Okay, we've graded the practical part of the St. Louis Rams' performance in the 2011 NFL Draft, now it's time for the theoretical NFL Draft grades to be handed out: What would you have given the Rams if they'd traded up for Mikel Leshoure in the second round? With Billy Devaney suggesting the Rams had attempted to trade up for a running back, TST has connected the dots and suggested that was the trade they were most likely to make.
I wasn't a big fan of the Lance Kendricks pick in the second round, so I can't say I would have complained about Leshoure, who would give the Rams a plausible reason to limit Steven Jackson's carries to a level unlikely to rattle his pieces loose. But if the amount of trading chits necessary was enough to scare Devaney off, I can't imagine it would be worthwhile in the long run to trade up for him.
So for holding to their principle of actually drafting players with their picks—a valid one given the number of holes they needed to fill—I've got to hold the Rams' grade steady. Leshoure's an exciting player, but so are the players they actually drafted.