Rams add tackle, still drafting for need
Picking second overall on Sunday, the Rams had an opportunity to move down in the third round and add an extra pick. But the football staff was committed to adding an offensive tackle to open the day.
And they got the man they wanted, Toledo’s John Greco. “It was a slam dunk that we would take Greco,” oersonnel czar Billy Devaney said. Had Greco gone with the first overall pick in the third round, the Rams’ Plan B was to take the next tackle on his board.
Coach Scott Linehan expects Greco to push right tackle Alex Barron from the start of training camp.
“He’s going to compete right away,” Linehan said. “He definitely has the make-up to do it sooner than later.
“It’s important to him. He loves football. He adds a lot of what we’re looking for.”
Read: Greco could become a harder working, more focused alternative to Barron. Although he lacks the physical attributes to star at left tackle in the NFL, he played that side for three years at Toledo.
The Rams believe he has the acumen, instincts and versatility to play all give line spots. “When injuries hit,” Devaney said, “those type of guys are valuable.”
Hi Jeff,
What else are the Rams looking to get today?
Thanks
Gordo- Have the first 2 players drafted ever had the same last name?
The Ram’s are making it pretty easy to be critical of their picks.
This guy lacks athleticism but played for Toledo who played the likes of Central Michigan, Westerm Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Liberty, Buffalo. You can’t tell me that picking a player from a conference that doesn’t play high level opponents is not a risk, especially when the guy’s atheticism is being questioined at that level?????????
It will be interesting to see what we do with the overall pick next year.
Where this pick stands surely shows the mistake the Rams made when they selected Barron. Many lineman coming out of college take time to develop and if the Rams feel that he has the adaptability to play multi positions, perhaps we as fans should have the ability to see beyond the obvious picks and see the potential.
“…we as fans should have the ability to see beyond the obvious picks and see the potential.”
Hope you’re right. Because we all know the Ram’s are draft magicians. They’ve pulled more snakes, toads and turtles out of their hat than rabbits the last few years.
(…that was supposed to be “aren’t magicians”…)
I am pretty disapointed in this entire draft. My question is; eventhough we have many needs when did it become a practice to make every pick a “need” pick instead of drafting guys that were obviously better but play a position of less need. We should have taken Dorsey, and in the second round we probably could have had someone better than the kid we drafted. I hope Devany is as good as advertised because I know Linehan is pathetic.
think barron will pay a little more attention to the snap count now ? daaa! look at these recent gems from rams park ,baron, law ,klopenstein, leonard bryd, hope this year is better,, avery better pan out!! quite the reach!!!!
Dittos on the disapointment with this band of pukes. Picking for need in a shallow draft is beyond stupid. It’s a recipe for disaster. We’ll see how Greco works out but I’m beginning to get the feeling that our draft class will largely fail. Devaney is one of those types who makes picks to say “see how smart I am reaching for a player no one else would have?”
Unfortunately I think the Ram’s owner has made things a bit too comfortable for the current staff. I hope I’m wrong. I don’t want this team to stink. But the schedule combined with the “talent” we’ve brought in spells a bad season. Hopefully the next regime won’t gag on the 2009 draft.
[...] an extra pick. But the football staff was committed to adding an offensive tackle to open the day.http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/tipsheet/rams-draft-day/2008/04/rams-add-tackle-still-drafting-for-…Naked Drive-Thru - Dunkin Donuts Customer in Birthday SuitJohn greco woke up and thought, "I’ll [...]
Why is it the Rams seem to be able to hit on late round picks but fail miserable in rounds 1-3. Greco is a decent pick. Justin king? Who is that? Another pick nobody has heard of.
I’m happy with Long. I thought we were off to what would be a great draft. Then round two showed up. Wow. I don’t have a problem with them drafting Avery if they think he has the potential and can fill the needs for the #3 guy and help out on special teams, but I can’t believe that we couldn’t trade back and get some more draft picks and still get him.
Coming into this season, I thougt we would beef up our O-line and then totally revamp our defense. I like that we are drafting for need, but we are not getting the value for the position we are drafting in. The Patriots have mastered the draft by always trading for more picks and then still getting value. Seems like a pretty simple concept. Why can’t we???
I would love to see them beef up the LB position. I’m tired of watching people run through arm tackle after arm tackle. It makes me sick. As an Illini fan, I would love to see Lehman end up on the Rams.
Anyone feel that the Rams should just open up the war room to the internet and let the fans draft for them?
Oh Great….we just drafted another WR. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!
I am happy to see the Rams draft an Offensive Tacklle first on the second day. Last year their greatest problem was the offensive line. Also, I think they should draft for need because they have so many needs.
Earlier, I had complained about their “reaching” with their second round pick. I thought they could have gotten Avery in a later round. Upon further thought, I have a theory as to why this may have happened. There was such a run on Offensive Tackles in the first round that players they thought they could select at Offensive Tackle in the second round were all chosen. So they knew they would have to go to the next tier of player at Offensive Tackle. But since no Receivers had been taken in the first round, they expected a run of Receivers in the second round. So they decided to go ahead and take their Receiver of choice early while he was still available since the second round choice they had planned was not available.
However, they knew they really needed help on the offensive line. So they were determined to get an offensive lineman as their first pick on the second day.
So with this theory in mind, I don’t think their picks were so bad. This is considering that many experts said that there wasn’t much diference among various rated receivers and Avery had the speed they were looking for. I think they made the best of the situation that was presented to them.
Lets see how many false starts Alex Baron get this year…
Erin…
Bravo! Finally a great blog….
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