With Stafford, the Rams can win this year and for 2 - 3 others? if team needs are filled.
Therefore, I believe the Rams had two major needs/wants as the draft started, Edge and DT - not TE/QB/other.
I think their desired players were Latu, Murphy, Verse/Turner, Newton/Fiske. Obviously there were others, but I think those were the top.
I think they wanted edge first because DT was the deeper of the two positions in this draft.
I believe the rumors about Bowers and QB were false - just smoke screen stuff.
With the first pick I think they wanted Latu and wouldn't doubt they tried to trade up for him (the trade rumors), especially when 6 QBs pushed him down.
I think they couldn't get a trade partner and when he came off at 15, they were watching Murphy, Verse and Turner.
At that point, they waited. I think they would have taken Murphy, Verse or Turner at #19, but traded down if all 3 were gone.
As it worked out, Verse was there at 19 and they took him.
Now they "had" to get one of their top rated DTs (Newton or Fiske).
They waited to see where DTs might go and when Orhorhoro at #35 and Newton at #36 went, they were forced into trade up mode fearing they would lose out on Fiske.
They got kind of lucky when Tennessee picked Sweat at 38 instead of Fiske, as I don't think he (Sweat) was one they were looking to draft that early.
The high price they paid to trade up was because the only DT left that they wanted at that point was Fiske and he could have been gone if they didn't get to 39.
I think Carolina (and others) knew this and held out for top value picks.
The Rams had no choice but to "overpay" because they didn't want to miss out on Fiske.
I'm sure there are holes in my thinking, but that is what it seems happened in my view.
What do you guys think?
