By Dan Arkush
April 26, 2008

Bearing a strong resemblance to actor Gary Sinise, Rams executive vice president of football operations Bill Devaney went out of his way Saturday morning to generate at least a little suspense when the ESPN talking heads prodded him on St. Louis’ first-round plans.

After initially changing the subject — mentioning how the Falcons were yanking his chain because he couldn’t attend a Bruce Springsteen concert Friday night — Devaney did confirm what had been rumored for the last couple of days, that the Rams had their sights specifically set on one of two potentially dominant defenders, without naming names that everyone already knew.

Virginia DE Chris Long and LSU DT Glenn Dorsey.

Despite leaving the door open that the Rams might opt for Dorsey over Long, any legitimate degree of suspense fell by the wayside at about 10:20 a.m. CST when ESPN’s Michael Smith breathlessly proclaimed that sources had confirmed that Long would be the second overall pick in the draft.

In the end, it was a case of choosing a safe, solid defensive end in a huge area of need in Long — who has outstanding bloodlines and will hopefully develop into the same kind of reliable edge performer as former Rams DE Grant Wistrom — over the more risky Dorsey, whose injury history offset the fact he could have more pure potential than any defensive player in the draft.

It says here the Rams made the right decision — better to be safe than sorry. Even though team medics were pretty comfortable that the well-documented injuries to Dorsey’s leg and back were fully healed, it’s smart not to take any chances in the wake of one of the most injury-plagued seasons an NFL team ever had to go through.

Long’s selection also complements the Rams’ current personnel on the D-line better than Dorsey, who would have been butting heads inside with 2007 first-round pick Adam Carriker and '07 fifth-round revelation Clifton Ryan had he been selected first.

There’s strong reason to believe that Dorsey was the preferred choice of Rams defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, who loved the options Dorsey provided in a defense that thrives on multiple looks. But Haslett still figures to have plenty of options with Carriker being able to move outside on occasion.

Long immediately becomes the front-runner at right end opposite Leonard Little, replacing James Hall, who was released early in the offseason but re-signed at a lesser salary.

Not only should Long be a dramatic immediate upgrade over Hall, he figures to be an instant heartthrob in St. Louis and should greatly satisfy a fan base looking for new stars to savor.

In my mind, the Rams got off to a nice start in one of their most important drafts ever.