1.  (13)  Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska

2.  (52)  Brian Leonard, RB/FB, Rutgers

3.  (84)  Jonathan Wade, CB, Tennessee

5.  (139)  Dustin Fry, C, Clemson

5.  (154)  Clifton Ryan, DE, Michigan State

6.  (190)  Ken Shackleford, OT, Georgia

7.  (248)  Keith Jackson, DT, Arkansas

7.  (249)  Derek Stanley, WR, Wisconsin-Whitewater

 

The St. Louis Rams have acquired Dante Hall from the Kansas City Chiefs for a 5th round draft pick this weekend.  This was a great acquisition by the Rams as they have filled a big team need for a second day draft pick.  Hall played in 15 games last season for the Chiefs and he caught 26 passes for 204 yards (7.8 avg) with 2 TD catches.  Hall also can run the ball on the trick plays as he carried the football 3 times for 11 yards (3.7 ypc).  But the main reason the Rams trade for him is his kick return ability.  Hall returned 53 kickoffs for 1,207 yards (22.8 avg) and he returned 27 punts for 240 yards (8.9 avg) with a TD.  Over his 7 year career, Hall has played in 97 games and he’s caught 145 passes for 1,615 yards (11.1 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  He’s also carried the football 47 times for 215 yards (4.6 ypc).  But most of the money he has earned is because of his kick returns.  Hall has returned 360 kickoffs for 8,644 yards (24.0 avg) with 6 TD returns and he’s returned 188 punts for 1,882 yards (10.0 avg) with 5 TD returns.  Look for Hall to have an excellent season returning kicks on the Rams fast turf.

The Rams have re-signed LB Brandon Chillar to a 1-year contract.  He played in 16 games last season and he made 56 tackles, had 2 sacks, defensed a pass and forced a fumble.  Chillar played well when pressed into action by the Rams and he will likely get a chance to win a starting job this season.

The Rams have re-signed LB Raonall Smith and G Adam Goldberg.  Smith played in all 16 games last season and he made 24 tackles, had 1.5 sacks and 1 fumble recovery.  He provides good depth for the Rams.  Adam Goldberg is a huge man at 6′7″, 320 pounds.  He played in 15 games for the Rams but only started 2 of them.  In three seasons with the Rams he has played in 44 games and started 20 of them.  He’s a good backup lineman.  The Rams cut punter B.J. Sander because they had no use for him after signing Donnie Jones away from the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins decided against matching the offer sheet that the Rams made to Donnie Jones, thus making Jones the Rams new punter.  He played in all 16 games for the Dolphins last season and he punted the ball 85 times for 3,640 yards (42.8 avg).  He placed 28 (32.9%) of his punts inside the opposing team’s 20 yard-line.  Jones also had a net punting average of 35.7 yards.  This was a good move because the Rams really didn’t want to depend on B.J. Sander replacing Matt Turk.