The 2014 season unfortunately came to a conclusion on Sunday with a 20-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. While the loss to Seahawks is truly disappointing, if there is one good thing that came out of it, it’s that the Rams wound up having a better draft position at the end of the day.
When all was said and done the St. Louis Rams ended up with the tenth overall selection. Here is what the current draft order looks like:
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2. Tennessee Titans
3. Jacksonville Jaguars
4. Oakland Raiders
5. Washington Redskins
6. New York Jets
7. Chicago Bears
8. Atlanta Falcons
9. New York Giants
10. St. Louis Rams
11. Minnesota Vikings
12. Cleveland Browns
13. New Orleans Saints
14. Miami Dolphins
15. San Francisco 49ers
16. Houston Texans
17.Kansas City Chiefs
18. San Diego Chargers
19. Cleveland Browns
20. Philadelphia Eagles
While having a top ten pick may seem like a good thing, the Rams have had two top ten picks in the last three years. One of which became wide receiver Tavon Austin who has yet to achieve more than 300 yards receiving in a season, and Greg Robinson who had a bumpy rookie year.
Over the past couple of years the tenth overall picks have been tight end Eric Ebron, OG Chance Warmack, and cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Enron only had 210 yards receiving and one touchdown with the Lions this season, Warmack has been an average guard for the Titans, and Stephon Gilmore picked up three interceptions for the Bills.
The last tenth overall pick to make the Pro Bowl was linebacker Jerod Mayo who was picked up by the New England Patriots in 2008.
All drafts are different, and in 2015 the Rams will be in a position to possibly get Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston if he falls due to his off the field issues, or pick up an offensive lineman like Andrus Peat from Stanford or Brandon Scherff out of Iowa.
There is still a long ways until the 2015 NFL Draft, and with free agency still having to take place the Rams’ needs could change, but as it stands right now offensive line and quarterback are two of the team’s biggest needs.