Miller is pretty much an Amendola clone, although I think it’s safe to say he’s probably not nearly as good, at least right now. He is 5-9 and 180 pounds, and coach Spags said today that if he would have put number 16 on Miller in practice, the media would have thought it was Danny back on the field running plays. Miller could factor into the return game on both kicks and punts, but although he may look like Amendola, I wouldn’t expect too much impact on the offense, at least early on.

Jackson is also kind of an interesting story. He is from Oklahoma where he was teammates with Sam Bradford, and Spags and Billy Devaney actually met him during a lunch when they were on campus working out Bradford a few years ago. Jackson played in 12 games with the Giants last season and recorded nine tackles, and he should be able to at least help out the depth at corner.

I like the Salas pick quite a bit, especially considering the Rams’ offensive philosophy is obviously to put reliable, sure-handed pass-catchers around Sam Bradford. This guy was a catch machine at Hawaii, and he should be a nice possession receiver in the NFL. Hines  has some decent size at about 6-foot-1, and he was known for being a hard-hitter in college. We need a guy who can strike fear in the heart of receivers who want to go across the middle, so maybe he can develop into that player. Baker might be my favorite pick of the day. He has good size, and more importantly, blazing speed. He ran in the 4.3′s in the 40 at his Pro Day, and I could see him being an exciting weapon in the return game, which is where he excelled in college. Williams is a sideline-to-sideline backer who will need plenty of development and play special teams, and Nelson is more of a coverage safety who had a nice senior year with the Sooners.

Obviously, this draft wasn’t perfect for the Rams, but after some time to sit back and look at it, I really like what we did. We got our stud in the first round in Robert Quinn, and we got weapons for Bradford in the middle. We then used the end of the draft to pick up some guys who could develop into contributors on the defensive end and who can play teams. I still think passing on Mason Foster in the third for Austin Pettis was a huge mistake, especially after the Salas pick, but we needed weapons in the Red Zone and he will provide that. What say you? Hit up the comments section and let me know how you felt about the Rams 2011 draft and vote on the poll grading the team’s draft.

Player I Was Most Impressed With: Dontay Moch (Nevada)

I knew this guy was going to post some impressive numbers, but actually seeing him really blew me away. He set the 40 record for D-lineman at 4.48, and he was just an overall machine. My guess is that he plays outside linebacker in a 3-4 system, and he is certainly athletic enough to do so. I don’t know how good he is going to be in the NFL, but the man is an absolute freak athlete.

Honorable Mention: Christian Ballard, Cameron Jordan, Brooks Reed, Stephen Paea, Ryan Kerrigan, Aldon Smith, JJ Watt, Nick Fairley, Marcel Dareus, Phil Taylor.

I think I probably missed some guys in this list, but these players were all very impressive. Ballard (Iowa) has been shooting up draft boards, and he showed why with an impressive workout in most areas. Jordan (Cal) is probably going to go in the first half of the first round, and Reed (Ariz) opened eyes at the Senior Bowl, and he kept the momentum going. Paea (Ore St.) set the bench press record with 49 reps, and Kerrigan (Wisc) is a major prospect who wowed with his numbers in the 40. Smith (Mizzou) proved that he is an elite pass-rusher, and he could very well be on the Rams’ radar if Julio Jones is gone. Fairley (Aub) will be a top-3 pick, and Dareus (Bama) proved he is an elite DT prospect as well. Taylor (Baylor) is a DT who is a bit under the radar, but he looked very athletic during workouts and he likely helped his draft stock.

Player I Was Most Disappointed In: Jeremy Beal (Oklahoma)

Beal is a guy who was good in college, but he didn’t bring it to the Combine. His 5.16 40 was just awful, and he didn’t look fluid at all during the drills. He is one of those guys who plays better than he works out, which is good because he didn’t work out well at all.

Dishonorable Mention: Ryan Winterswyk

I didn’t expect Winterswyk (Boise St) to be a standout, especially since the rest of his group was so talented, but I expected him to put on a better show than he did. He was a high-motor guy in college, and I still think he can contribute at the NFL level, although he won’t ever be a star.

As you can probably tell, I’m in love with this group, which is great news because the Rams have a need at DE and DT. I would expect plenty of these guys to be high on the team’s board, and I wouldn’t be at all surprise if more than one of these players ended up with the Rams next season.