The St. Louis Rams probably have more pressing needs than inside linebacker - namely just about every position on offense - but when you see a chance to upgrade at a spot that's been good, but far from great, on a unit that has the potential to be special - once-in-a-generation kind of special - you take it and run with it.
For Rams head coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead, the 2015 NFL Draft may provide an opportunity to improve a main component of their defensive scheme by slotting in a new player at middle linebacker in place of the wholly mediocre James Laurinaitis.
"One linebacker the team loves is Benardrick McKinney of Mississippi State," reports Tony Pauline of Draft Insider. "The team worked out McKinney last week and came away very impressed."
With the Rams currently slated to pick 10th in the first-round later this month, McKinney would likely have to obtained either early in the second-round - if he lasts that long - or via a trade back in the first.
Pauline reported in mid-February that word out of the NFL rookie scouting combine said that Fisher, Snead and the Rams were targeting linebackers early in the 2015 NFL Draft.
While Laurinaitis signed a five-year, $41.5 million contract with the Rams in 2013, it would only incur St. Louis $1.55 million in a dead money cap penalty to cut him prior to this season. Outside linebacker and former first-round pick Alex Ogletree seems to have one of the two peripheral spots locked down and JoLonn Dunbar is a steady, consistent veteran presence.
McKinney is a big - like real big, he goes about 6-foot-4, 246-pounds - physical 'backer with good straight-line speed.
"Productive, steady performer in the middle with above-average size and length for the position but below-average agility," writes NFL.com's Lance Zierlein. "McKinney plays within the scheme and finds himself near the play frequently. He plays with strength and has an ability to take on offensive linemen and get downhill to finish his tackles. McKinney looks like an above-average NFL inside linebacker who could become part of a really good defense."
His below-average agility probably means that McKinney's future is on the inside at the NFL level, but he provides the type of size and physicality that could play very well to the strengths of what is an already almost-elite Rams defense.
