St. Louis Rams 2013 NFL Draft Needs: And The Results Are In…

Oct 28,2012; London, UNITED KINGDOM; New England Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork (75) tries to get past St. Louis Rams guard Shelley Smith (66) in the 2012 NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Rams 45-7. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Following Sunday’s blowout loss to the New England Patriots, we at Ramblin’ Fan wanted to gauge which position you, the fans, believed the St. Louis Rams needed to address the most in the 2013 Draft. Clearly, the domination of our defense magnified the holes that had been hidden by the overarching play of the defensive line and the corners. The complete meltdown within the offense after the loss of Chris Givens may have show the lack of skill in some of the positions on the offense. In case you did not get a chance to vote, the exact question was “After Sunday’s blowout loss to the New England Patriots, what position should be the St. Louis Rams top priority in the draft”? The choices were:

1. Safety(s)
2. Outside Linebackers
3. Tight End
4. Wide Receiver(s)
5. Interior Lineman
6. Tackle

Understandably, the position that was voted the highest priority was… safety. With nearly 33% of the votes, you, the fans, have suggested the replacement of the back-end of our secondary. Craig Dahl is not an NFL-caliber starting safety, and yet continues to man the backfield in the talent-injected defense. There seems to be a huge problem in communication between the corners and the safeties, and some misunderstanding to which area of the field you are supposed to cover in a basic Cover-2 zone defense. Those types of mental errors have been commonplace in the third-level of our defense. To his credit, Dahl is a beast in run support, but that is not the type of player that we need at the safety spot in a Fisher defense.

Wide receivers received the next highest amount of votes, although I may disagree on the need to address that spot early. There are much more pressing concerns on this teams, especially on the offensive side of the ball. With a healthy Danny Amendola, a newly emerging Chris Givens, and a (hopefully) progressing Brian Quick, there is enough talent on the roster to make ends meet. The lack of production could likely be attributed more to the lack of familiarity with the offense, and the lack of familiarity among the players on the team. Not to say that the Rams couldn’t use some help at wide receiver, but does anyone honestly believe that is a more pressing need than a powerful left guard or a left tackle that can stay health for more than three consecutive games? We have seen what Bradford can do when he has time and a decent pocket to throw the ball, why not ensure that he can get that on a regular basis?

Makes sure to check out the newest poll on Ramblin’ Fan, asking who the St. Louis Rams should start on their offensive line in Week 10!