Quarterbacks
Starter - Marc Bulger
Backups - Chris Chandler, Jeff Smoker

Starting Quarterback: Marc Bulger built on his half season as the Rams starter in 2002 by posting 3845 yard passing with 22 touchdowns. Good enough to get him in into the pro-bowl as an alternate. Bulger's critics will quickly point to his 22 interceptions, including a four game stretch where he threw 10 of those picks. However, the Rams still won three of those games that started a seven game winning streak. Bulger continued to play well enough to lead the Rams into the playoffs losing in double overtime to the NFC champion Panthers.

Backup Quarterback(s): The Rams added veteran Chris Chandler in the offseason and drafted Jeff Smoker in the 6th round of the 2004 draft from Michigan State. Chandler would only be considered a disaster fill in. Smoker has good size, an adequate arm, and is a competitive player who can compete at the NFL level. He publicly confronted a substance abuse problem in the 2002 season and has shown significant leadership skills and maturity since.

Running Backs
Starter - Marshall Faulk
Backups - Steven Jackson, Lamar Gordon, Arlen Harris
Fullback - Joey Goodspeed, Arlen Harris, Nead Spencer

Starting Running Back: Marshall Faulk is not the player he once was. Faulk put up consecutive fantasy seasons from 1998 to 2001 that may go unmatched by another running back for many years to come, but knee injuries have more than placed him on the downside of his career. In 2003 Faulk posted his lowest yards per carry (3.9) in seven years, and his lowest yards per reception (6.4) of his entire career. He lacks the burst he once had and isn't able to make defenders miss like he used to do routinely. To top this off he hasn't played in 16 games since 1999. Offseason knee surgery on what was perceived to be an arthritic knee (death for an NFL running back), revealed that he only had a loose flap of cartilage. The Rams are stating they believe Faulk will be 100% when the 2004 season starts and are hopeful he will be full speed in time for the team's minicamp in late May. The question for fantasy owners is trying to evaluate a less than 100% Faulk. He was still able to post enough statistics in 2003 to be ranked as the number sixteen running back while only playing in eleven games. Clouding the waters even more, offseason rumors or a still bothersome knee and sudden retirement are circulating. This situation will be tough to evaluate if uncertainty bleeds into the preseason. Faulk usually plays very little in preseason games to begin with. Jackson, Gordon, and Harris will see more playing time than Faulk which will lead to more speculation about Faulk's health.

Backup Running Back(s): Both Arlen Harris and Lamar Gordon saw extensive time in the backfield while Faulk was either rested or missed time due to injury. Gordon posted slightly better statistics, but nothing significant to make fantasy owners believe he will replace Faulk in the long term. The Rams didn't think so either, so they traded up two spots late in the first round of the 2004 draft to nab a slipping Steven Jackson. Jackson is a stark contrast to Faulk in that Jackson is much more of a punishing runner. He won't make as many people miss in the open field, but he will definitely grind out yardage after contact. However, similar to Faulk, Jackson has the ability to be a significant contributor to the Rams passing attack immediately. He possesses great hands, runs disciplined routes, and is accomplished in picking up blitzes. Jackson will be immediately tabbed as Faulk's successor, but the time table for this won't be more apparent until we see how ready Faulk is when the 2004 season begins.

Fullback(s): The fullback is not a viable part of the Rams offense from a fantasy perspective. The Rams choose to spread the field with multiple receivers and often use one back formation. Neither of the returning fullbacks on the roster posted statistics in 2004 that would make anyone believe that this trend will change. However, the addition of the rookie Jackson will likely force Arlen Harris to the position. Harris was listed at 212 lbs last season and will need to add some weight to his 5'10 frame.

Wide Receivers
Starters - Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce
Backups - Dane Looker, Mike Furrey, Kevin Curtis, Shaun McDonald

Starting Receivers: Torry Holt finished with career highs in receptions (117), yards receiving (1696), and touchdowns (12) in 2003. His statistics were good enough to push him into the elite group of fantasy receivers atop the NFL with Randy Moss and Marvin Harrison. Holt significantly out produced running mate Isaac Bruce who posted his lowest totals in five years (69-981-5). Holt should now be considered one of the select few receivers with the potential to be the top fantasy receiver in 2004. Bruce still has the potential to have an explosive week at any time during the season, but there is no reason to believe that the four-year downward trend in his statistics will reverse themselves.

Backup Receiver(s): Dane Looker stepped into the third receiver position nicely during 2003. He gave the team a reliable set of hands that helped move the sticks in the same manner that Rick Proehl used to provide. Looker didn't top five catches or fifty yards in any game last season, but his consistency from week to week was evident. Mike Furrey only posted twenty receptions in 2004, but eighteen of those grabs came after week ten of the season.

Tight Ends
Starter - Brandon Manumaleuna
Backup(s) - Cam Cleeland, Eric Jensen
Manumaleuna returns as the starter in 2004. He pulled in 29 receptions for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns last season and probably will post comparable statistics in 2004. The Rams rely on getting the ball downfield to the wide receivers, as the tight end is mostly an afterthought in their offense. Backup Cam Cleeland was released and resigned immediately after freeing up cap room with the release of QB Kurt Warner. The Rams also added Eric Jensen from Iowa in the 2004 draft.

Place Kicker
Jeff Wilkins: The high-powered Rams offense provided Jeff Wilkins with ample opportunities again in 2003. Wilkins led all kickers in scoring with 39 field goals and 46 extra points. Wilkins nailed an incredible 93% of his attempts (only 3 misses on the season) along with hitting all four of his attempts from beyond fifty yards. Wilkins also adds value to the team by getting his kickoffs to the end zone on a consistent basis. He was fourth in the NFL among kickers in touchbacks (12).

Offensive Line
LT Orlando Pace, LG Andy McCollum, C Dave Wohlabaugh, RG Adam Timmerman, RT Kyle Turley
Pro-bowl LT Orlando Pace anchors this group that returns all five starters from 2003. Pace was hit with the franchise tag again this offseason and trade talks often include speculation about where Pace might be headed to, but odds are the Rams will keep him in St. Louis to protect QB Marc Bulger's blind side. Statistically the Rams finished very poorly last season rushing the ball 93.5 yards per rushing per game (ranked 30th) and only 3.6 yards per attempt (28th). These numbers may be more indicative of the health of Marshall Faulk than the prowess of the line. While the Rams were able to pass for an average of 247.6 yards per game (3rd), they did allow 43 sacks (4th worst). Also of note, the Rams signed versatile backup lineman Ryan Schau to bolster their woeful lack of depth across the line.

Defensive Line
Starters - DE Leonard Little, DE Bryce Fisher, DT Damione Lewis, DT Ryan Pickett
Backups - DE Tyoka Jackson, DE Sean Moran, DE Erik Flowers, DE Tony Hargrove, DT Jimmy Kennedy, DT Bernard Holsey

Starting Defensive Linemen: With the Tony Dungy coaching tree sprouting a second head coaching branch (Lovie Smith exchanges St. Louis DC job for Chicago HC gig; former Tamp Bay OC Herm Edwards is HC of the New York Jets), former Arizona DC and Mike Martz mentor, Larry Marmie, has been installed as the new Ram DC. Expect him to keep Smith's Ram Cover-2 hybrid based on Dungy's original conception largely intact, but to be a little more flexible, especially in mixing coverages, and with a little more willingness to gamble and bring pressure with different LB and DB blitz packages. The Cover-2 scheme has been very trendy lately, partly prompted, in a league of copycats, by its recent success. Smith helped engineer an astonishing defensive turnaround for the Rams in their '01 Super Bowl season, employing its principles. Than the following season Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl using Dungy-disciple DC Monte Kiffin's cover two flavor. The cover two is not without its critics. Problem areas that have been pointed out are that it is overly conservative in its emphasis on keeping everything in front, and when things aren't going right it can appear overly passive and reactive, relying exclusively on pressure generated by the front four to put heat on the QB, typically forgoing the blitz in the interest of maintaining the back seven zone positioning and spacing. When it is clicking, though, and a team like the Bucs for instance DOES get pressure on the QB with the front four (which they often will with top 5 DE talent Simeon Rice and up 'n comers Booger McFarland and DeWayne White), they can be a handful for the opposing QB and OC. In Tampa Bay's two meetings with the dangerous Atlanta offense during the 2002 season, they completely throttled Vick... the Falcons just had no answer. Some respected and acknowledged positive elements of the Cover-2 system include the reduction of offensive big plays, and the integral idea of swarming en masse to the ball carrier. The Rams were near the very top of the NFL in defensive turnovers in the 2003 season. Incidentally, Marmie was Martz's first choice ahead of Lovie before the 2001 Super Bowl season, but Arizona, his employer at the time, refused to let him go. The Ram's defense starts up front with Leonard Little. In his last 41 games, he has 39 sacks & 17 forced fumbles (he set the Ram franchise record for a season with 9 in '02). Even though he missed a quarter of the season due to a chest injury he received strong consideration for NFL Defensive Player of the Year and his (adjusted for games missed) three year sack total would have pushed Jason Taylor and Simeon Rice over that same span for second most sacks in the league, behind only Michael Strahan. When Little came into the league, he was a LB/DE-tweener (with reputed 4.4-4.5 speed), used more as a situational pass rushing specialist. Over the years he has bulked up and gotten stronger, listed now at 6'3" & 261 lbs, evolving into an every down defender. A potentially devastating development to Little's future and the Rams fortunes (they overlap and intersect in a lot of places) was a DUI arrest on the eve of the '04 draft. This is complicated by the fact that he was already involved in a fatal drunk driving accident once before, earlier in his career. The subsequent manslaughter conviction resulted in an eight game suspension. If his defense team is unable to avert a conviction, many league insiders expect a severe suspension to be leveled, possibly another half season at a minimum, if not a season-long unpaid vacation. More ominous than any league sanctions could possibly be, the St. Louis DA's office asked for, and was granted the right to charge Little under the much harsher repeat felony drunk driver sentencing guidelines. If convicted, he could be staring at a four year prison sentence. At his age (30 on 10.19.04), that could effectively end the career of one of the top defensive talents in the NFL. That would be a shame to throw away such a promising career, if that is the aftermath and termination point where unfolding events are headed, but not as big a tragedy as the fact that he didn't learn his lesson to not drink and drive, even after the extreme reminder of a manslaughter conviction (he hasn't been proven guilty in a court of law yet, but allegedly admitted to the arresting officer that he had been drinking, failed the field sobriety test and refused to let an alcohol test be administered at the scene or in the station). In communication through Little's legal channel, word has been gotten to the Rams that the expected trial (Little will plead innocent and seek a jury trial) should take place after the 2004 NFL season is concluded. It is difficult to predict if these fateful events hanging over him all season will affect his play, or if so, how much. The Rams return 9 of 11 starters on their defense (and 20 of 22 starters overall) that finished 6th overall last season with DE Grant Wistrom, who signed a mega-contract with division rival Seattle, being the more significant of the two starter losses, both hits absorbed by the D-Line. DT Brian Young was a spark plug and more than just an effort try hard guy, but he was of more marginal and peripheral importance to the overall scheme, and therefore should prove more replaceable, especially if the Rams can get better from within by having one of their multitude of underachieving first round DT talents step up. The "replacement" for Wistrom's spot should be comprised of the proverbial cast of thousands. Ram D-Line coach, the irrepressible Bill Kollar recently convened with local reporters to go over the latest depth chart at the DE position opposite Little, informing them that Bryce Fisher (his 38 solos and 2 sacks in very limited action piqued the interest of the Packers in free agency) is currently point person to replace Wistrom, subject to shuffling of the depth chart in the preseason. There will be some sort of rotation, provisionally set to include journey man and former St. Louis free agent Sean Moran, who has also seen stints with Buffalo and San Francisco. Tyoka Jackson was thought to be in the mix here, but Kollar clarified that point by saying that Jackson was a better fit as the backup to Little at the LDE. That leaves former Bills first round bust Erik Flowers and promising but raw Tony Hargrove, an underclassman who was academically ineligible for the '03 season at Georgia Tech, but who the Rams considered one of the three to four bona fide pass rushers in the '04 draft (see below). The Rams would like one of these candidates to step up and force the coaching staff to increase his playing time, but a rotation is expected. Damione Lewis, the first of three first round defensive selections in the '01 draft for the Rams, was a highly regarded DT prospect coming out of Miami who has been unable to fulfill his promise due to chronic leg injuries (broken foot complications, high ankle sprain last season). When healthy, he can be a cat-quick three-technique DT.
While too early to call him a bust, this would appear to be a make or break season for him, insofar as his future with the Rams. Ryan "Big Grease" Pickett, as he is affectionately referred to by his coach and chief tormentor Kollar, got a healthy 42 tackles last season, but with a handle like that, you know he needs to stay on top of his conditioning. He has potential as a superb run stuffer when on his game, but doesn't offer a lot in terms of fantasy production (he hunts down promising gaps to fall down in... OOOOHH!). In the Rams scheme, his role is designed to find the gap or hole where the run is directed at, and stack things up to block it, freeing his teammates up to make the plays. Pickett stacks up more bodies than the government syndicate in Soylent Green. One new development in the offseason, and a key distinction between Smith's legacy system and Marmie's current implementation... Smith's insistence on streamlined D-Linemen and less-is-better draconian weight restrictions has been loosened and relaxed (as no doubt has Big Grease and Jimmy Kennedy's waistlines) in favor of Marmie's big-is-beautiful philosophy. Hopefully this will have positive repercussions beyond soaring pop tart sales and a spike in Dominos Pizza deliveries in the greater St. Louis area, but will also be accompanied by a more robust and resilient run stuffing capacity during the '04 season.

Backup Defensive Linemen: Jackson followed Lovie over from Tampa Bay and posted 5.5 sacks. He is versatile enough to play DE or DT. 2003 first round pick Jimmy Kennedy didn't contribute nearly as much as hoped for. There was talk that he didn't respond well to Kollar's hard-nosed coaching style. Current word from Ram camp is that he has been working out like a madman to reshape his upper body and has dramatically increased his strength, stamina and endurance. If he gets his head on straight and improves in the power dept., he is a 320+ lb dancing bear with rare feet, quickness and athleticism for a man his size...think of Sam Adams with a nasty spin move. After camping out in the weight room during the offseason, Kennedy reportedly is 25-30% stronger, was one of the most impressive performers at minicamp, and is ready to make a meaningful impact in '04. Martz expressed disappointment in Kennedy after the season, but he has noticed and acknowledged the change... "He's made tremendous strides in terms of understanding what's required from a physical standpoint and a practice standpoint." The signing of journeyman DT Bernard Holsey will help soften the blow of losing Brian Young in free agency. He started every game for Washington in '03. The Rams had a big need for a DE in the draft with the loss of Wistrom and the DUI arrest of Little (on the eve of the draft). Hargrove was a bit of a surprise pick ('04 - 3.28) because he didn't play football for Georgia Tech in 2003 after being ruled academically ineligible. He played QB and Safety in high school, and didn't even begin playing DE until he got to college, only playing one year as a starter. He must be a quick study, as he looked dominant at times as a sophomore in '02, but he's very raw. Hargrove could be an edge rushing prodigy and he impressed the Rams in an interview with his intelligence (27 on the Wonderlic) and passion for the game. His triangle numbers and measurables compare very favorably to Will Smith (Smith - 6'2" 268 4.6/30 reps 38 1/2" VJ 9'9" BJ; Hargrove - 6'3" 269 4.6/31 reps 39 1/2" VJ 10'2" BJ), thought by many scouts to be the best athlete among the elite DE's. Given his technical rawness, inexperience and absence from the game for a year, it might be asking a lot to expect a big splash this season. But there have been whispers from Ram insiders that the coaching staff is becoming increasingly encouraged and optimistic that the rookie can make a substantive contribution, at least on a situational pass rushing basis. The 31 year old veteran Moran has experience on Hargrove, but little else. He is not a difference maker and playmaker, so maybe the Rams would be best served giving Hargrove some reps early and often during the season, to better enable him to help the team if they find themselves in a typical late season playoff push. Flowers is a reclamation project who has never played up to his workout prowess, computer numbers and first round pedigree. He was considered by the team that drafted him, the Bills, as an epic bust. Some question if he just tests well, but isn't a baller or gamer.

Linebackers
Starters - WLB Tommy Polley, MLB Robert Thomas, SLB Pisa Tinoisamoa
Backups - SLB Brandon Chillar, MLB Trev Faulk

Starting Linebackers: Tommy Polley charged out of the gate in as promising fashion as any Ram rookie in recent memory, on either side of the ball, and was an integral part of their Super Bowl run in '01. He is somewhat of an enigma in that he doesn't always seem to play up to the level his world class athleticism would seem to dictate. He is high cut and his formidable basketball skills (he helped lead perennial powerhouse Dunbar to four state titles, eventually turning down a lot of Div I scholarship offers) help him to be one of the best LB's in the NFL in space...he had four INTs in '03, among the league leaders for a LB, but a less than robust 58 solos. Polley has a reputation among Ram coaches as being more of a "finesse"-type LB and they are looking to foster more of a search-&-destroy, smack-em-in-the-mouth, hard case mentality. Because he is due for a new contract next season, and it is unclear whether the front office can, or wants, to resign him to a bank-breaking extension, he may be considering 2004 an audition season for prospective future employers. After an injury-marred, lackluster rookie season in which he was converted from his more natural MLB position, Robert Thomas was reinserted in the middle after epic failure Jamie Duncan flailed at that spot in '03. Thomas flashed some of the potential that caused the Ram's to select him in the first round (Pac 10 Defensive Player of the Year, the year after Archuleta won), and was leading them in tackles after the first month. He was the subject of rave reviews by the coaching staff, before being slowed by a groin injury, finishing with 71 total tackles. If healthy, he can be a force in the cover two, where speed is a prerequisite (to take away the TEs deep seam route that attacks one of the few soft spots in the cover two zone, between the wide-split safeties who are responsible for their respective deep halves of the field). Due to his slightly less than optimal size for a MLB, it is important for him to stay healthy this year and shrug off the brittle label. Hawaii 5-0 (#50), Pisa Tinoisamoa, had a stellar season and got a lot of play on the rookie All-Pro teams ('03 - 2.11), leading some Ram insiders to think that he is already their most promising LB. Though somewhat unheralded coming out of Hawaii, he is the only prep athlete in San Diego county history (a list which includes Marcus Allen and Junior Seau) to be awarded All-CIF honors on BOTH sides of the ball. His stock rocketed when his combine cone drill times, which test agility, quickness and change of direction ability, were as good as all but the top DBs in the draft (his 10 yard split was as good as ANY DB at the combine, Cornerbacks included). The best testament to his multidimensional playmaking skills is his first season stat line... 80 total tackles, 2 Sacks, 3 INTs and 4 FF...only a few VETERAN LB's got as many as 3 INTs or 4 FFs, with 5-0 being the only name on both lists. St. Louis is convinced Tino is an emerging star. His pull-out-all-the-stops intensity and approach caused him to blow some assignments and responsibilities his rookie year, but a full offseason in new DCs Larry Marmie's system should lead to improved pre-snap reads, which should lead to greater run/pass recognition. Some scouts questioned his size (the six footer bulked up a little to 235 in the offseason), but he plays like a guided missile...an ascendant, charismatic Samoan Derrick Brooks. It is possible the Rams could elect to not re-up with Polley in the '05 offseason, and 5-0 could be groomed to take over his more natural position of WLB, that he was seemingly born to play.

Backup Linebackers: UCLA's Brandon Chillar becomes the first known Indian American (as in his family's country of origin was India, not in the Native American Indian sense) to be signed as a professional player for a National Football League team. The Rams went to the PAC 10 well again (Archuleta Player of the Year in '00 season, & Robert Thomas in '01; Jimmy Kennedy broke the PAC 10 streak, but not conference Player of the Year streak, as he won the Big 10 award for '02). Chillar finished last season with 133 tackles, the most by a Bruin player in nearly a decade and a half, and led the Pac-10 conference with an average of 10.2 tackles per game. He has the size (6'2" 253), speed (he was a high school sprinter) and versatility to play all three LB positions. If the above scenario of Polley walking in '05 free agency plays out, and Tino is slotted to WLB, Chillar ('04 - 4.34) could be a competent replacement at SLB with his athleticism. There is not a lot to get excited about beyond Chillar on the current depth chart. Jamie Duncan was a colossal failure and ill-fated MLB experiment when he followed Lovie Smith from Tampa Bay two seasons ago, but he has since been released (reemerged in Atlanta to compete for the Falcon MLB job with Chris Draft). Trev Faulk was brought in to add depth... important due to the checkered recent medical history of Robert Thomas. This is probably the thinnest position on the Ram defense (despite the DE worries). Courtland Bullard and Scott Shanle had to be released when the Rams got word that another team was targeting a couple of their more promising practice squad O-Linemen, who they had hoped to stash away a little longer.

Defensive Backs
Starters - CB Travis Fisher, CB Jerametrius Butler, SS Adam Archuleta, FS Aeneas Williams
Backups - CB DeJuan Groce, CB Kevin Garrett, FS Jason Shivers, SS/FS Rich Coady

Starting Defensive Backs: The Ram's were near the top of the league in defensive turnovers, with the secondary leading the way. Travis Fisher had four INTs and a respectable 56 total stops in his first full season as a starting CB. A sleeper from the University of Central Florida, the second round ('02 - 2.32) find by Ram personnel guru Charlie Armey (Rams are thought of as offensive juggernaut, but they have spent eight picks from the first two rounds in the last three drafts on defense) did play a good deal of '02 when Aeneas Williams went down with a broken leg. Though not large, he is 5'10, 190 lb., fairly rugged and fearless in run support, and put his smoking' 10.2-10.3 speed to good effect with a couple of INT TD returns during the season (he ran the fastest 100 m in the state of Florida in his class while in high school). Many were surprised that St. Louis decided to retain the services of Jerametrius Butler when he was signed to a large tender by the Redskins, but evidently they liked what they saw, in what was also Butler's first season as the full time starter. He similarly had four INTs, and while he doesn't have Fisher's blazing speed, he actually paced him with 65 solo tackles and 72 total stops. Some team insiders said Butler was easily the most improved player on the Rams last season. If you look at his second half numbers and double them, he was surprisingly productive, and could make an excellent sleeper in IDP leagues that distinguish between safeties and CBs. The talented and youthful CB tandem is well positioned for a repeat performance and possible up tick in stats in their second year as the entrenched starters. In the Cover-2 scheme, they defend a zone rather than a particular man, and are usually put in place to suck up run support tackles directed to their side of the field. Adam Archuleta is coming into his own as one of the top 5-10 young Safeties in the game (Ed Reed, Roy and Tank Williams, Mike Doss, Bryan Scott, Ken Hamlin and Michael Lewis would make a good preliminary short list), though his fantasy stats did take a dip last year. While coverage is not his strong suit, he is improving, and he added five sacks. Arch is a physical specimen with freakish speed strength numbers. By practicing a cutting edge training regimen called plyometrics (based on training with, and for, explosive movements such as... those needed by an NFL SS to do his job), he cut his 40 time down to a sub-4.4 and he hits like Tai Pai's five-pointed exploding heart blow. What can be said about Aeneas Williams except that he is an all time great who, along with Marshall Faulk, the active Ram most likely to be quickly inducted into the Hall of Fame as soon as he becomes eligible, an awesome example on the field to the younger players of what it means to be a true professional, and an inspiration in the locker room that every team in the league would be fortunate to have. After breaking his leg in '02 and being pronounced done by many, he bounced back super strong with an All-Pro season with 75 tackles, 4 INTs and 4 FRs, effortlessly making the transition from CB to the inside (necessitated by Kim Herring's underwhelming play in '02 and preseason injury in '03), as some great ones like Ronnie Lott and Rod Woodson who preceded him did late in their careers. This camp is a little different in that it is his first in which he is a safety going in to camp... "I feel real good... this camp, unlike last year, I am at safety, versus making the transition during training camp and I have some experience under my belt, so I feel good." Williams is excited about being reunited with new DC Marmie, who coached him when they were both with the Cardinals. At the Grandfatherly-age in football years of 36, he earned his eighth Pro Bowl invite and came within two tackles of tying his personal best for most tackles in a season.

Backup Defensive Backs: DeJuan Groce was drafted in the mid-rounds because he was one of the best return artists in the nation with Nebraska, and he had his moments in the nickel back role. Kevin Garrett, Quentin Jammer's cousin, is undersized and had his season was cut short by injury, but he was one of the fastest players in the '03 draft. Rich Coady, who can play either safety spot, was re-signed, taking some pressure off the Ram's to sign another free agent for depth (ex-Raven Kim Herring and Notre Dame CB/Safety conversion project Shane Walton were released; Herring will probably start initially for Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati, later to battle good looking second rounder Madieu Williams for the FS slot). Although Aeneas Williams is still defying Father Time and playing at a ridiculously high level (no need to use the standard "for his age" designation and qualifier), the Ram's can sleep a little easier after selecting Arizona State junior standout FS Jason Shivers in the fifth round ('04 - 5.26). Scouts said if not for a pre-draft DUI indiscretion, he might have gone considerably higher, definitely a day one selection, possibly in the second round. He was one of Mel Kiper's highest rated safeties in the draft, who said he could have been a first round pick if he had come back for his senior year. He possesses superior measurables (6'0" 201; fastest 100 m in the state as an Arizona prep) coupled with a solid pedigree. Shivers paced the Sun Devils in tackles his first three seasons, the first time that happened in school history. He is said to be instinctive and a big hitter, with adequate ball skills and coverage technique, and was very durable in college. When paired with Archuleta in '05 or beyond (once Williams retires... he might have to wait until 2010, as the Rams defensive elder statesman seems to be "growing" younger and has discovered Daryl Green and Rod Woodson's DB equivalent of the Fountain of Youth), the Rams could have one of the most lethal deep patrol tandems in the business some day.