Ramblin' Fan » Mikel Leshoure

Round 2: St. Louis Rams Take Lance Kendricks

Justin Stine — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:51:23 +0000

As giddy as I was after yesterday’s pick of Robert Quinn, I am equally as disappointed in the Rams’ second-round pick of Wisconsin TE Lance Kendricks. It’s not anything against him as a player, but I just don’t understand the rationale behind the selection. WE already have 4 TE’s on the roster, two of whom were taken in last year’s draft. Meanwhile, guys at major need positions like Mikel Leshoure, Stephen Paea, Jurrell Casey, Marvin Austin, Torrey Smith, etc. were all available and would have come in and made an immediate impact. I don’t know what the team plans to do with Kendricks, but I’m pretty sure they could have accomplished it with Illini Mike, Daniel Fells, Billy Bajema, and Fendi Onobun. Again, not to dog on Kendricks, because he is a pretty exciting player at the position, but we had a chance to really fill needs with highly-ranked players in our first two picks and the Rams had a big swing-and-miss here. Here is a highlight video of Kendricks from his time with the Badgers. Hopefully it will make you feel better about the pick.

Draft: Day Two Preview

Justin Stine — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:44:00 +0000

After the pleasant surprise that was Robert Quinn on the first day, it’s time to look forward to Day Two of the 2011 NFL Draft. The first round was pretty crazy with four QB’s going in the top 12 picks, and there are plenty of very good players left for the Rams over the next couple of rounds.

Honestly, it’s hard to predict what will happen over the next few days after the wild first round, but the second round should be quite interesting, especially for the Rams. Only one running back went in the opening round, so a guy like Mikel Leshoure is still there and could still be there for St. Louis. DT is another position that should be available, and although a guy like Stephen Paea is still available, I doubt he will be when the Rams pick. How about a guy like Marvin Austin, Quinn’s teammate from North Carolina? Austin is an impressive talent at DT, and I would have no problem going with Tar Heels in our first two picks.

As far as WR’s go, I was very disappointed when Jon Baldwin went off the board in the first, but there are still guys like Torrey Smith and Leonard Hankerson available. I know the Rams like Smith, and I really like the big-play ability of Hankerson. Those two will both be options, as will Washington OLB Mason Foster. I don’t know if Foster will be there in the third, so it might be time to pull the trigger. Also, no safeties went off the board, and I’m sure the Rams would be interested in Rahim Moore if he were still there, though I doubt he will be. Jaiquawn Jarrett is available as well, so watch out for him.

As you can see, the options for the Rams in rounds two and three are numerous, especially considering our needs and the players available at the positions. I am still excited about getting Quinn, and it is making me look forward to tomorrow even more. Stay tuned, because this thing is off to a good start and it only promises to get better.

Final Rams’ Mock Draft

Justin Stine — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 08:36:58 +0000

Since the best weekend of the year is finally upon us, I thought I would give my final mock picks for the Rams through the entire draft. Obviously, this is an inexact science and there’s no way to know who will be available in each round, but I’m going to go by where I have each player ranked and by need of this team.

Before I begin, I wanted to let everyone know what is going to be going on here at Ramblin’ Fan on Thursday. First, I will be making a couple of radio apearances throughout the day talking draft, so watch the Twitter page for times and stations. The only one I have confirmed at this point is with The Sports Reporters on JOCK 98.7 fm in Springfield, MO at 10:40 a.m. For those of you in the Springfield area, tune in and give it a listen. If any other appearances get confirmed, I will try to let everyone know.

Also, we at Fansided will be doing a live chat Thursday night during the first round. You can come on and ask up questions, and we will respond with the answers. If you want immediate draft analysis, get on and participate.

Ok, here we go with the mock. This assumes no trades, although I still believe the team could very well move down in the first round.