NFL Draft 2013: St. Louis Rams “Like” Alabama’s Eddie Lacy
By Josh Hill
The St. Louis Rams lost veteran running back Steven Jackson this offseason when they allowed him to test free agent waters and eventually sign with the Atlanta Falcons. But they Rams really don’t have a contingency plan in place to fill Jackson’s massive shoes, and according to St. Louis Dispatch beat writer Jim Thomas, Alabama Crimson Tide running back Eddie Lacy may be the guy the Rams lean on moving forward.
“The Rams like him,” Thomas said in a chat session with St. Louis Rams fans on the St. Louis Dispatch‘s site. “Personally, I’d have no problem taking Lacy at 22.”
Lacy has begun to crack first round mock drafts recently ever since NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. placed Lacy in the first round towards the end of last month. Since then, Lacy has been projected to go to anyone from the Cincinnati Bengals to the Green Bay Packers, but Thomas believes that Rams will entertain the idea of drafting him with their second first round pick.
In addition to Lacy, Thomas listed a slew of offensive players when asked who the Rams are looking at drafting. The only defensive player mentioned was Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro, who is slowly starting to creep into the top-15 and stay there in terms of his value. Thomas says the Rams may lean towards Vaccaro but he’s still unsure of where they stand with him.
The moral of the story seems to be that the Rams are going to focus on upgrading their offense this year, which makes loads of sense. The defense could use some improvements, but overall it’s a solid unit that can make-do with what it has right now. The offense if a different story and needs to get up to par with where the defense is heading, otherwise Jeff Fisher and company are going to be in a situation where half the team is carrying the other half, and when it’s the defense carrying the offense, rarely does that ever work in the NFL.