It's not certain yet who will be under center for the St. Louis Rams to start the 2015 NFL season.
Quarterback Nick Foles, acquired via trade with the Philadelphia Chip Kelly's, is currently at the head of the line of potential starters, but with the 2015 NFL Draft still looming and rumors of Rams head coach Jeff Fisher's interest in Marcus Mariota swirling, that's a situation that still seems fluid.
According to the latest report from Tony Pauline of Draft Insider, whoever winds up the opening day signal-caller for the Rams next season will likely have a new offensive tackle guarding them, as it seems Fisher and Rams GM Les Snead are particularly high on former Stanford offensive tackle, Andrus Peat.
"Sources say Andrus Peat won't get past the St Louis Rams at 10 and could be selected even earlier. New York Giants perhaps?"
In March the Rams released long-time tackle Jake Long along with center Scott Wells, saving themselves approximately $12 million in cap space in the process.
With the oft-injured Long still languishing on the free agent market, the Rams would seem to have a fairly glaring hole to fill across from Greg Robinson - unless of course the team believes a player like Brandon Washington could somehow swing out to tackle.
Peat, per NFL.com's pre-draft profile, is tailor-made for the right side of the offensive line, but also offers the developmental capacity to potentially move to left tackle in the future.
"Big and powerful with a right tackle's play strength and demeanor, but enough foot quickness to protect on the left side," the report reads. "Peat has the physical tools to be an upper-echelon run blocker with pass-protection ability, but he needs to improve his technique in order to protect with consistency. Peat has been well-coached and is one of the most game-ready offensive linemen in this year's draft."
For the Giants, veteran quarterback and two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning is set to enter his 12th NFL season at age 34. He's proven extremely durable during his NFL career, but his advancing age and the mediocre production from the Giants run game last season could make Peat an extremely enticing player at No. 9 in the first-round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
Justin Pugh seemed to lose confidence and his play suffered as the season went along last year, so the potential addition of Peat could serve a dual purpose for Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and GM Jerry Reese - it would, presumably, upgrade the right tackle spot along with allowing Pugh to move inside to one of the guard spots, making the New York unit as a whole, stronger.
