John Clayton: Rams Will Take Bradford #1, Not Suh

nuance said:
knapplc said:
nuance said:
The problem facing the Rams is that they aren't one defensive tackle away from being competitive.
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The Rams aren’t one player in any spot away from being competitive-—DT, QB, or whatever. The Rams have too many needs and not enough cap room to address them. Suh would help them out more this year than Bradford because Suh could contribute. But no way the Rams make the playoffs regardless of who they draft.
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What would help the Rams the most is trading that first pick for a first and a second, or a pick and a player. More and more I'm beginning to believe they'll trade that pick to increase the overall value of their draft. The worst thing they could do is take a QB #1, pay him that money, put him in a game with that porous O Line and ruin the first couple of years of his career.
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Yeah, the Rams have a half dozen holes to plug on their team. Drafting Suh could plug one (a real BIG one). Or trading Suh could plug three or four. They need to find a current day Mike Ditka with a Ricky Williams-esque coach-crush on Suh and trade for a bunch of picks.
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Same page, brother. Same page.

 
knapplc said:
What would help the Rams the most is trading that first pick for a first and a second, or a pick and a player. More and more I'm beginning to believe they'll trade that pick to increase the overall value of their draft.
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Yeah that would help the Rams, but which team is going to give them 2 players for the right to pay one player $40 million dollars? Basically the pay scale for the top picks is broken right now, and that's why you rarely see those picks swapped. Too much of the team's salary cap number gets tied up in one guy and if that guy isn't a QB or a OT, they're screwed.

The other scenarios:

- They take Suh, stink again and get Jake Locker next year. (This gives them the 2 best players, but also costs the most money.)

- Draft a QB and get a DT at the top of the 2nd round in a draft that is loaded with DTs (another reason no one's trading up).

I could see them going either way, but drafting entirely on need and giving a mid 1st round talent (Bradford or Clausen) #1 pick money is going to bite them in the end.

 
In 2 of the last 3 drafts, a lineman was taken #1. OT Jake Long last year; DE Mario Williams 2 drafts before that, passing on local boy Vince Young and glamour boy Reggie Smith. Maybe GMs know that you can't build a winner with a single player at any position.

 
Like people stated I understand them taking a QB but unless they trade the number one pick for say like two first late round picks or 1st and a second it make no sense to pick a guy number one (Bradford) when you most likely could have had him or a comparable QB later in the first round. If I'm the Rams I'm hoping for a Hershel Walker like trade.

None of these QB's are a sure first round pick IMO.

Bradford coming off an injury

Clauson same

Tebow Way to much of a project

McCoy injury and looked bad facing any kind of defense.

The one thing Bradford has going for him is that Drew Brees won the superbowl and he the same size and went through the same kind injury. That's asking a lot to hope he's even going to be half the play Drew's been.

 
Bradford may be a fine NFL QB in the future, but he won't be this year, especially if the Rams don't address their O Line issues. God save him if he gets drafted and thrown out there as the starter. If he thought BYU's pass rush against his weak OU line last year was bad, he'll face worse than that every single game in the NFL.

@ Ohio Pete - that's a great point, and I'll tack on the possible work stoppage in 2011 as another reason it might not happen. Still, there have been a few teams rumored to be dumping salary prior to the draft, with the Bucs being one of them and only two picks back of the Rams. Swapping picks wouldn't be too hard and may only involve cash rather than a player.

 
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Yeah the Bucs want a DT.

Knapplc makes a good point on qbs. How many backups become solid starters down the road?

The whole salary thing with the NFL has issues. I don't want them to kill the salary cap but they need to knock out these ridiculous rookie salaries that put teams like Detroit in financial crisis after drafting top pics for so long. I think if a GM from say Dallas (plenty of cash to throw around) feels that the salary cap is going to go for sure then they could make a move to pay a potential superstar now knowing that those players won't be found in free agency quite as often after the cap is gone.

 
The NFL teams have absolutely nobody to blame but themselves for their ridiculous #1 draft salaries. Its funny to see so much whining about it.

 
I just don't get what all the hype with Bradford is. Yeah, he did pretty well his freshman year and than had ONE (1) spectacular season...and then he got injured....and re-injured. That injury that he sustained looked to me like it could hamper him forever. Why take a chance on someone who faces a lifetime of a lingering injury with the number 1 pick?

On a side note, I wonder if the Rams are a little leary of taking Suh because of the way Carricker's career has gone so far (not a bust, but not living up to first-round hype). Teams think this way (cautious about drafting from a particular institution after bad experiences with other players) much of the time (after the 2005 draft, the Bengals will never draft another UGA player again (Pollack, Thurman)).

 
Look for the Rams to possibly trade down in the draft to gain a second rounder. They could still get Bradford down a few spots in the first. I don't see the logic in taking him that early though. To me, either trade down to get more draft picks or take SUH #1.

 
I don't see anyway Suh can live up to expectations honestly. NFL fans are mostly a$$hole$ and they're always looking to tear somebody down if they can't meet lofty expectations... even (especially?) players on their own team. Hell Barrett Ruud has been pretty damn productive for Tampa and yet their internet fans are always ripping into him.

Suh is a great talent but there's no way a rookie DT is going to dominate the way people are hoping against NFL guards and centers. There's just way too much hype (from Heisman finalist to ESPN appearances to TSN cover, etc.). If he's not DROTY (hasn't been a DT since 1994) they'll tear him down and try to call him a bust.

 
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