Our 2011 NFL Mock Draft concerns have begun to coalesce around a few players in particular as we get closer to April 28—for the St. Louis Rams, with Julio Jones looming as a specter just outside the picture, it's become a question of defensive tackle, namely Corey Liuget of Illinois, or defensive end, namely Aldon Smith of Missouri. The local angle, they can only hope, will take some of the hurt away from their inability to get Sam Bradford his man with the 14th pick in then draft. (If Julio Jones doesn't drop they can only blame Michael Floyd and Justin Blackmon for staying in school.)
This question played itself out recently when Turf Show Times participated in SB Nation's network-wide NFL mock draft and selected Corey Liuget with their 14th overall mock-pick. It's become a popular pick elsewhere—Mel Kiper and Todd McShay are both on board, as you can see in our 2011 NFL Mock Draft storystream—but both Mocking the Draft and SB Nation proper were surprised the fake Rams went with Liuget instead of Smith, who was still on the board.
It's difficult to see where the Rams might go at this point, but it's only going to get more heated over the next two weeks.