The Rams couldn’t resist picking DE Robert Quinn in the first round as they needed some help on the pass rush.  TE Lance Kendricks, WR Austin Pettis and WR Greg Salas give Sam Bradford some more weapons to throw to.  The rest of the draft was used to help the defense as the Rams took four players to help out in the back seven.  The Rams did a good job in the draft as all of the impact WRs were gone when it was time for them to pick in the first round.

PROJECTED GRADE:  B-

The Rams picked S/CB Jonathan Nelson out of Oklahoma with the 229th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Nelson is 5’10″, 197 pounds and he runs a 4.55 40.  Nelson is a tweener as he’s likely too small to play safety at the NFL level and he’s likely too slow to make it at corner.  He is also pretty soft, so he will likely have to prove himself on special teams before he gets anywhere near a defensive huddle.  Nelson played in 14 games for Oklahoma last year and he had 102 tackles, he broke up 7 passes, had 2 interceptions, 3 tackles for a loss and he forced 2 fumbles.  Nelson played in 33 games in his four years with the Sooners and he had 155 tackles, he broke up 9 passes, had 5 interceptions, 1 sack, 3 tackles for a loss and he forced 3 fumbles.  He will be a longshot to make the Rams roster on 9/11/2011.

The Rams picked 22-year old OLB Jabara Williams out of Stephen F. Austin with the 228th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Williams is 6’1″, 220 pounds and he runs a 4.63 40.  Williams is a speedy linebacker who can make plays sideline to sideline when he’s clean of blockers.  He will need to get stronger before the Rams trust him on defense though, as he might have trouble against physical running teams early on in his NFL career.  Williams played in 11 games (all starts) for Stephen F. Austin last year and he had 108 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, he broke up 4 passes and he also had 1 interception.  Williams played in 46 games (43 starts) in his four years at Stephen F. Austin and he had 411 tackles, 25.5 tackles for a loss, 7 sacks, he broke up 13 passes and he had 4 interceptions.  I see Williams working his way to playing on the defensive side of the ball by working hard in practice and on special teams.

The Rams picked 23-year old cornerback Mikail Baker out of Baylor with the 216th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Baker is 6’0″, 200 pounds and he runs a 4.3 40.  Baker converted to CB in 2009 after playing at WR earlier in his career at Baylor.  Despite the size, Baker is not a thumper against the run and to be quite honest, he’s not a good pass defender either.  I have a suspicion that the Rams picked Baker because of his kick return ability.  Baker had 1,963 kick return yards in his college career and I think that’s where his future lies in the NFL.

The Rams picked 23-year old strong safety Jermale Hines out of Ohio State with the 158th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Hines is 6’1″, 214 pounds and he runs a 4.65 40.  Hines is a big, physical player who excels in the box against the running game.  He will need help behind him on passing downs as he is not the best cover player around and he doesn’t make many big plays on the ball.  Hines played in 13 games (12 starts) for Ohio State last year and he had 66 tackles, broke up 4 passes, had 1 interception and he recovered 1 fumble.  Hines played in 44 games (29 starts) in his four years with the Buckeyes and he had 157 tackles, he broke up 8 passes, had 3 interceptions and he recovered 3 fumbles.

The Rams took 23-year old WR Greg Salas out of Hawaii with the 112th overall pick (4th round) out of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Salas is 6’1″, 206 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40.  Salas has good size, hands and he makes his living catching the ball over the middle.  He will likely play in the slot for the Rams, where he could excel and quickly become one of Sam Bradford’s favorite targets.  Salas played in 14 games (all starts) for Hawaii last year and he caught 119 passes for 1,889 yards (15.9 avg) with 14 TD grabs.  He played in 49 games (40 starts) in his four years with the Warriors and he caught 285 passes for 4,345 yards (15.2 avg) with 26 TD grabs.  Don’t be surprised if Salas makes the biggest impact of the players drafted last April.