Jersey Ram Fan: Hey Jim,

Okay, I'm sure the Avery pick is going to be beat to death. I don't have a problem with the pick, but being that he wasn't so high on everyone else's board, why not trade down? Was it true that 49ers were hot on Avery? Was it probable that the 49ers would have grabbed him at 39? Was this a case of the Rams falling in love with Avery because they were not expecting Sweed and Thomas to be there at 33? Please shed some light on this, other than the Rams blew an opportunity to grab an extra pick by trading down.

Jim Thomas: Here we go--Unlike Chris Long and Glenn Dorsey, Avery actually was the highest-rated WR on the Rams board. The Rams had some off-field concerns on Devin Thomas and there were injury concerns on Limas Sweeds' wrist. I've heard it's a really bad injury.
According to Rams officials, in their networking with other teams, at least 8 to 10 other teams had Avery rated as their top wide reciever. It was a flawed class, to say the least.
I'm wondering if it was the right pick, as well. We'll find out in about 3 months.

dev: jim, i really like the fullback from kansas..i seen him play on tv 1100 yards and 16 td that is impressive and over 200 yards receiving was there any other fullbacks with those kind of numbers and what are his chances he makes our team? more info on him .... thanks

Jim Thomas: I don't know much else about the guy. I saw him play on TV a couple times like many of the fans on this chat. I can't imagine a FB in the draft pool with his kinds of numbers. But he will have to block to earn his keep with the Rams.

steve: hey jim, you know i've got to ask this question once more... have you had a chance to ask howie long about the possibility of his..ehrr..about his son becoming a st. louis ram? also, what grade do you give the rams draft? it seems to me that if you draft logically, for need rather than reaching, the grade goes down. but, if you take the known players from bcs schools, your grade goes up. i sincerely hope the rams and us fans do not regret not picking dorsey. being from kansas, i would have loved to see jordy nelson in a rams uniform. any idea where he stood on the rams draft board as far as receivers?

Jim Thomas: Have not talked to Howie Long about Chris. I was not in New York for the draft, and Howie did not accompany his son to St. Louis for Sunday's press conference. I'd give the Rams a B- or C+ for the draft. I thought the Rams had a good second day, and I give them credit for sticking with productive players and staying away from character risks. But I have a hard time seeing how the Rams passed on the best defensive player in the draft (on their own board) in Dorsey, and like many of you, I'm wondering if they picked the right WR.
Don't know how the Rams felt about Jordy Nelson.

ramman03: With the way the Draft shaked out, are the Lito Shepard rumors still out there and possible June 1st cap casualty that we might be able to pick up?

Jim Thomas: They were more than rumors. As I reported in Saturday's paper, the Rams did talk to the Eagles about Sheppard but there were no formal offers made by the Rams despite rumors out of Philly that the Rams had offered a second-rounder. They did not. And team officials were emphatic that that was too high an asking price. Unless Philly's asking price goes down, I don't think the Rams are interested. Keep in mind, too, that Sheppard apparently wants a new contract as well. But believe me, the Rams are still antsy about Fakhir Brown's long-term availability even though he won his appeal this time.

Curt, CA: Dear Jim,

Thanks for the chats. I found it very telling that the players I suspected that were going to be drafted in fact were, not because of my own intuition, but because of what I was reading in your columns. I had Chris Long in the first; DeSean Jackson second (although Avery was the next choice), John Greco in the third, a CB or LB in the fourth, possibly another WR, LB's late. The only thing you were missing was the later round QB.

I keep telling people on the Rams forums to pay attention to what the P-D is writing, and to read between the lines. You showed your relationships at Rams Park are true and your insight is pretty darn accurate. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to reading more as camp then pre-season come around (I want to know ahead of time who's being cut!!). Go Rams!

Jim Thomas: Thanks so much for the kind words. Here's the deal: I may not always be right. I may not always be first. But I spend a lot of time on this beat. And I talk to a lot of people _ more than anyone else. When in doubt, you should always go to your local beat writer for news (whether it's Blues hockey or Cardinals baseball, etc.)
I don't like to speculate. And most of the non-attributed stuff I write is based on people I have talked to inside and outside of the building.
Here's kind of how the first-round pick went down, to the best of my knowledge, regardless of what you may have heard (even from Rams personnel at press conferences and on the radio):
The Rams were targeting Jake Long, the OT from Michigan; once he signed with Miami last Tuesday, it became a Dorsey vs. C. Long thing (Gholston was never in the mix _ except under a trade down scenario). Dorsey was the clear No. 1 on their board early in the week; some top-ranking veteran personnel people wanted Dorsey; as well as most of the scouts; defensive coordinator Jim Haslett wanted Dorsey. My early reports during draft week, although they were played mostly down the middle, gave the edge to Dorsey because of this. But something happened on Thursday night (Thursday just happened to be the first day John Shaw came into town, by the way.) Shaw and team officials adamantly deny that he had anything to do with this, but the board was "mysteriously" tweaked and the gap between Dorsey and Chris Long shrunk considerably. The Rams were very interested in trading out of the pick. As much as they liked Chris Long _ and they do _ they felt that was a lot of money to pay him at No. 2.
In the end, nothing materialized on a trade, and the Rams went for the pass rusher (Long) instead of the defensive tackle.
As for DeSean Jackson, my source on the Rams interest was "outside" the building as I mentioned on a couple of occasions on the "Roll Home" with Bernie and Randy. But after the draft, I was told the team did hold Jackson in high regard (despite some who feel he has a "turd" personality). And Jackson would have been in play had the Rams gotten an extra second-round pick in any trade-down scenario (from the first round). But because of his size, Jackson would have been stricly a slot receiver in the NFL (and a punt returner). The Rams feel Avery can play more than the slot.