What Should the St. Louis Rams be Watching Out for at the 2015 Senior Bowl?

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive Ends: It’s possible that the Rams will be looking to fortify the defensive end position this offseason, as they might be ready to move on from William Hayes and need to start thinking about the future as Chris Long turns 30 this offseason.

It’s an extremely strong class of edge rushers, and while most of the top guys are early declarants who are therefore ineligible to participate in the Senior Bowl, there is still plenty of pass-rushing talent in Mobile this week. Mizzou’s Markus Golden, Utah’s Nate Orchard, and Washington’s Hau’oli Kikaha are all guys who were extremely productive college players and are expected to go in the first few rounds, though due to their relative lack of size it’s unclear if they are better fits as 4-3 ends or 3-4 outside linebackers. The Rams clearly have shown interest in getting more of a hybrid edge rusher over the past few years with the additions of guys like Sammy Brown, Gerald Rivers, and Michael Sam, though none of them have panned out thus far. It should be interesting to see if the Rams show further interest in bringing in that type of borderline end/linebacker this offseason.

One guy who might really intrigue the Rams, especially with defensive line coach Mike Waufle’s love for physical freaks of nature, is 6-foot-6, 263-pound Kentucky end Za’Darius Smith. While Smith was overshadowed by his fellow Wildcat end Bud Dupree this season, he showed great burst off the line of scrimmage at the East-West Shrine Game last week and made enough of an impression that he was added to the Senior Bowl roster after Dupree dropped out. Smith is steadily increasing his draft stock, but if he lasts to the middle rounds, he’d be an ideal fit in St. Louis, as his size should enable him to fit both as a backup end and as an interior rusher on passing downs, a la Hayes and Eugene Sims over the past few years.

Likewise, 6-foot-6, 267-pounder Preston Smith of Mississippi State could be a strong scheme fit for the Rams. Smith had a career year as a senior and continued to progress through the season, though his upward progress has been so great that some are now projecting him as a first-rounder, which would take him out of the Rams’ range.

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