After trading down twice, the St. Louis Rams finally took a player. They used the 13th pick to take Michael Brockers, a defensive tackle from LSU. Here's what our reports had to say about the latest Ram:
The buzzword for Brockers is "upside." Cox is more polished. Dontari Poe is stronger. Brandon Thompson is better at his specific task in the middle. Brockers is more of a natural athlete than any of them. The Cowboys love to develop specimens, which is why they are taking a long look at Brockers. Eagles defensive line coach Jim Washburn loves to coach-up raw talent, so it was natural for the Eagles to give Brockers some extra attention.
Brockers must start his career as a wave lineman. Any team that tries to insert him in the lineup for 60 snaps will be disappointed. He fits best as a passing-down tackle or 3-4 end as a rookie: he can use his speed to be disruptive while the rest of his game develops. Given time, and sound coaching, Brockers will develop into either a quick 4-3 tackle or the kind of 3-4 end who wins enough battles to not just occupy blocks, but record a few sacks of his own.