Matt Barkley of USC keeps sliding all the way to No.24 and is the talk of the NFL draft on draft day.
St. Louis Rams already had 2 first round picks and got the 2 guys they wanted prior to pick No.24. They are not sure if their future QB is Sam Bradford. They have 3 years invested in him under the previous rookie contract, and 2 years to go. Jeff Fisher wants some insurance and after all, Bradford was drafted before he got there, so he may not be his guy after all
So, they offer to move up from No.39 to No.24 offering No.39 (2nd), No.69 (3rd), and No.165 (6th)
Thus, we end up with No.39 (Rams' 2nd), No.69 (Rams' 3rd), No.86 (Our 3rd), No.118 (Our 4th), No.165 (Rams' 6th), and No.182 (our 6th we got to keep due to Vontae Davis' low playing time; draft positions are close enough because Browns forfeit second rounder due to Josh Gordon supplemental draft pick, and Saints forfeit 2nd rounder due to bounty, hence the Rams 3rd rounder is 69 and not 71 and so on...for those who are wondering about the math)
Here are my picks:
No.39: Chase Thomas, OLB, Stanford, 6'4", 248, 4.74 speed, he may not have a "wow" factor but this guy has a great motor, has good knack for being around the ball and high football IQ. He is the kind of guy you can rely on to be there at the right place at the right time. He more or less fits a disciplined D like the Texans that makes few mistakes when healthy but hey, it is not a bad D to emulate to put pieces together based on. He plays faster than he is timed, and has less question marks than others for this draft position. His ceiling is like a Ryan Kerrigan, IMO, who was a first rounder.
No.69: Logan Ryan, CB, Rutgers, 6'0", 190, 4.53 - Rutgers plays a lot of zone but I feel this guy has enough ball skills to be versatile in any scheme
No.86: Gabe Jackson, OG, Mississippi State, 6'4", 320, 5.34 - he does fit zone blocking more than power blocking schemes and I feel would be a good fit if we continue to use more zone blocking, very athletic to fit the ZBS. I think he blocked for Vick Ballard.
No.118: Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon, 5'11", 192, 4.39 - yep, he may not be an every down back but he is the kind who can be a playmaker with limited touches in space and we dont have anyone of his kind at the RB position, so teams can play off our RBs knowing that they can recover in the case of a checkdown because our RBs cannot beat them in space
No.165: D.J.Swearinger, FS, South Carolina, 5'11", 210 lbs, 4.56 - some of the well coached secondaries in the nation include Alabama, LSU and South Carolina, IMO, and that is why getting a member from their secondary would be a safer bet than most secondaries in the nation. This guy is a physical presence with some experience at strong safety as well and would be a great addition to the Colts secondary. Antonio Allen, from the Gamecocks secondary, slipped last year as well, so I am expecting D.J.Swearinger to be available here
No.182: Cory Grissom, DT/NT, South Florida, 6'2", 316, 5.18 - plays with great leverage, handful to move, could be an insurance plan to Josh Chapman or AJ should one of them go down
Now, fire away your thoughts!!!















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