With the fourteenth pick in the 2011 BGN Mock Draft, MidwesternEaglesFan selects...
Jimmy Smith - CB, Colorado
The St. Louis Rams are finally headed in the right direction and came a game away from making the playoffs (thanks in part to a awful division) despite coming into the 2010 season as one of the worst teams in the league. Sam Bradford exceeded expectations as a rookie throwing for 3,512 yards and 18 touchdowns and just 15 interceptions despite his two best recievers being Eagles rejects- Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson.
The ideal pick here would be a Julio Jones, but he went to the Minnesota Vikings at #12. The Rams clearly lacked a true deep threat as they were unable to get that big play that could have gotten them into the playoffs last year. The next best options at wideout here are Jon Baldwin, Titus Young and Torrey Smith. Any of those guys would be a major stretch at #14 and probably none of them are worthy of being taken in the first round. Expect the Rams to go wideout in the second round. It just doesn't make sense to get their deep threat right here.
Nate Solder and Akeem Ayers are probably the two best players still on the board. The Rams are set at offensive tackle right now with Jason Smith at right tackle and Rodger Saffold at left tackle. The Rams do need to upgrade their offensive linebackers of David Vobora and Larry Grant (who) but Akeem Ayers reminds me too much of Ernie Sims: a very athletic linebacker with good pass rushing skills but absolutley no discipline on the field.
More after the jump...
Finally to the actual pick, Jimmy Smith. The Rams current starting corners are Ron Bartell and Bradley Fletcher. They combined for 4 int's and 0 sacks. The Rams finished 18th in pass defense, giving up 232+ passing yards a game despite playing 6 games againist horrible offenses in the NFC West. I believe Jimmy Smith will develop into the next shutdown corner. In his final two years at Colorado, he only gave up one first down in man coverage. Smith has excellent size at 6'0 200+ lbs, and ran a 4.4 40 at his pro day in Boulder. I see Smith as a Darrelle Revis clone. They both ran 4.4 40 at their pro days, both are about the same size (Revis is 5'11 198) and both are extremley cocky but confident. They both want to man up against the other team's best wideout.
The Rams may have missed in their ideal pick in Julio Jones, but I think they get a guy who has even more potential at his position, plus they can still get that deep threat in the second round.
Next on the clock will be TheRealMcCoy with the Miami Dolphins.
Previous Picks: 1 - Nick Fairley 2 - Patrick Peterson 3 - Blaine Gabbert 4 - Cam Newton 5 - Von Miller 6 - Marcell Dareus 7 - Prince Amukamara 8 - A.J. Green 9 - Da'Quan Bowers 10 - Corey Liuget 11 - Robert Quinn 12 - Julio Jones 13 - Tyron Smith