ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams have a "high-class problem" with the valuable No. 2 overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.
That's how general manager Les Snead described it Tuesday morning in an interview on NFL Network's "NFL AM" program. It's a nice place to be, Snead added, discussing the Rams' options with that No. 2 selection.
"There's a lot of good players there, and you could make a couple of choices or three and be right," Snead told the show.
We've been taking a closer look at some of those options leading up to the draft, including Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins and massive Auburn offensive tackle Greg Robinson. Today we'll look at another talented offensive tackle, Texas A&M's Jake Matthews, who many media mock draft prognosticators project will be the pick for St. Louis at No. 2.
WHY MATTHEWS?
There might be a 50-50 split between the folks who think the Rams will take Robinson at No. 2 and those who expect Matthews to be the choice.
Two former NFL scouts we talked to, Dan Shonka of Ourlads' NFL Scouting Services and Russ Lande of GM Jr Scouting, both prefer Matthews because he's more prepared to contribute early for St. Louis.
"I think Jake Matthews is the best overall tackle of the top three tackles," Shonka said, referring to the trio of Matthews, Robinson and Taylor Lewan of Michigan. "He's very sound technically. Every time I studied him on tape, which was a lot because (Texas A&M) had so many pro prospects and you try to look at them against the best competition that you can, Jake was always technique-perfect, from a good base to his knee bend, gets his hands inside. Some of that stuff sounds simplistic, but a lot of guys can't do that. They can't get their hands inside and control a defender."
Shonka, who scouted for the Eagles, Redskins and Chiefs during his NFL days, cited Matthews' durability over three seasons at Texas A&M as well as his impressive athleticism.
Shonka and his scouts at Ourlads' rated Matthews as the fourth-most athletic offensive lineman out of 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine. He said Lewan was first, followed by Robinson and Joel Bitonio, a tackle/guard prospect from Nevada. Then Matthews.
Shonka prefers the 6-foot-5, 308-pound Matthews to the 6-5, 332-pound Robinson, who is considered a better run blocker.
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"Greg Robinson is a big, massive man that has a lot to learn in pass pro," Shonka said. "If you ever watch him, he's a waist-bender. He lunges. He does a lot of things technically that are not good and he's going to get killed in the NFL early.
"Now, a few years down the road he might be OK. But there might not be a few years for certain teams, certain people down the road, like coaches. You don't have that much time to spend with these guys. In the old days, you could go out and work technique. Now you only have so many hours. They only have so many in college. The more you can have a guy ready to go, the better off your NFL coaches are that are coaching him."
Matthews played left tackle for Texas A&M this season after playing right tackle in 2012, when Luke Joeckel was protecting Johnny Manziel's blind side at the left tackle spot. Joeckel was the No. 2 overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in last year's draft.
"We like Jake Matthews better than Joeckel last year, when we studied the A&M film," Shonka said. "Here's the other thing. Jake is so patient. He just lets everything come to him, whereas a guy like Robinson will lunge or go after a guy. In the NFL those linemen will go around you like a matador. When you're lunging, all you're going to see is air."
Matthews could fit better with the Rams than Robinson, who started at left tackle for two seasons at Auburn, because of his versatility. Matthews has proven that he can perform in the rough-and-tumble Southeastern Conference as either a left or right tackle.
In St. Louis, Matthews could play either spot as a rookie, depending on whether a) left tackle Jake Long is ready to go early after returning from his knee injury; b) Matthews were to beat out incumbent Joe Barksdale for the starting spot at right tackle, or c) he were to back up the starters at both spots.
"I think Matthews would probably, for this year, make more sense," Lande said, "solely because he can come in and you can have him practice throughout training camp at both sides. And if Jake's not ready he can step right in (at left tackle) and if Jake comes back midseason (Matthews) could jump over to the other side, because he's used to playing both sides.
"I think Robinson, young guy, less experience, as a rookie he would probably have more difficulties jumping back and forth between the two positions just because he's a younger kid who doesn't have the experience of playing both sides. So for this year, to me, it makes more sense to take Matthews, but I think they are both very good prospects. I think Matthews is the safer choice, but I think they both have a chance to be outstanding football players."
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Matthews also has some impressive football bloodlines on his side.
His father, Bruce, was a Hall of Famer as an offensive lineman for the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans and played under Rams coach Jeff Fisher. His uncle, Clay Matthews Jr., played 19 seasons as a linebacker in the NFL. His cousin, Clay Matthews III, is one of the top linebackers in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers.
WHY NOT MATTHEWS?
The Rams have several good options with that No. 2 overall pick.
They could go with Robinson, a bigger player who excels in the run game -- something St. Louis will focus on going forward -- and who could have more upside than Matthews.
Or the Rams could go in a different direction entirely. They might prefer a wide receiver such as Watkins or a defensive player such as South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney or Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack. Or they could entertain offers to trade down and pick up additional draft picks.
FINAL VERDICT
The Rams sent a traveling party that included Snead and Fisher to Texas A&M last week to look at the Aggies' top three prospects -- Matthews, wide receiver Mike Evans and Manziel. Legitimate interest in one or more of the players? Smoke screen? It's tough to tell during the sneaky days leading up to the draft, but there's every reason to believe Matthews would be an excellent choice at No. 2 overall.
You can follow Nate Latsch on Twitter (@natelatsch) or email him at natelatsch@gmail.com.
