Following the Rams draft, I’ll be breaking down the team’s picks one by one, analyzing the pick and offering my projection of how they may impact the team this coming season. Read part one here.

Show of hands, who’s ready to become a sack machine?

The Rams used their second pick in the first round to pick up DT Aaron Donald from Pittsburgh. I’ll admit it, my initial reaction was surprise. With the two top safeties still on the board in Calvin Pryor and HaHa Clinton-Dix, it didn’t make sense to me to pick at a position of strength when players were available at a position of weakness.

The more I think about it though, the more I like this pick. Donald was widely accepted to be the best inside defensive linesman in the draft, and the second-best defensive linesman period after Jadeveon Clowney. As far as a D-linesman is concerned, Donald has a good blend of skills that make him dominant. He’s fast, he’s shifty, he’s powerful and he’s a ball hawk. As a semi-aside, during the NFL Draft coverage, they showed film of an offensive tackle’s pro day — I think it was Zack Martin, who was drafted by the Cowboys — and Donald was the only DT able to outmanoeuvre him. That’s pretty cool, if you ask me.

The one major downside I’ve seen from watching Donald’s highlight film is that he’s not the strongest in blocking the run. He’s not the biggest linesman out there, so his size often plays against him when it comes to anchoring the run. Still, though, we’re talking about a defensive line that features Michael Brockers, Chris Long and Robert Quinn, so I don’t exactly think that’s a massive concern… although other teams could definitely start running the ball more when they get tired of being sacked over and over again.

Besides, Donald’s size notwithstanding, he’s still a damn good football player in his own right. FaulktheBlueRedbird posted this series of graphics on the St. Louis Rams subreddit, which compares Donald to Clowney. Definitely worth a look, it’s pretty interesting stuff. It’s worth keeping in mind that Donald played against weaker opponents in the ACC, while Clowney’s Gamecocks had a pretty tough slate of SEC matchups.

Where he’ll fit in this season: No-brainer. Donald will slot in on the inside of the line, between Long and Brockers.

Check out Donald’s highlight film here:

I originally intended on doing one of these every other day to space out posts between now and the start of the season — there’s only so many topics you can re-hash before “If Sam Bradford were a sandwich, what kind of sandwich would he be?” becomes a valid topic. But with news coming down yesterday about Stedman Bailey’s four-game suspension… well, timeliness beats patience every single time.

First of all, kudos to Bailey. Plenty of players have failed the NFL’s substance abuse test and either stayed quiet about it or outright denied any wrongdoing (which is fine if you are innocent, but the frequency with which players plead innocence has me doubting that’s always the case.) So, when Bailey came out with a series of tweets yesterday apologizing for his mistake, that was a breath of fresh air. Respect.

That being said, the suspension couldn’t come at a worse time for him. Bailey showed last year that he’s got great hands, something we’ve been missing for a while. You could tell Clemens liked throwing his way because, more often than not, the ball was caught. 17 catches for 226 yards in a rookie season where he didn’t even start as a receiver is saying something.

Prior to the suspension, he had a chance to crack the starting day roster. Instead, that spot will likely go to Kenny Britt (who may have misinterpreted coach Fisher’s instructions to “be a better ball handler” after posting his recent Instagram sex tape…) This will leave Bailey in an awkward spot once he returns from suspension, barring injury to the receiver corps.

A definite blow to Stedman’s development. And it definitely makes you wonder why the Rams didn’t draft a WR, since they apparently knew this suspension was coming.

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