The Rams have picked DE Hall Davis with the 149th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Davis is 6′4″, 272 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40 as he is a solid athlete.  Davis can handle end or the Rams might move him inside to tackle in the right situations.  He played in 12 games (all starts) at Louisiana-Lafayette last season and he had 22 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss, he had 3 sacks, 1 batted ball and he forced 1 fumble.  He played in 48 games (26 starts) in his four years in college and he finished up with 59 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, he batted down 2 passes and he forced 2 fumbles.  Davis has a huge upside as many draft experts pegged him to be picked in the 2nd or 3rd round so they got great value with this pick.

The Rams have picked TE Mike Hoomanawanui out of Illinois with the 132nd overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  He has nice size at 6′3″, 270 pounds and he runs a 4.8 40.  Hoomanawanui needs to get better at his run blocking is he’s going to get a lot of playing time as a rookie.  But he will have a much better QB than he did last season which should boost his receiving numbers.  He played in 8 games (4 starts) for the Illini last season in which he caught 10 passes for 114 yards (11.4 avg) without any TDs.  Hoomanawanui played in 41 games (17 starts) in his four years at Illinois and he caught 40 passes for 490 yards (12.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs. 

The Rams have picked WR Mardy Gilyard with the 99th overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  Gilyard is 5′11″, 182 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Gilyard doesn’t have the size or speed to play outside the numbers but he has all of the skills needed for a slot receiver.  Gilyard played in 13 games (all starts) for Cincinnati last season in which he caught 87 passes for 1,191 yards (13.7 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  He played in 48 games (32 starts) in his four years with the Bearcats and he caught 204 passes for 3,003 yards (14.7 avg) with 25 TD grabs.  Gilyard will likely be the Rams’ #3 or #4 WR from day #1 and he should help them out on special teams right away too.

The Rams have selected cornerback Jerome Murphy with the 65th overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  Murphy is 6′0″, 191 pounds but he plays big.  He brings a wallop against the running game and he is a riverboat type of gambler against the passing game.  That means that he makes a ton of big plays but he also gives up his fair share.  Murphy played in 13 games (all starts) for the South Florida Bulls last season and he had 77 tackles, broke up 8 passes, he had 4 intercepted, forced 2 fumbles and he has recovered 2 fumbles.  Murphy played in 52 games (25 starts) in his four years with the Bulls in which he made 202 tackles, broke up 18 passes, he had 8 interceptions, forced 4 fumbles and he recovered 3 fumbles.  This was a nice pick for the Rams as Murphy will be starting at corner for them in no time.

The Rams have picked T/G Rodger Saffold out of Indiana with the 33rd overall pick (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  Saffold is a finesse blocker as he is a much better pass protector than a run blocker.  With that in mind the Rams might kick him inside to guard where he would have more help but at least initially they are going to start him out at tackle.  Saffold is 6′4″, 312 pounds so he could potentially add more bulk to his frame.  He played in 12 games (all starts) at Indiana and 42 games (41 starts) in his four years there.  This was a smart pick for the Rams as Saffold will likely be protecting the franchise (QB Sam Bradford) for a long, long time.