2013 NFL Mock Draft (Week 17 Edition): The St. Louis Rams Select…

With the regular season over, and the St. Louis Rams out of the playoffs, the team now has one of their first round slots solidified. Thanks to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ win over the Cleveland Brown, the Rams will get pinned in the 16 spot, only one loss away from picking 11th in the 2013 draft. As we have previously mentioned in these draft, FanSided.com will be releasing a weekly mock, updated with the newest rankings and the latest rumors from teams.

Being in a mid-round spot is not all that bad, especially considering the St. Louis Rams’ success in the recent past with Michael Brockers (14th in 2012) and Robert Quinn (14th in 2011). The likelihood of St. Louis grabbing another defensive lineman with their first pick is slim to none, leaning heavily towards “none.” Still, there is plenty of value to be had in the draft.

With the 16th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams select…

Chance Warmack, Guard, Alabama

"If the Rams aren’t going to protect Sam Bradford, he isn’t going to stand a chance taking this team to the next level. Warmack is one of the best guard prospects in the past decade and would be a welcomed addition to the trenches in St. Louis."

Chris Williams and Rob Turner have done better than anyone could have possibly asked for as backups in the NFL. In fact, over the last two games of the season when they were both starting, the offensive line allowed zero sacks for the first time in Sam Bradford’s career. Are either the answer for the St. Louis Rams at guard? Who knows! Is giving up on Rok Watkins after one season a good move by a teams with several, more pressing, holes than guard? Maybe. Will the St. Louis Rams pass on Warmack if he is available at this point in the draft? We will see…

With the Redskins win on Sunday Night Football, they have officially won the NFC East, meaning that the St. Louis Rams will have to wait until after the first round of the playoffs to find out when they will pick next in the draft. With the ‘Skins going head-to-head against the Seattle Seahawks, it is hard for anyone outside of Washington to imagine them making it out of the first round. However, according to the FanSided mockers, the Redskins will be making further than that, slotting the Rams at 25th with their next pick.

With the 25th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams select…

 Dallas Thomas, Offensive Tackle, Tennessee

"The Rams need to continue adding talent to the offensive line. Thomas is a versatile player that can play guard or right tackle. His versatility will make him a hot commodity near the end of round one."

We can all agree that the St. Louis Rams need to be protecting Sam Bradford to preserve the future of the organization. On the other hand, reaching in the first round for a likely career backup is not the answer. If the St. Louis Rams want an offensive tackle in the draft, they need to jump on it with the early pick. There is already a cluster of talent on the Rams offensive line, but not so much at a number of other positions (see: Outside Linebacker; Strong Safety). The typically NFL roster keeps 8-9 offensive lineman on the 56-man roster. Right now, St. Louis has: Rodger Saffold, Rob Turner, Scott Wells, Harvey Dahl (IR), Barry Richardson, Wayne Hunter, Chris Williams, Joe Barksdale, Rok Watkins (IR), and Shelley Smith. There is an upward chance that the Rams will double up in the first round, but hopefully that means they have a good battle plan for replacing Craig Dahl and the Frankenstein-combination of Mario Haggan and Rocky McIntosh. There also have to be concerns at wide receiver, with a shallow pool of quality receiver in the draft and an extremely limited free agency market, with only a couple of big name players that multiple teams will be throwing money at…