB Trent Green (FA)
WR Torry Holt (released) Jacksonville
C Nick Leckey (FA) New Orleans
RB Brian Leonard (trade) Cincinnati
OT Orlando Pace (FA) Chicago
C Brett Romberg (FA) Atlanta

Offseason Analysis:

The St. Louis Rams were desperate for an offensive tackler after the release of future Hall of Famer Orlando Pace. With the second pick of the draft, they chose Jason Smith, a tackle from Baylor who can play either side. He doesn’t quite possess prototypical tackle size but makes up for it with passion for the game.

In the second round, they chose linebacker James Laurinaitis, who lacks top-flight speed but has great instincts and intelligence. In the third round, they wound up with a corner, Bradley Fletcher, who could play safety and on special teams. They chose Dorrell Scott, a defensive tackle from Clemson, in the fourth round. Scott provides much-needed depth at tackle.

In the fifth round, they took Brooks Foster, a big wide receiver from North Carolina, who is coming off knee surgery. In the sixth round, they took Keith Null, a quarterback from a DII school-West Texas A&M. In the seventh, they grabbed Chris Ogbonnaya, a running back, who is an excellent receiver out of the backfield.

The Rams and new coach Steve Spagnulo were busy in the offseason unloading some aging players like Orlando Pace and Torry Holt, while adding younger ones like Jason Brown. Brown, who played center and guard with Baltimore, was given a boatload of money to anchor a line that also adds Jason Smith to play right or left tackle.

They also brought in a fullback in Mike Karney from Atlanta and while that might not seem significant, it means that the Rams are going to try and run the football, first and foremost. On defense, they added safety James Butler from the NY Giants, who adds experience.

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