With the 14th pick of Pride of Detroit's 2011 NFL Mock Draft, the St. Louis Rams select Wisconsin defensive end J.J. Watt. Mgoblue4ever is serving as the Rams' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.
The Rams fans have a similar relationship with Julio Jones as Lions fans have with Prince Amukamara. Both teams would love those players to fall to them. However, it will not happen. When Amukamara and Julio are not there at 13 and 14, both fan bases will likely want to trade down at all costs, but we cannot trade down in this particular mock.
The Rams' needs probably go something like, "OLB, DT, WR, G, DE and change of pace RB." Unfortunately, all of those positions also have something in common -- you would have to reach on guys like Akeem Ayers at OLB, Corey Liuget at DT, Jonathan Baldwin at WR and Mike Pouncey at G. So, the Rams take J.J. Watt, a defensive end from Wisconsin.
Rams DE Chris Long finally started to show his vast potential last season, as he recorded 29 tackles and 8.5 sacks. The athletic Chris Long will be a good long-term match with the huge run stuffing J.J. Watt. The veteran across from Chris Long, James Hall, statistically had a better season with 54 tackles and 10.5 sacks. However, Hall is 34 years old and there is no depth behind him and Long. Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo won't mind having Watt not start immediately, as when he was with the Giants they often stocked up on DEs no matter how many they had. In obvious third down passing situations Watt can even line up at DT for an improved pass rush. If a player like Cameron Jordan is there, he could also be the pick, as he is a very similar player.
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Check out the 2011 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.