Round 5 – Jermale Hines (S, Ohio St.) – B+

I kind of like this pick, although I don’t know how much Hines will be able to contribute to the defense immediately. Since he is a 5th rounder, he probably won’t be expected to make a major impct right away, so you have to like him as a developmental prospect. He is know to be a hard-hitter and an aggressive player, but he doesn’t have a ton of top-end speed and he can be a liability in coverage. Spags likes his safeties to be able to hit, so he should like Hines just fine.

Round 7 – Mikail Baker (DB/KR, Baylor) – A

My grade here isn’t so much based on the fact that Baker is a great player, but it is based on the fact that I love the fact that the team took a chance on this guy. He has elite (4.3) speed, and he could contribute immediately in the return game. He has had durability concerns, but if we can keep him healthy, we might finally have an exciting, home-run threat in the return game that has been missing for over a decade. Other than Robert Quinn, this was my favorite pick in the entire draft for the Rams.

Round 7 – Jabara Williams (LB, Stephen F. Austin) – B

This is one of those picks that I really don’t feel strongly about one way or the other. Williams has the tools to develop into an NFL player, but he is pretty green and will take some time to be ready. He has a nice motor and does a good job attacking from sideline-to-sideline, but I wouldn’t expect to see him do much more than special teams if he makes the squad. He’s worth the risk in the 7th round.

Round 7 – Jonathan Nelson (DB, Oklahoma) – B+

Nelson is a bit of an interesting case. He can play both safety and corner, and he showed flashes of being pretty solid in coverage during his time as a Sooner. He comes across to me as the kind of guy who could be under the radar, but someone would could contribute on both defense and special teams down the road. The expectations will be low as a 7th rounder, but I wouldn’t be completely shocked if we

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.