The last time the Rams spent a first-round pick on a running back, their veteran workhorse star tailback was still on the team. And Marshall Faulk surely wasn’t happy about the arrival of Steven Jackson.
This time around, Jackson is gone. And while that doesn’t mean the Rams will replace him with a first-round pick, the team will at least do its due diligence.
According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Alabama running back Eddie Lacy will visit the Rams before the draft.
Also coming to town, per Thomas, will be Cal receiver Keenan Allen, Tennessee receiver Justin Hunter, Rutgers linebacker Khaseem Green, and Oregon guard/tackle Kyle Long.
Former NFL G.M. Bill Polian, now an ESPN analyst, has put Lacy in the draft’s top 10 players. For any running back to be taken that high, however, he’d better be a future superstar. If not, a relatively equal player can be found in later rounds of the draft -- or not in the draft at all.