The Rams have selected DE George Selvie with the 226th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Selvie is a tad small at 6’4″, 248 pounds but he runs a 4.75 40.  Despite being a little small for defensive end Selvie makes up for it because of his strength.  He played in 13 games (all starts) for South Florida last season in which he had 42 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, he batted down 2 passes, forced 1 fumble and he recovered 1 fumble.  Selvie played in 51 games (50 starts) in his four years with the Bulls in which he had 227 tackles, 69.5 tackles for a loss, 29 sacks, he batted down 8 passes, forced 9 fumbles and he recovered 5 fumbles.  This was outstanding value for the Rams as Selvie is a much better football than most of the guys picked this late in the draft.

The Rams have picked CB Marquis Johnson with the 211th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Johnson is 5’11″, 191 pounds so he’s a bit on the small side.  He had 29 tackles and 1 interception last season for Alabama.  Jackson had 80 tackles and 3 interceptions in his four years with the Crimson Tide.  Jackson will likely have to make the Rams on special teams while he learns defense.

The Rams have picked DE/OLB Eugene Sims with the 189th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Sims is 6’5″, 248 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40.  Sims had 56 tackles, 13.5 tackles for a loss, he had 7 sacks, broke up 5 passes and he forced 3 fumbles last season at West Texas A&M.  The Rams will likely try to move Sims to OLB as he doesn’t have enough weight to make it as a DE in the pros.

The Rams have picked TE Fendi Onobun with the 170th pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Onobun is 6’5″, 250 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40.  He is a very raw player as last season was only his second since the 7th grade.  He played in 11 games for Houston last season and he caught 2 passes for 33 yards (16.5 avg) with a TD.  He also blocked two extra points last season.  The Rams will likely take it slow with Onobun on offense while he is helping the team on special teams as a rookie.  This is a boom or bust pick.

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.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2010) – The Rams have dealt Hall Davis to the Redskins.

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.

The Rams have selected QB Sam Bradford out of Oklahoma with the first pick of the NFL Draft.  Bradford only played in 3 games (all starts) at Oklahoma last season in which he completed 39 of 69 passes (56.5%) for 562 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Bradford is a tough guy despite missing most of last season due to a shoulder injury which required surgery.  He is a big guy at 6’4″, 220 pounds and his arm is strong enough to make every throw.  It will be interesting to see if the Rams hand him the keys to the car for Week #1 or if he will sit and watch A.J. Feeley for a couple of weeks.  Bradford won the Heisman Trophy in 2008 and he had a stellar career at Oklahoma.  He played in 31 games (all starts) at Oklahoma and he completed 604 of 893 passes (67.6%) for 8,403 yards with 88 TD passes and only 16 interceptions.  Bradford will be the face of the future for the Rams and it could start sooner rather than later.  I like this pick for the Rams but they need to get Bradford a lot of help in this draft.