2011 NFL Mock Draft fixture and part-time Brylcreem model Mel Kiper remains a fan of Illinois defensive tackle Corey Liuget in his latest mock, sending him to the St. Louis Rams at No. 14 for a second straight draft. The Rams have long been expected to work on their strange defensive line if Julio Jones fails to materialize, with the question in that case coming down to whether the Rams should draft a bookend for Chris Long, like Aldon Smith, or a future replacement for Fred Robbins up the middle, like Liuget. Kiper expects, once more, that the Rams will take Liuget, who fills an "immediate need" and "locates the ball well against both the pass and the rush."
Liuget isn't the most dramatic pick the Rams could make, and Smith, late of the Missouri Tigers, remains the most compelling local-guy pick, but he really does fill a need, and Steve Spagnuolo really has never met a defensive upgrade he didn't like.
As for Julio Jones—well, you might want to sit down. He goes all the way at No. 6, just behind A.J. Green. It looks like the Rams offense just didn't suck quite enough to suck less next year.