MKRob Sports

#1 Overall Defensive Tackles in NFL History:

1992 Indianapolis Colts Draft Pick Steve Emtman

1972- Buffalo Bills selected Walt Patulski, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
1982- New England Patriots selected Kenneth Sims, Texas Longhorns
1991- Dallas Cowboys selected Russell Maryland, Miami Hurricanes
1992- Indianapolis Colts selected Steve Emtman, Washington Huskies
1994- Cincinnati Bengals selected Dan Wilkinson, Ohio State Buckeyes

None of these defensive tackles weren’t even close to being considered “the cat’s meow” of the NFL during their careers. If you are expecting big numbers from a defensive tackle, you can forget about it, the highest sack total by a TRUE defensive tackle in NFL history is former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders player Warren Sapp who finished his career with 96.5 sacks, which ranks 28th on the all-time NFL sack list and Sapp was the 12th overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft.

Some may argue that former Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks star lineman John Randle is the highest sack total but he amassed some of his sacks as a defensive end, who by the way was an undrafted free agent in 1990.

Rams Defensive Tackle Draft History:

2003 St. Louis Rams Draft Pick Jimmy Kennedy

In recent years the Rams have been burned by a trio of high draft defensive tackle’s. This history may make their front office unwilling to burn another at that position.

In 2001 the Rams spent the 12th overall pick on Damione Lewis. Lewis has since played in 130 NFL games, registered 246 tackles and 22.5 sacks. Since his last four seasons have been with the Carolina panthers, he may not be a bust but the Rams did not benefit greatly from that pick.

In 2003 they spent the 12th overall pick on Jimmy Kennedy. He has played in 77 games since then racking up 117 tackles and eight sacks, a draft bust to be sure.

In 2007 the Rams spent the 13th overall pick on Adam Carriker. While it is too early to label him a bust or not there is an awful lot of money spent on the Rams defensive tackle. Adding Suh with the first overall pick would increase the price tag greatly. Not to mention they just drafted defensive end Chris Long in the 2008 NFL Draft. They must be trying to do their best Lions imitation and draft the same position every year.

St. Louis Rams Team Needs:

Let’s be honest here, the Rams have major needs everywhere except for running back and picking one player in their situation, in this particular draft, is not the smart thing to do.

There will be free agents available that you may want to bring in to fill certain holes so saving money for those guys would help and picking one player with the #1 pick overall will force them to spend more on that guy rather than drafting more guys and spreading the money around to players that can help you in the future.

My suggestion: TRADE DOWN

The Rams should trade with a team that really covets Suh, acquire some more picks, possibly get a 1st Round Pick in 2011, which the Rams sorely need and pick a guy like Alabama Crimson Tide defensive tackle Terrence Cody or Tennessee Volunteers safety Eric Berry to get a defensive guy in there and pick a quarterback with the first pick in the second round or possibly trade back up into the first round using the picks they acquired and get a quarterback that they really like.

They could pick up alot of picks and fill alot of needs in this draft. Generally you get seven picks in an NFL Draft and possibly more depending on trades before and during the draft and with the needs the Rams have, they could do some real damage in this year’s draft, here are a list of players of some of the other players that the Rams could use in the first round and other rounds that could help their team in the future:

Quarterbacks:

Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State Cowboys

Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame
Colt McCoy, Texas
Tony Pike, Cincinnati

Running Backs:

Jahvid Best, California Golden Bears

Montario Hardesty, Tennessee
Trindon Holliday, LSU
Joe McKnight, USC
C.J. Spiller, Clemson

Wide Receivers:

Jacoby Ford, Clemson Tigers

Arrelious Benn, Illinois
Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State
Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati
Golden Tate, Notre Dame

Offensive Linemen:

Sam Young, T, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Bruce Campbell, T, Mayland
John Estes, C, Hawaii
Mike Iupati, G, Idaho
Russell Okung, T, Oklahoma State

Defensive Linemen:
Terrence Cody, DT, Alabama
Carlos Dunlap, DE, Florida
Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma
Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech
George Selvie, DE, South Florida

Linebackers:

Brandon Spikes, ILB, Florida

Micah Johnson, ILB, Kentucky
Sergio Kindle, OLB, Texas
Rolando McClain, ILB, Alabama
Sean Weatherspoon, OLB, Missouri

Secondary:

Taylor Mays, S, USC Trojans

Eric Berry, S, Tennessee
Joe Haden, CB, Florida
Myron Lewis, CB, Vanderbilt
Walter Thurmond III, CB, Oregon