Yes, Rams GM Billy Devaney and his defensive-minded new head coach Steve Spagnuolo took an offensive tackle (Baylors Jason Smith) with the second pick in last weekends draft. But it didnt take long for them to turn toward last years 28th-ranked defense.

St. Louis picked up four players in the draft that should start or at least contribute immediately. Three of them are defensive players, including middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, the former Ohio State and Wayzata player.

As the Rams open rookie minicamp, theyre counting on Laurinaitis to be their starting middle linebacker. Hell displace veteran Chris Draft, who will either be benched or take over at strongside linebacker.

Meanwhile, rookie third-round pick Bradley Fletcher of Iowa probably will be the Rams nickel back and might even take Tye Hills starting cornerback job.

Then theres fourth-round pick Darell Scott of Clemson. Hell be the teams third defensive tackle. And we all know how Spags likes to rotate his defensive linemen.

Yes, Devaney got the big left tackle the team needed at the top of the draft. But, after that, the Rams identity under Spags began to unfold on the other side of the ball. And that first pick was the kid from Wayzata.

And, actually, until Laurinaits was taken, the Rams had done surprisingly little to remake their defense. The only player added before the draft was strong safety James Butler, a free agent from the Giants.

In an unrelated note,?a lot of teams?have?interesting prospects visiting them for rookie minicamps this weekend. At Winter Park, former Gophers heavyweight wrestler Cole Konrad and Marcus Fitzgerald, the younger brother of Larry Jr., are among the unsigned invitees.

Heres another interesting one in Tennessee:

Alex Mortensen, a backup quarterback at Samford and then Arkansas,?is one of the Titans undrafted free agents. Hes the son of ESPN NFL reporter Chris Mortensen. Word out of Nashville is Alex got the opportunity?because his pops is a friend of Titans coach Jeff Fisher.

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