RamView Accu-Draft 2014: 7-round Rams drafts

Every year I go through the ridiculous exercise of trying to guess all of the Rams' draft picks even though it's a minor miracle for me to get a single one right. Here's a couple of futile flings at it this year, based on other seven-round draft projections and rankings:

RamView as GM:
1 / 2 - Jake Matthews, T, Texas A&M
1 / 13 - Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville
2 / 44 - Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Florida State
3 / 75 - A.J. McCarron, QB, Alabama
4 / 110 - Brandon Thomas, G, Clemson
5 / 153 - De'Anthony Thomas, RB, Oregon
6 / 188 - Khyri Thornton, DT, Southern Miss
6 / 214 - Corey Linsley, C, Ohio State
7 / 226 - JC Copeland, FB, LSU
7 / 241 - Albert Wilson, WR, Georgia State
7 / 249 - Kevin Danser, G, Stanford
7 / 250 - Alex Bayer, TE, Bowling Green

My first three picks fill big needs on offensive line, in the secondary, and for a big target. McCarron gets me QB depth, starter potential, and of course, a really hot girlfriend. Brandon Thomas has a blown knee, but with 12 picks, I can afford to redshirt a top talent. De'Anthony Thomas gives me more edge speed and receiving ability out of the backfield; he and Tavon Austin together would be a ton of speed on the field at the same time. Thornton gives the DT rotation a good bump. Linsley is a very smart tree stump kind of lineman. Copeland is my secret goal line weapon. Wilson is as fast as Sammy Watkins and jumped 3 inches higher at the Combine. But is three inches shorter. Danser and Bayer give me some blocking depth and a blocking TE to replace Mike McNeill.

Flaws: I should have looked a lot harder for a nickel back, a field-stretching WR, and linebacker depth.

Fisher/Snead 7-round projection:
1 / 2 - Greg Robinson, T, Auburn
1 / 13 - Jason Verrett, CB, TCU
2 / 44 - Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Florida State
3 / 75 - Will Sutton, DT, Arizona State
4 / 110 - Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia
5 / 153 - Isaiah Lewis, S, Michigan State
6 / 188 - Charles Leno, OL, Boise State
6 / 214 - Brandon Dixon, CB, NW Missouri State
7 / 226 - Colt Lyerla, TE, Oregon
7 / 241 - Kevin Pierre-Lewis, LB, Boston College
7 / 249 - Daniel Sorenson, S, BYU
7 / 250 - Silas Redd, RB, USC

This addresses o-line, nickel, big receiving target and the DT rotation right off the top, all with players who made pre-draft visits to Rams Park, of course. Verrett should be picked off a trade down but I didn't try to project that trade. I think the Rams really, really like Murray and won't be concerned if they have to redshirt him. Lewis looks like a steal to me in the 5th round and justifies the Rams not sweating it at safety. Leno is a versatile lineman with a lot of upside. Dixon's a value pick, a pure press corner that Gregg Williams ought to like. I'd frankly be surprised if all these 7th-rounders actually last to the 7th round. Lyerla's a tantalizing athlete who will either really reward the team drafting him late or end up in jail by minicamp. Pierre-Lewis was one of the quickest and strongest LBs at the Combine. Sorenson doesn't have great straight-line speed but had some of the best times in the Combine change-of-direction drills. Redd's a reclamation project who's a good fit for the Rams running game.

Flaws: Not enough playmakers, didn't add any outside speed. The flipside of the RamView 7-round draft - heavy on secondary, light on offensive line. This draft also could have looked harder for linebacker depth. What can I say, LB's not my position.

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