Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Updated order of preference at #14

Hey, I don't get anywhere near the amount of time the Mike Mayocks of the world have to pore through materials on players in the draft, so of course I'm allowed to change my mind. Hell, I may be changing my mind Thursday night while the Lions are picking at #13. But this is how I'd like the Rams' first round to go, in order of preference. As of Wednesday morning...

1. Julio Jones / AJ Green. Hardly likely.
2. Cameron Jordan.
3. Trade down and take Marvin Austin.
4. Aldon Smith or Robert Quinn.
5. Corey Liuget.

If Da'Quan Bowers falls to 14, the Rams had better also pass him up. They'd show little sense exposing Bowers' knee to Dome FieldTurf eight games a year.

If the Rams don't trade up for Julio Jones, I think they're looking at one of three defensive players: Jordan, A.Smith and Liuget. And as I'm preparing player pages for the three, Jordan just gets more and more impressive. I see why he's thought more of as a top ten player these days. He's the intelligent kind of player the Rams love to draft, and he's head-and-shoulders a better athlete than Smith or Liuget. My worry's been that he'll have trouble adjusting to a 4-3 defense, but a) did I mention he's smart? and b) what do they run at the Senior Bowl? The 4-3, and he was dominant there.

It's going to be hard to get Jordan past the Vikings; they need defensive line, and Cameron's father was a tight end for Minnesota for 13 years. Hopefully they're so busy reaching for Ryan Mallett that they forget one of the draft's best defensive players.

Though it pains me as the president of the Marvin Austin fan club, as a citizen of Rams Nation, I heartily endorse Cameron Jordan as the first defensive option for the Rams' pick Thursday night.

-$-

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