Wisconsin defensive lineman J.J. Watt became the surprise St. Louis Rams selection in ESPN NFC West guru Mike Sando's 2011 NFL Mock Draft, but to hear Sando tell it he's less likely to be a Ram than the field, at this point. Watt provides depth on the line, which Steve Spagnuolo has never disliked, but he thinks, justly, that the Rams might be more concerned than enthused by the comparisons he's received to Adam Carriker.
Aldon Smith and especially Corey Liuget, official consolation pick of the 2011 NFL Draft season, seem like too solid a set of targets for the post-Julio-Jones Rams for me to feel like J.J. Watt is a likely get—especially since Sando himself seems uncertain about the pick actually playing out on Thursday—but it does seem more and more likely this week that the Rams will end up shoring up their defense somehow with the 14th overall pick the NFL Draft.
The recent rumors about the Rams going with tight end Kyle Rudolph only solidify that impression, for me; they're proof of just how thin the offensive difference-makers are in the Rams' awkward mid-round position.