Adam Carriker Is A Ram

With the 13th pick of the NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams take Adam Carriker, DL, Nebraska. Mike Tanier of Football Outsiders tells you all about it.Must ... resist ... urge to make ... bad puns. The Rams latest draft pick is quite a Carriker. The team was smart to select a first round pick with no Carriker issues. All of his Carriker references checked out. Wait, wait, I have more. Okay, I'll stop.

Carriker is a left-end type. He's not a great pass rusher, though he will fight his way for some sacks. He's a big, stout run defender, though, and NFL teams really need those nowadays. I've been watching lots of film while helping prepare Football Prospectus 2007, and if I downloaded a song every time I saw a runner cut back for big yardage, my MP3 player would be filled. The Rams were repeat offenders: opponents never saw a cutback lane that wasn't as open as an all-night drive thru. Carriker can take away the point of attack, but what's more, he can take away that back side.

There were rumors that the Rams were quarterback shopping; one hot 'n' juicy whisper said that the team wanted to trade down and say Que' Onda Guero? to John Beck late in the first round. But with Brady Quinn sliding, we may not experience Beck's Bolero until Sunday.