The St. Louis Rams have a tough decision on their hands. Holding the No.1 overall pick in this month's draft, the Rams must decide who they want to become their future face of the franchise. It's obviously a big decision -- one that can get a general manager and head coach fired. Three weeks from today, the Rams must send in the their pick.
Just one month ago, experts and draftniks generally agreed that former Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh should be the Rams' pick. Not since Reggie White has a defensive player this dominant come out of college, they said. And dominant he was. Suh registered 12 sacks in 2009, good enough to be tied for the fourth most in the country.
Personally, I have a huge problem with taking a defensive tackle with the first overall pick. Quarterbacks win games in the NFL, which is why they are paid the most money. Never have I come away from a Super Bowl believing that a defensive tackle was the reason a team won it all. Obviously, a large number of quarterbacks have made their marks in Super Bowl games. Moreover, with all of the money that the No.1 overall pick is commanding these days, it doesn't seem to make financial sense to pay a defensive tackle $40 million in guaranteed money. The Rams need a quarterback to turn around the franchise. While defensive tackle is a position that the Rams must address, it is not as important as finding a quarterback.
And this leads me to Bradford. Recently, all the talk regarding the Rams pick has centered around Bradford, who is now fully recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered during his last season at Oklahoma. Bradford received raving reviews from his pro day, where he threw just one incompletion. Many personnel gurus came away extremely impressed, including NFL.com's Gil Brandt, who said it was "one of the best individual workouts I've seen in a long time." Now, a pro day is a pro day, and I'm not someone who is going to overreact to a performance from a quarterback who has wearing a t-shirt and shorts. But what the workout did do was debunk any concerns regarding the shoulder, and that will make it easier for the Rams to take Bradford should they go that route.
If the Rams do decide to select Bradford, they need to make sure they are doing it for the right reasons. Some fans believe that the Rams must take Bradford because they passed up on Matt Ryan and Mark Sanchez over the last two drafts. Wrong. If that's how the Rams are going to operate, they might as well stop being a franchise. The Rams need to select Bradford because they believe he is the best player in this year's draft. If he's not, then they need to go in a different direction.
As I mentioned earlier, this pick will help shape the Steve Spagnuolo/Billy Devaney regime. The organization must be absolutely sure that Bradford is the player that they want to spend over $40 million on.
It's not an easy decision, especially if the building is split between Suh and Bradford. But when the Rams send in their pick on the 22nd, they better be damn confident in their choice.
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