NFL Offseason Roadmap: St. Louis Rams

NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.

1. Offensive Tackle. The Rams have been lucky to have an incredible franchise left tackle for the last 11 seasons, and his play did as much for The Greatest Show on Turf as anyone else. But Orlando Pace has been ludicrously brittle the last two years and, at 32, can't really be depended on anymore. The drop-off in production without Pace has been glaring. On the other side, Alex Barron has been disappointing as a first-round pick; there's so much yellow cloth at Barron's feet on gameday that you'd think he stuffed his jersey with Terrible Towels. In the last four years, Barron ranks behind just Robert Gallery in penalties. On top of the starters, after all of the injuries the Rams endured on the line last year, depth should be considered critical. The easy and obvious answer is Jake Long, who should be available when the Rams pick second. Long can play both sides, which certainly helps, and he can immediately take over for Pace should something happen. If the team needs further depth, Kwame Harris or Damien Woody could be affordable options, and Woody triples as a possible guard and center.

2. Defensive End. Leonard Little and James Hall combined for just three sacks. That's ... not good. They're both on the wrong side of 30. The Rams were 21st in pass defense, but that's through no fault of the secondary -- the ends just couldn't get any pressure. Many consider this the team's chief need, and there's certainly a case to be made for that. And really, though it's not the only need on defense, getting an upgrade at end would go make this defense a lot better right away. They could take the other Long, Chris, with their first-round pick, but he's better suited for a 3-4 defense. The best free agents -- Jared Allen, Justin Smith, and Marques Douglas -- are probably going to be re-signed, but the Rams might still be able to bring in Mike Rucker or Paul Spicer. Outside of Chris Long, the Rams could use their high second-round pick to snag a first-round talent that drops, like Calais Campbell or Phillip Merling.

3. Wide Receiver. It's been a great run for both Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, future Hall of Famers, but that run is coming to an end for both of them. Though they remained productive, especially considering the situation in St. Louis last year, it's only a matter of time before the bottom falls out for the two, and that could be as soon as this year. Holt will be 32 and Bruce will be 36. Holt has a knee condition that will continue to worsen, rapidly. Behind them there's no depth. Last year's big signing, Drew Bennett, caught a very Bennett-esque 45% of his passes, a huge plunge from the numbers Kevin Curtis put up as the Rams' third receiver. This is almost as pressing as a need as defensive end and offensive tackle, because after two damaged starters the Rams have a crew of glorified four and five options. Bernard Berrian will be the top option in free agency, assuming Randy Moss stays in New England, so the Rams will have to join a bunch of teams vying for his services. But this is a good free agent year for affordable recievers -- Bryant Johnson, Ernest Wilford, Drew Carter, Andre' Davis, and D.J. Hackett could all be available.

4. Safety. The Rams are fine with O.J. Atogwe as their starting free safety, though they'll have to retain him as a restricted free agent or give him an extension. At strong safety though, Corey Chavous has been a nightmare. His 75 tackles are nice, but he's also been a liability in coverage and owns one of the worst tackling percentages in the league. The secondary in general needs help, but the only weak link in the starting four is Chavous. Unfortunately, this isn't a great year to upgrade in that department. Most of the top free agents are free safeties, so the Rams might have to hope for a conversion project to pan out. An intriguing option as a natural strong safety is Sammy Knight, who, while 32, is still playing well. Knight also knows Jim Haslett from their days in New Orleans. It's a weak draft for safeties, but the Rams might want to take a shot on the incredibly slow Craig Steltz in the third round.